A Home of Their Own

A Stockton couple re-evaluates their living space when their sons leave the nest

by JAMIE MENAKER | photos by BRENDA HARTSHORN  

Home to three sons and various pets, Kevin and Kelli Carter have had a full house for as long as they can remember. With the boys now grown and gone, the couple has finally taken full advantage of the empty space in their ‘empty nest’, updating and redecorating room by room to turn their Brookside home in Stockton into the ideal retreat for friends and visitors.

It all started with an upcoming visit from the couple’s niece. Kelli wanted to create a space where her niece could relax and feel at home, and a guest room where visitors would feel as if they are sleeping in luxury. With the help of Kelli’s good friend and interior designer Sandy Smith, as well as Chris and Tammy Kelley from Stockton’s CR Porter Home Décor, the end result is a bed draped in plush chocolate-colored bedding with gold detailing, and a romantic hanging light fixture by Charles Marder, a creation of silk, beading, and fringe reminiscent of a Spanish boudoir.

The biggest change in the Carters’ home has been the entry room. Originally a formal living room that not even the family felt comfortable entering, with a small dining room to the side, the interior design team re-envisioned the space into something simply meant for entertaining. First, the dining area was relocated to the front of the space, filling it with an eight-person, solid dark wood dining table. This left the space remaining between the dining area and the kitchen to become a place to actually sit and relax. Tammy and Chris had a window seat constructed to fit into the already existing bay window, meant to create a library feel (now Kelli’s favorite place to sit), and placed overstuffed armchairs around a leather ottoman to serve double duty as both a coffee table and extra seating.

“We moved away from the formal to more casual,” agree both interior designer Tammy and homeowner Kelli, “but more pleasing to the eye. It’s a casual elegance, a home that embraces you and makes you feel cozy, like you want to sit and have a cup of coffee. The whole house is livable even though it’s beautiful.”

This new entryway “great room” also set the scene for the entire home’s gradual update. The front door of the house was replaced by a knotty alder wood door, almost floor to ceiling, followed by the interior doors for all rooms being changed over to this same wood. Simple, white walls in the great room were retextured to a warm, golden-hued ‘imperfect smooth finish’, which also now carries through the rest of the home.

“The home is about texture,” says Tammy Kelley of CR Porter. “People think that the walls are not a tangible thing to work on. But it really makes such a big difference in a room.”

Another important feature added to the home is the knotty wood beams that Chris hand-distressed, which now run the length of the downstairs area’s ceiling. The comfort of the great room continues on with an open layout into the kitchen and family room. Guests can be in any of the three rooms and still participate in conversation.

“The house is little,” says Kelli, “but big in style.” She’s the creative eye behind a great deal of the home’s art pieces. “The artwork in this house is picked quite simply by what Kelli loves,” says Tammy.

LOCAL RESOURCES

Chris and Tammy Kelley, C.R. Porter Home Décor
Stockton, (209) 956-9250
www.crporterhome.com

Sandy Smith Décor Consultants Stockton, (209) 982-9984

Larry Jenks Painting, Inc.
Lodi, (209) 334-6693

Pam Snell for Finishes by Pamela
Lodi, (209) 367-3544

Casey Goulart Construction
Stockton, (209) 483-6150