If your soul is awakened by vibrant patterns and bold colors, why not surround yourself with them?
When a Washington, D.C., couple moved into their new home, they knew they had to completely refresh the interior, transforming it from traditional and reserved to joyful and invigorating. To bring their dream to life, they enlisted the expertise of local interior designer Jewel Marlowe of Jewel Marlowe Interiors—known for her fearless use of patterns and textures, along with a healthy dose of vintage glamour.
The result? A breathtaking kaleidoscope of colors, wallpapers, and soulful elements, each room more intriguing than the last. “The house has a subtle nod to French architecture, so we honored that in thoughtful ways throughout,” shared Marlowe. “It’s fun, flirty, and certainly feminine.”
Beginning in the foyer, a colorful handwoven Missoni rug hints at what’s to come. The walls, trim, and ceiling are color-drenched in Cinder Rose by Farrow & Ball, while the glass-faced closet doors are coated in Pelt by Farrow & Ball, in a glossy finish.
As you enter the living room, you are greeted by a vibrant magenta couch featuring a rolled back and playful white fringe that drips to the floor. Marlowe summarizes the playfulness of her client…“When the magenta sofa arrived, she texted me to say, ‘I thought it would be brighter!’”
On the walls, Simply White by Benjamin Moore is applied in a matte finish. “Since this room has a lot of transition points, meaning it leads to various rooms including the wet bar, dining room, and office, the space needed to be a palette cleanse. So I knew the base needed to be neutral,” explains Marlowe.
The first thing she found for the living room was the pair of citron Art Deco chairs, “I’ve never seen anything like them, and I knew we had to use them.” She topped each with the iconic Tigre pillow by Scalamandré. At the center of the room, Marlowe swapped a traditional mantle for the overthe- top ornate white marble fireplace that enhances the wow factor, juxtaposed by intriguing modern art above, giving us a glimpse into her artistic genius: “I love how the person’s face is camouflaged by smoke, and then to the left, we have these four plates that feature faces,” she says.
Underfoot, a mitered carpet in a blue-toned marble pattern plays off the marble of the fireplace surround. The dramatic white and black swooping drapes are Virginia panels by Schumacher. Infusing some personal items, the client’s beloved concert posters are freshly framed and displayed in the living room and foyer stairwell.
Connecting the living room to the dining room is a glamorous wet bar with the playful Cadre Noir wallpaper by Jennifer Shorto. The wallpaper borrows figures and motifs from Mexican surrealist art to create an architectural dreamscape, resplendent with fancy frolicking blue ponies. The ceiling and trim are treated to multiple luxurious coats of Blueberry Mill by Benjamin Moore in their Advance High Gloss finish. A delicate glass pendant by Visual Comfort illuminates the space and draws the eye to the bistro shelves, backed with speckled mirror glass tiles. The effect is dazzling.
Perhaps the most dramatic space in the home is the formal dining room. Marlowe and her client chose the wallpaper during their first meeting, and it lit the spark for much of the home. “My client, a color lover through and through, was excited that one of the accent colors in the wallpaper was her favorite—bright orange. The paper itself transports you to a vintage French chateau,” Marlowe explains. The incredible wallpaper mural by French artisans Élitis resembles a chinoiserie, worn and patinated by time, with a thousand flowered plants running across the wall. To continue the dramatic effect of the wallpaper, a deep blue paint (Chicago Blues by Benjamin Moore) was added to the trim and ceiling, including the original ceiling medallion. The Brindille chandelier by Champalimaud brings an organic quality, as if it were a brach laden with glass petals.
Since the dining room leads out to the backyard pool, the rug needed to be durable enough to withstand the muddy paws of the couple’s four championship show dogs. Customizable carpet tiles by Flor in a soft pink perfectly match the pink hues in the wallpaper. “The beauty of the Flor tiles is the ability to swap out just one if a stain is beyond repair,” says Marlowe.
A burl wood and lucite console allows for platters to be placed during leisurely brunches or dinner parties, and creates a space for oversized art to hover. Marlowe chose the photograph Party Girl by Liz Von Hoene. “The art is such a fun and flirty way to keep the space from feeling stuffy or over the top. And the whimsy of the photograph is a fantastic foil to the chinoiserie wallpaper.”
“Art is such a fun and flirty way to keep spaces from feeling too stuffy or over the top.”
The high-gloss table is surrounded by eight brass Klismos-style chairs and two Regency period armchairs that Marlowe had recovered in a Bengal tiger-styled velvet. The room as a whole is pure glam and fun, showcasing Marlowe’s ability to deftly defy design rules.
Upstairs, the primary bedroom is an orange lover’s dream. A canopy bed swathed in the iconic Leaping Cheetah print by Scalamandré (in Clementine) creates an intimate oasis within the bedroom, which opens to a balcony with water views.
“To keep the orange and black from veering too Halloween-esque, we toned it down with the subtle and sophisticated Setting Plaster by Farrow & Ball,” says Marlowe. The flat finish of the paint, colordrenched on the walls, ceiling, and trim, feels soft and chalky—a perfect respite after a busy day in the city.
On either side of the bed, matching burl wood nightstands echo the burl used in the dining room, lending whole-home continuity. Touches of blackseen in the bedframe and mirrors anchor the bold orange. Roman shades in a cream with black zigzag stripes from Schumacher adorn the French doors and windows. For the rug, soft and durable Flor tiles in a soft oatmeal color were chosen. Inside the cove of the bed, a landscape painting is displayed, drawing you in and giving the eye a place to rest.
Are you eager to refresh your home in a vibrant and exciting way? According to Marlowe, one place to start is by choosing a season. “When designing a
home, I think of the rooms as being decorated within the same season,” she says.”For this house, it’s winter. We used deeply saturated jewel tones, then, to up the sophistication factor, we layered in lighter tones of those same colors.” What season will inspire your next refresh?
We shared this House Tour: Chromatic Glamour story with you in the Summer 2025 issue of NEST Magazine.
