Elegant Oasis

You might expect the house of a professional interior decorator to exude style and sophistication, and that’s just what you’ll find at Laura Heater’s Brimfield Township home, which is a perfect mix of class and comfort.

The home features five bedrooms, three and a half bathrooms and a 90-percent finished basement. Throughout the home, where Heater lives with her husband and three children, framed family photos add a personal touch while layers of lighting create an intimate atmosphere.

As is the case in many homes, Heater says her family tends to gather around the large kitchen island, which features bench seating and a titanium granite top that served as inspiration for the room’s design. The kitchen also features an industrial-size fridge and Angelim flooring, an exotic hardwood with a Shiraz color that goes well with the cabinets. The room’s windows and sliding glass doors offer a pristine view of the wetlands and trees in the Heaters’ backyard, where deer are often seen roaming.

With the home’s open floor plan, the kitchen, living room and dining room blend well together, while decorative posts define each space. Shades of brown coat the kitchen and hallway walls, and carry over into the catwalk that overlooks the living room.

The focal point of the living rooms is the two-way fireplace, which leads into an adults-only sitting room. Separated from the rest of the home with a glass tile door, the sitting room features a leather couch, chenille custom chairs and a bookshelf next to the fireplace, which is surrounded with glass, iridescent tiles. Like the kitchen, the sitting room offers a splendid view of the scenic backyard. “I love to mix things,” explains Heater, who incorporated a table that belonged to her husband’s great grandfather along with more modern design pieces.

As the only bedroom located on the first floor, the master bedroom is situated in the front of the house. Heater says she often designs a room around one particular piece, and in the case of her bedroom, the inspiration came from a chenille fabric she simply “fell in love with.” From that fabric, Heater created her bedding and later constructed pillows and drapes to complement the blue color. As a decorator, Heater likes to have one piece of bold or “chunky” furniture in each room, such as the master suite’s king-sized bed, accented with a leather headboard and upholstery rivets. For the bedroom walls, Heater chose a paint color called “Garrett Gray,” though it appears more of a brown hue with hints of purple, and the color changes depending on the lighting. The same shade can be found in the powder room located just off the garage.

Through her work, Heater has learned that everything has to have a function, especially when designing for a home with kids. With her home’s décor, she has created a space that is both elegant and livable.

Home constructed by Lillibridge Homes.