TaLaya and Kerrick’s Pattern-Filled North Carolina Home
Photographs by TaLaya Brown
A home is more than just a house; it holds our memories - the feeling of the way things were and the hope of what they might become. So when North Carolina couple, TaLaya Brown and Kerrick Faulkner inherited the house that once belonged to Faulkner’s grandparents, it was a chance to touch the past while looking ahead to the future. With rescue dog Honey in tow for good luck (she had been rescued, after all), the two set out to make a new home out of an old house.
For Kerrick, this home filled with memories. As a child, when it was a second home for him, this entryway would be the first thing he’d see coming into the house and the last thing he’d encounter as he left. Now, with TaLaya’s help, the couple has brought new life to the small space. A light gray paint gives the entry an airy and relaxing feel, while a floating credenza adds storage as well as style. The entryway also serves as the starting point for the home’s love affair with African fabrics and patterns, a story told several times throughout the house. The drapes and rug are both designed in the Malian bogolanfini or mud cloth tradition, while the planter displays an ikat pattern similar to those seen in Indonesia or along the Ivory Coast.
Just past the subdued tones of the entryway, the living room explodes with wonderful pops of bold color and more delightful patterns. Gathered around a warm, metallic end table, the array of colorful pillows on the sofa playfully reiterate the vibrant tones of the vintage kilim rug. Also on the sofa, one of the room’s few touches of black, a mud cloth textile draped decoratively over the back. Finally, as in the entryway, a statuesque plant lends life and height to the design of the room.
The couple notes that finding adequate storage in their 1500 square foot home is a constant challenge. Away from the sofa, the living room features one of TaLaya’s most creative solutions. Here her large wooden armoire commands the space. It’s woven cane gives it a handmade look that is beautifully complemented by the other woven elements of the space. Of particular interest is the patterned basket that ties together the colors of the rug and pillows in the room. The brass stool and accessories deepen the layers of metallic color in the space while an array of plants on and around the armoire accent the natural feel of the woven elements and add yet more color to the interior.
TaLaya does an excellent job of layering colors in the living room. No hue in this space exists without a complement or echo elsewhere. The black mud cloth textile on the sofa finds its complement in this striking Cameroonian Tyn or Juju Hat. Presiding over the room from its perch on the wall, it adds a powerful counterpoint, not only to the light color of the walls, but the woven texture of the piece that sits alongside it.
Just a step into the dining room and the love of pattern again becomes the story of the space. TaLaya shows her skills at decorating from the ground up with a rug that is the absolutely star of the space. The mud cloth pattern is repeated on the small planter at the center of the table. On the wall, another striking moment as an artistically designed set of floating shelves holds even more beautiful pieces. The divided colors of the shelves mirror the bifurcated tones of the wall itself, for an even more eye-catching moment.
The kitchen is one of the home’s larger spaces and TaLaya and Kerrick take full advantage of every opportunity. A floating kitchen island provides both functional prep space. A striped rug stands out against the modern, black cabinetry. Plants are sprinkled throughout the kitchen for a touch of greenery, while baskets and art are displayed on the built-in shelving. For another modern touch, white subway tile with gray grout creates a stunning kitchen backsplash.
The family rooms brings together the elements of the living room along with a few touches all its own. Pattern continues to be front and center in a big way and on the sofa a bold mix of African textiles is represented. The rug in this room is Moroccan, a reflection of one of TaLaya’s major cultural design inspirations. The storage console is filled with woven baskets, adding one more storage option while keeping the woven element as part of the room. On the walls, the patterned wall art seen in other rooms is joined by a few photos of the happy couple for an even more personal touch.
In the bedroom, the neutral color palette that has flowed throughout the house gets a dramatic and moody twist with a black feature wall. The juxtaposition of black and white on the walls is mirrored by their interplay in the patterned rug on the floor. Between the two, the white color of the bedding and Juju hat becomes a single massive pop of color that defines the room. Beyond that, all of the favorites from earlier rooms are here, from the mud cloth patterned textiles, to the woven basket feature on the walls.
The use of color, pattern and texture throughout this house is wonderful, but its biggest design strength is in its level of cohesion, which sees the same elements recurring in different ways from room to room to create an integrated whole that is a uniquely personal statement.
