There’s a strong case to be made for slow decorating—feathering your nest with things that have been acquired gradually or deciding on paint colors only after spending some time in a space. For interior designer Erica Burns, those carefully considered things include draperies in the perfect shade of chartreuse; walls drenched in chocolate brown lacquer; a collection of oil-painted landscapes collected over the course of many years; and family heirlooms, including framed vintage love letters.

Such thoughtful choices are the culmination of a journey that began 14 years ago. In 2012, the designer moved into the circa-1950s Bethesda Colonial that she shares with her husband and two daughters, now 14 and 12. They refinished the floors, painted and updated the existing kitchen, but were otherwise content for the time being with their vintage home. “The room proportions were cozy, and it had a classic footprint and timeless feel,” relays Burns. But as the years passed, the family felt the need for a dedicated mudroom, a larger kitchen and primary bath, and more office space for the designer, who was then working out of her home. So in 2020, they decided to expand with a three-story rear addition that architect R. Michael Cross helmed.

On the main level, the bump-out encompasses a new eat-in kitchen, a large family room and a butler’s pantry/bar area. Directly above that sits a reimagined primary suite, while the walk-out basement below gained additional square footage for a design studio, though Burns’ firm quickly outgrew the space which is now being used as a craft/ping-pong room for her daughters. Rearranging the layout of the rooms in the existing part of the house allowed for the creation of a foyer, mudroom and powder room in the space once occupied by the old kitchen and dining room; the dining room moved to a former TV room adjacent to the formal living room.

Now, the refreshed layout flows effortlessly from one space to the next. “One thing that was really important to me was for it to feel natural,” says Burns. “We didn’t want it to seem like we took this old Colonial and wedged in some huge great room with an open floor plan that felt disjointed from the rest of it.”

Cross concurs, “Erica’s priority was to maintain as much of the existing house as possible while ensuring the addition felt like part of the original layout.”

For continuity, Burns handled all the interior detailing herself, easing transitions from exterior walls to interior ones and “even replicating the thickness of walls so they matched and felt intentional,” she explains. “I didn’t want it to be obvious where the old house ended and the new part started.”

When it came to the furniture and finishes, Burns let the architecture be her guide, leaning into an updated take on traditional style that clicked with her own heritage. “I love color and I grew up in the South, where there’s a way of decorating that’s very inviting, but still understated, casual and fun,” she shares. “I wasn’t interested in making this house a showpiece; it was really about making it comfortable for my family.”

That vision began with shades of green, her favorite color, which thread their way throughout the scheme: A Lacanche range offers a deep emerald pop in the otherwise neutral kitchen; a veritable meadow of birds and flowers adorns the Schuyler Samperton wallpaper in the butler’s pantry, which inspired its forest-hued cabinetry; and the powder room gets its punch from a muted kiwi-colored Lewis & Wood wallcovering. Even the living room’s velvet settee, covered in a Rose Uniacke velvet named Pickle, has verdant undertones.

Throughout, Burns balances antiques, including classic brown furniture, with newer pieces and less traditional lighting choices for contrast. Take the dining room, where a reflective, rose-colored Urban Electric orb floats over an antique table surrounded by vintage Swedish chairs. “I love how that light doesn’t take itself too seriously, and pink always looks great with brown,” she observes. While it may seem counterintuitive, she opted for a high-gloss cocoa wallcovering in the light-challenged room. “Instead of trying to make it feel brighter, I wanted to lean into the fact that it’s a dark space and go for more drama,” she explains. Faced with a big empty wall, she embraced an Old World solution to display art: European-style brass rails eliminate the need to drill into the plaster while allowing art to be interchanged with ease. Her current gallery wall includes her collection of landscape oil paintings and framed love letters from World War II written by her grandfather to her grandmother. The resulting space has a patina that belies its relatively short existence.

“We started work on the house in 2020, and we just finished the dining room last year,” marvels Burns. “There’s that joke that the shoemaker’s children have no shoes—it’s like that sometimes with designers. This definitely wasn’t a typical install where everything is done all at once.” All in all, it’s a fine argument for taking one’s time.

Architecture: R. Michael Cross, R. Michael Cross Design Group, Washington, DC. Interior & Kitchen Design: Erica Burns, Erica Burns Interiors, Washington, DC. Renovation Contractor: Superior Built LLC, Annapolis, Maryland.

RESOURCES

LIVING ROOM

Game Table: woodbridgefurniture.com. Game Chairs: coleyhome.com. Rug: mattcamron.com. Lounge Chairs: highlandhousefurniture.com. Coffee Table: antique. Settee: vintage. Settee Fabric: roseuniacke.com. Sconces: visualcomfort.com. Sconce Lighting Shades: us.pooky.com. Art: maryelizabethmarvin.com through lizapruitt.com. Drapery: imogenheath.com.

DINING ROOM

Light Fixture: urbanelectric.com. Wall Covering: schumacher.com. Drapery Fabric: zakandfox.com. Rug: mattcamron.com. Table, Chairs, Wall Sconces, & Host Chairs: Antique. Host Chair Fabric: pierrefrey.com; samuelandsons.com.

KITCHEN

Pendants: lostine.com. Counter Stools: centuryfurniture.com. Cabinetry: Custom through MKM Custom Millwork; 301-490-1541. Cabinetry Paint: Drop Cloth by farrow-ball.com.

BREAKFAST ROOM

Lantern: urbanelectric.com. Banquette Fabric: kravet.com. Table: custom. Chairs: Lexington.com.

BUTLER’S PANTRY

Wallpaper: schuylersampertontextiles.com. Sconces: arteriorshome.com.

FAMILY ROOM

Rug: mattcamron.com. Sofas: custom. Sofa Fabric: arabelfabrics.com. Lamp: visualcomfort.com. Chandelier: jamieyoung.com. Art: karensmidth.com. Coffee Table: custom.

POWDER ROOM

Wallpaper: lewisandwood.co.uk. Sconces: urbanelectric.com. Sconce Shades: fermoie.com. Faucet: waterworks.com. Mirror: arteriorshome.com.