Magic can happen when clients trust an interior designer’s instincts and remain open to new possibilities. After purchasing and renovating a ’90s-era Georgian-style abode in Potomac, the owners called designer Barbara Noguera to help select the furnishings. Soon, the project blossomed beyond their initial ask. Walking through the home got Noguera’s creative juices flowing and sparked ideas for enhancing continuity and adding panache throughout.

“I understood that these clients liked color,” she recounts. “But it needed to be done in a way that was more cohesive. We wanted each space to have its own character, but also talk to the others.”

The designer recommended a full-scale decorative redo, and the residents quickly agreed. Overall, the goal was to elevate the interiors while making them comfortable and inviting for the couple’s teenage daughter living at home, as well as adult kids and grandchildren who visit often. “They wanted this to be a place for everyone to come together,” Noguera relates. “They also wanted a space that feels whimsical, speaks to them and reflects who they are.”

For the wife, that meant bringing the outdoors in. “Nature is healing and rejuvenating for physical and mental health,” she asserts. “We wanted an environment that would support an uplifted spirit and mindset.”

To that end, Noguera wove lively motifs and the wife’s favorite colors—primarily blues, greens and pinks—throughout the spaces. “We were thinking about how to create an enchanted garden indoors,” she says.

This approach is on full display in the stair hall just beyond the earth-toned foyer. A wallpaper with flowering vines sets the scene; Benjamin Moore’s Chimichurri—a moody, dark green hue—coats the lower walls and millwork, including the stair balusters. “Before, the space had become fragmented with different paint colors,” the designer recalls. “We wanted to simplify the scheme and reinforce the sense of verticality.”

Noguera employed a similar strategy in the dining room, which sits to the left of the foyer. There, she bathed the classical moldings and fireplace mantel in a rich turquoise shade pulled from the floral chinoiserie wallpaper. Her clients “loved the ornate details and wanted to respect the architecture that was already there,” she explains. “Rather than accenting the trim with a high-contrast color, we unified walls and millwork with a single hue. Now you read the room as a whole.”

The nature-inspired space creates just the dining experience the wife was after. “The wallpaper makes you feel like you are eating in a garden,” she shares. “It’s peaceful and serene.” Most of the furnishings and lighting were purchased for this project, with a couple of exceptions: The double-pedestal table is a family heirloom; surrounding it are new chairs with bamboo-look frames that reinforce the al fresco theme. An antique, brass-and-glass chandelier adds another layer of patina.

On the opposite side of the foyer, the living room is awash in a sophisticated, dusty-pink hue. When selecting drapery fabric, Noguera took cues from the home’s architecture, specifically two Juliet balconies, each accessed through a set of French doors. The textile depicts a Paris street scene featuring buildings adorned with the city’s signature wrought-iron balconies. A future grand piano purchase dictated the furniture layout—the husband, who works in commercial real estate, is a music lover and plays several instruments. The seating arrangement marries a curved sofa covered in aubergine velvet with lounge chairs sporting ebony frames and cane backs. “We wanted the furniture to feel organic and not rigid,” Noguera explains.

The kitchen had been previously renovated so she focused her attention on the breakfast area. She brightened the space, along with the adjacent family room, by painting the once-gray walls a warm white. In the bay window overlooking the backyard, she surrounded an oval table with chairs cushioned in a nubby, blue performance fabric.

For the side mudroom, Noguera designed a bank of tower cabinets and drawers to store the daily detritus, plus towels for the backyard pool; teal paint coats the millwork and doors. A kid-pleasing, animal-motif wallpaper enlivens the niche above the drawers, as well as the adjacent pool half-bath. A chic, grown-up powder room lies off the stair hall.

Upstairs in the primary suite, Noguera orchestrated a light renovation to create a more elegant entryway and smoother progression through the anteroom to the bedroom. She employed two botanical wallpapers in the process as a nod to her clients’ love of nature: a dark, diminutive print for the anteroom, and a larger-scale floral for the spacious bedroom, its blush-pink ground echoing the living room’s palette. “Our concept carries through here, but the colors become calmer in the bedroom,” notes the designer.

A celestial wallpaper lends child-like wonder to the third-floor bedroom earmarked for visiting grandkids. Noguera installed a pair of twin beds and devised a window seat with a trundle underneath to sleep a total of four. Vibrant accent pillows punch up the playful tableau.

Stylish but not standoffish, the completed project reflects the homeowners’ gracious sensibility: “Our lifestyle is laid-back and easy-going,” the wife explains. “It was important for the design to be something family and guests would feel at ease in.”

Interior Design: Barbara Noguera, principal, Barbara Noguera Interiors, Bethesda, Maryland.

RESOURCES

THROUGHOUT
Workroom: gretcheneverett.com.

FOYER
Rug: starkcarpet.com. Table: centuryfurniture.com. Chandelier: dominionelectric.com. Wallpaper: schumacher.com.

STAIR AREA
Rug: starkcarpet.com. Paint: benjaminmoore.com. Wallpaper: schumacher.com. Bench: mrbrownlondon.com. Bench Fabric: manuelcanovas.com. Bench Pillow Fabric: jamesmalonefabrics.com. Sconces: visualcomfort.com. Chest: modernhistoryhome.com.

DINING ROOM
Table: Owner’s collection. Chairs: thibautdesign.com. Chair Fabric: jerrypair.com; osborneandlittle.com. Rug: starkcarpet.com. Wallpaper: iksel.com; schumacher.com. Drapery Fabric: chase-erwin.com. Drapery Trim: samuelandsons.com. Chandelier: antique. Sideboard: bakerfurniture.com. Paint: benjaminmoore.com. Sconces: urbanelectric.com.

MUSIC ROOM
Rug: starkcarpet.com. Paint: benjaminmoore.com. Divan: thayercoggin.com. Divan Fabric: manuelcanovas.com. Armchairs: alfonsomarina.com. Armchair Fabric: janechurchill.com. Pillow Fabrics: S. Harris by fabricut.com; manuelcanovas.com. Chandelier: visualcomfort.com. Drapery Fabric: manuelcanovas.com.

BREAKFAST ROOM
Table: highlandhousefurniture.com. Chairs: vanguardfurniture.com. Chair Fabric: designersguild.com. Chandelier: dominionelectric.com. Paint: benjaminmoore.com.

MUDROOM
Built-In Design: barbaranoguera.com. Built-In Fabrication: asitshouldbecabinetry.com. Paint: benjaminmoore.com. Ceiling Fixture: urbanelectric.com.

MUDROOM POWDER ROOM
Wallpaper: schumacher.com. Mirror: reginaandrew.com. Sink: concrettidesigns.com. Fixture: fergusonhome.com. Paint Trim: benjaminmoore.com. Lighting: visualcomfort.com.

MAIN POWDER ROOM
Wallpaper: osborneandlittle.com. Mirror: julianchichester.com. Sink & Fixtures: fergusonhome.com. Paint: benjaminmoore.com. Lighting: visualcomfort.com.

PRIMARY SUITE
Wallpaper: colefax.com. Nightstands: highlandhousefurniture.com. Table Lamps: visualcomfort.com. Sofa & Chairs: wesleyhall.com. Sofa Fabric: larsenfabrics.com. Chair Fabric: jab.de/us. Rug: starkcarpet.com. Paint: benjaminmoore.com. Bedding: S. Harris by fabricut.com; anngish.com. Ottoman: highlandhousefurniture.com.

KIDS’ ROOM
Wallpaper: schumacher.com. Beds: southandenglish.com. Pillow Fabric: clarencehouse.com. Bedding: anngish.com. Rug: starkcarpet.com. Nightstand: madegoods.com. Lamp: foliechambre.com. Paint: benjaminmoore.com. Trundle Window Bed Built-In Fabrication: asitshouldbecabinetry.com. Window Seat Base Cushion: manuelcanovas.com. Window Seat Pillow Fabrics: clarencehouse.com; designersguild.com; samuelandsons.com. Star Pouf: highlandhousefurniture.com. Sconces: visualcomfort.com. Window Shade: hunterdouglas.com.