At Home with...Kerri Kenney-Silver

The fact that the porch opens up to two acres of open land adds to the overall feeling of relaxation. Kenney-Silver calls the yard a “tropical paradise,” filled with numerous palm trees all personally planted by her husband. Bedroom before. Photo Courtesy: Kerri Kenney-Silver. “It’s absolutely gorgeous, and I can take no credit for it,” Kenney-Silver says. “He is amazing at it, and people come to our house and look in the backyard and say, ‘Holy cow.’ It’s a very special place.” Sassaman’s crew completely gutted the inside of Kenney-Silver’s house. Instead of three small bedrooms, there is now the one large master bathroom and a child’s bedroom. The master bath was still too small to fit a tub comfortably, so Sassaman designed a large glass-enclosed shower. “We tiled the room with ancient Jerusalem stone and then used limestone on the countertop,” Sassaman says. “We used really earthy materials to achieve that Balinese feel.” To bring nature into the house, Sassaman incorporated a mix of natural woods throughout the rest of the home. African mahogany, walnut and cherry used in flooring and furniture again emphasizes the Balinese feel. “The real challenge was to keep the design clean and create airiness without making the space feel cold,” Kenney-Silver says. “My husband and I cannot stand the things that are so modern that it looks uncomfortable.” One of Sassaman’s favorite design touches—and one she says would be easy for a do-it-yourselfer to incorporate into his or her home renovation—is the nooks Bedroom after. Photo credit: Michael McCreary. she created along the hallway wall. She framed out space between the wall’s two-by-fours and, since the project was down to studs, easily added a recessed light. These accent spots are ideal for elegantly displaying art, photographs or other conversation pieces. You can design these nooks to whatever size best fits your décor, Sassaman says. Kenney-Silver worked very closely with Sassaman to pick all the materials and furnishings. She had final say on everything, right down to the jade doorknobs in the walk-in closet. But she never touched a paintbrush or wielded a sledgehammer. She left the heavy-lifting to Sassaman’s crew, which completed the entire job in six months. “The only physical the work we did was trying to keep my 3-year-old away from the circular saw,” Kenney-Silver says with a laugh. In this renovation project, Kenney-Silver’s goal was creating a floor plan and design that would stand the test of time. The Silvers have no intention of moving from their tropical hideaway. They were married in the backyard, after all, and call this their “forever house.” “Oh yeah, my son will be kicking us out, no doubt,” Kenney-Silver says. “I’m sure he’ll never want to leave.”

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