Written By Anne Marie Ashley

When interior designer Steven Rasnick and his partner moved to Charlotte from San Francisco, he suspected they’d end up in a modern Uptown apartment in the heart of the city.

What they discovered, as many do when they move to the South, is that the charm some of Charlotte’s neighborhoods provide can be irresistible. Finding minimalist style in an old charming area however, can present a challenge.

Thankfully, the couple found the perfect Georgian style home in Myers Park that just begged for Rasnick’s creative eye and the result is nothing short of an impeccable use of minimalist style. We just had to explore this house, and this designer, further.

UH: You come from progressive San Francisco – what drew you to this traditional home and neighborhood in Charlotte?
Homeowners: Originally, we thought about a center city apartment close to work, but nothing was meeting our needs in a home. We fell in love with Myers Park – great location, enchanting streets, beautifully maintained yards and homes, and its magnificent tree canopy. We wanted an older home with character that we could renovate.

UH: Tell us about your San Francisco (SF) residence and how it influenced the design of your home in Charlotte.
Homeowners: Our home in SF was a large urban industrial loft with 20-foot ceilings. We loved our wide-open floor plan and wanted to create that same sense of openness in our Charlotte home.

UH: What did the house look like when you found it?
Homeowners: The house was really lovely; great curb appeal with perfect proportions typical of 1920s Georgian architecture. It was simple, symmetrical and unadorned with all brick construction, a screened porch and the original detached two-car garage. Interiors were period appropriate with intimate rooms, great moldings and
panel detail.

UH: Tells us about the renovation process.
Homeowners: We knew we wanted to open up the downstairs and fortunately there were no structural barriers to prevent that. We widened and heightened all existing doorways to give a more soaring quality to all the rooms. We converted the side porch to a sunroom, took out a full bath off the family room and added a wall of French doors that opened onto a new colonnaded back porch. We added a mudroom off of the new kitchen and created a powder room under the staircase by combining a closet with the back of the butler’s pantry. We also added a second master suite.

UH: How long did the remodel take place?
Homeowners: It took just over a year to complete and we couldn’t live in it for the first 10 months. We replaced all the wood floors on the first floor, built interior closet systems and reconfigured the center hall staircase. We balanced and re-hung all the old doors and replaced all the brass hardware.

UH: How do you create minimalist style without the house looking cold?
Homeowners: Most of our furniture and lighting is contemporary and the minimal styling of it is a perfect counterweight to the more substantial period details of the house – tall baseboards, crown moldings, panel doors and ornate staircase accents. Warmth is added with rich stained floors, vibrant art and textured rugs.

UH: How have you used art to decorate?
Homeowners: All the art is original. For us, art is a preeminent consideration when looking for a new home. I think art is what anchors your home – no matter where you move to – it remains the one true constant. It makes your house comfortable in the most important way.

Homeowners:Tell us about the master bath.
UH: We designed the new master suite at the top of the stairs around a double-sided gas fireplace. The fireplace was built in Canada and is distinguished by a 36-inch narrow ribbon of fire. I wanted to enjoy the fire both from the bathroom and the bedroom, so I designed a deep, Japanese soaking tub with a wide deck and angled back for comfort that faces the fireplace cabinet. I also designed the bedroomside maple fireplace cabinet.

UH: What are your favorite local design resources?
Homeowners: My local go-to stores are places like Mrs. Howard, Luxe, BD Jeffries, Metro, Design Within Reach, Stark Carpet, Cotswold Marketplace and the DOMA Gallery.

Resources
www.bdjeffries.com
www.cotswoldmarketplace.com
www.dwr.com
www.luxehomecouture.com
www.mrshowardpersonalshopper.com
www.starkcarpet.com
Steven Rasnick Interior Design

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