© 2026 TEW Design Studio
Most renovations that lack design leadership have a certain feeling to them. Not bad materials or wrong decisions, but disconnection. A bathroom gets updated here, a fireplace gets refreshed there. Each space gets solved in isolation and the result is a home that feels like a collection of individual projects rather than a place that genuinely feels cohesive and speaks to the people who live in it.
That is what a full-service designer is actually for. Not just picking tile, but holding the whole direction at once so that every decision in every space is a part of the same conversation. And not every family renovates all at once. Most do it in phases over the years, which is exactly why having someone hold the vision from the beginning matters. The decisions you make in phase one should set you up for phase two, not back you into a corner.
At Bannerman Lane in Cary, our clients are a family of four who appreciate color, especially with having an established artist as the matriarch. She has incredible taste, great instincts, and I fell in love with her artwork and her energy instantly. She also lives in a home that had never been given a direction. Two bathrooms and a fireplace later, we’re getting somewhere. Here is how it came together.
Before we came in, the powder bath was doing what a lot of half baths do: playing it safe. Dark vanity, speckled granite, a gold-framed rectangular mirror, builder-grade finishes. Nothing wrong with any of it, but also nothing memorable either.
The after is what happens when a small space stops underwhelming. The tile is the move here: cream stacked tile with scattered color blocks in dusty pink, sage, cobalt, terracotta, and butter yellow. It is graphic and playful and confident. After selecting tile, we are present before installation to design the tile layout and make sure all the colors play together and are evenly spaced. The walnut vanity grounds the space and the organic-shaped mirror softens it.
Powder baths are one of the few rooms in a home where you can go all out. It’s visited by many and for a short period of time. It’s hidden, yet needed. Why not go bold and unexpected here? A half bath that commits to a direction is almost always more successful than one that tries to please everyone. And this one commits all the way.
The full bath was a room making four different arguments at once. Honey maple cabinets, black granite countertops, a vessel sink sitting on top of it all, and beige tile hiding behind a plastic shower liner. Everything was functional. Nothing was talking to each other.
With full-service design, we do not solve that by replacing things one at a time. We identify the direction first, then make every selection serve it. The direction here was the same as the powder bath and the fireplace: warm, modern, artful, with a light blue backdrop that ties the whole house together. The walnut floating vanity carries the warmth, the white quartz countertop keeps it light, and the brass hardware creates a bright pop. The floor tile is where the personality comes in: a bold geometric pattern in blue and white that is unexpected in the best way. Even after tile is selected, we are present on site during construction to approve a final tile layout that is intentional.
The shower is calm and considered in contrast. Large format tile with a subtle texture gives the walls depth without competing with everything else happening in the room. Swapping the shower curtain for a half-glass panel opens the space up and lets the tile do its job. We finished the space with artwork by Anisa Makhoul, an artist I had already loved long before I found out my client did too.
The house came with a traditional white surround, heavy millwork, and a dark green granite hearth. It was fighting everything else the room wanted to be. The midcentury modern furniture, the colorful décor, the energy of this family: none of it was reflected in the focal point of the room.
We minimized the millwork and replaced the surround with a clean Dekton slab. The firebox was updated to a gas insert with glass. A floating mantel replaced the traditional one. The result is a fireplace that has presence without competing for attention.
But the real reason it works is what hangs above it. Our client painted the piece herself: bold red and white anemones, a blue poppy, a yellow center flower, all arranged in a checkered vase on a warm blush ground. It is graphic and joyful and completely hers.
That is the clearest illustration of what full-service design actually does. We did not look at that wall and pick a fireplace surround we liked. We looked at who lives here, what she makes, and what this room needed to become so that her work could finally live in it the way it deserved.
The Bannerman Lane project is a home that finally caught up to its owners. We took three underwhelming spaces and gave them oomph. With our full-service design package, we were able to complete this project step by step: from planning and contractor coordination, to procurement, construction support and troubleshooting, to final styling and artwork curation.
Look around your own home. Does it have a direction? Not a style you pinned once or a color you liked at the time, but a real point of view that runs through every room and reflects who you actually are right now. If it does not, that is not a decorating problem. That is a design intention and leadership problem, and it is exactly what we are here for. If you are ready to give your home a direction, we would love to be the ones to hold it. Reach out to start the conversation.
TEW Design Studio is a full-service interior design firm serving Raleigh, Durham, and surrounding North Carolina communities, specializing in residential, commercial, and hospitality interiors.
Our work blends durability, beauty, and livability because great design should last.
Let’s talk about how we can transform your space to better meet your needs. It all starts with a 15-minute Discovery Call so we can understand your design needs.
Check out our latest blogs to see what’s new at TEW!
In a world of endless consumption, sometimes what you really need is less clutter. Thoughtfully curated, intentional pieces are what make a home feel genuinely yours. In our Dixon Avenue project, that was exactly what we were aiming to achieve. There’s no higher praise in our industry than a returning client, and having worked together […]
For many clients, a “second home” serves a specific purpose. To be closer to their children, our clients bought a home in Durham, NC and now split their time between California and Durham. This project’s goal was all about creating a warm, cozy home for intentional family time. A place where the design does the […]
Some rooms scream, others whisper. The best laundry rooms move in silence. A well-designed laundry room does more than house your washer and dryer. It absorbs the chaos of everyday life so the rest of your home can breathe. And when it doubles as a mudroom, the stakes become even higher. These small, hardworking spaces […]
Want to say something impactful about this paint and it's origin, this is the place to do it - this is an example of what a user would get when they click on the stains from the hub page or the side bar that is on the internal subpages.
close window
