“Open Heart, Open Home”

In our most important relationships, there comes a time when you fall in love and decide to commit. The same may be said about a house. For Kansas City finisher, Suzanne Lynch, she had "love at first site" when she saw the charming brick ranch on a large wooded lot. Sure, it was large for just she and her husband, Thom, but Suzanne is a person guided by her feelings for both her life and business. "It needed a lot of work," she tells me. "But I just knew that we needed this larger home." As things turned out, sometimes the relationship finds you.

Suzanne is very experienced with Faux Effects® products and used several of them throughout her home. I know many finishers struggle with designing their own homes, so I asked her what guided her selections. "I don't worry about what is popular. I like vintage—things that look like they have a history." She felt that the home should be warm, casual, and good place for friends to gather.

“I wasn't a cook but I started with the kitchen because it really is the heart of the home," says Suzanne. For the custom island, she started with a Camel SetCoat® base. The raised panels are finished with Chamois SetCoat® mixed with Fine Line White Crackle®, which is peeled back during the cracking process. The frame surrounds are coated with Neutral White SetCoat® that was sanded back, and then the entire piece was glazed with American Walnut Stain & Seal™. "This island has been the work horse of the kitchen for 10 years." For the walls, she started with Black SetCoat®. "Ok, black may not seem inviting," she laughs, "but it is a great neutral." Over this she troweled on a coat of SandStone™. Black Onyx Venetian Gem® was applied through the Damask Fabric stencil from Royal Design Studio. More SandStone™ was then applied to bury areas of the pattern, and then the finish was over glazed with FauxCreme® Clear tinted with Dark Brown FauxCreme Color™.

Off of the kitchen is a space that Suzanne imagined would be her office area. The cabinets here are done in the Java Cream finish from Surfaces. It begins with Dark Brown SetCoat® mixed with DuraSeal Sanding Sealer™ and pounced on with a plastic bag. A thin coat of Creme Activator™ is used before a coat of Neutral White SetCoat®. "I love that there is always a [Faux Effects®] furniture product that gives me the look I want. In this case a very natural, rubbed back finish. I selected a really durable finish for these cabinets. And good thing I did, because it became the catch all for our boy," Suzanne explains.That boy, would be Donovan, Suzanne's grandson that came to live with them when he was a few years old.

With a suddenly expanding family, it was time to get more rooms finished. Next came the guest bath off the kitchen. Here she troweled on a high/low coat of Tiger's Eye Venetian Gem® with activated Citrus Gold and Toasted Bronze MetalGlow®. After glazing with VanDyke Brown FauxColor™, the finish really pops with two coats of C500™ Gloss. "This room feels old world and modern at the same time," says Suzanne.

It is important to have some adult spaces with a child in the home. For Thom's office, a tissue paper technique was used with Woody Yellow SetCoat®. Suzanne then applied an activated finish using Antique Mahogany and VanDyke Brown FauxColor™.The walls were then glazed with Dark Brown FauxCreme® mixture and sealed with C500™ Gloss. For his computer station, she refurbished an old piece using the Kashmiri Blue finish from Surfaces' Advanced Furniture Class. The piece uses customized FauxCreme Color Concentrate™ rubbed back over stippled Metallic Gold Palette Deco™.

A rescued Australian Shepard named Lola joined the family a few years later, and the next project was a Master Suite remodel. But life took another turn and the Master Suite project was put on hold. Suzanne's father-in-law was diagnosed with Alzheimer's, and once again, the family found room for one more. "I know that a faux finish is not a priority when a loved one has a terrible disease, but we wanted Jim to have a nice personal space," Suzanne explains. The walls are covered with silver foil and a cracked Sea Spray StucoLux™ finish, then sealed with custom-tinted StucoLux™ Seal. The vanity cabinet was treated to the Mirrored Gold finish from Surfaces' Furniture Traditions Class. Donovan had the special experience of sharing space with his PaPa Jim, but Suzanne wanted him to also have a room he was proud to call his own. "I mixed up lots of SetCoat® colors in custom shades and rolled it on the walls for a bold Chevron pattern."

After getting Donovan, Jim, and another rescue dog, golden retriever Lizzie, settled in, it was time for Suzanne to get her oasis. "We had been without a working Master Bath for a while, and I had several people in the design/construction business that I barter with who were ready to work." The result is a soft and soothing, much appreciated retreat. The cabinet finish is Neutral White SetCoat® with Van Dyke Brown FauxCreme Color™ detailing and a Metallic Pearl Stain & Seal™ glaze. The walls are done with silver foil, then RsPlaster® tinted to a pale sage and pale grey blue, then glazed with Dark Brown FauxCreme Color™. Silver SuperHide Metallic™ was used through the stencil pattern. Another fantastic finish was used from one of Surfaces’ furniture classes—this time on the built-in; it’s Nantucket Blue & Cream from the Cottage Class.

"Was this what I had in mind when we bought the fixer-upper a few years ago?" Suzanne laughs, "No, but you go with the things life brings you. And you learn to appreciate the family and friends that come into your house." And like most relationships that matter, this home has a welcoming heart at its center.

DECORATIVE ART BY: SUZANNE LYNCH

PHOTOGRAPHY PROVIDED BY: REBECCA SLATON

WRITTEN BY: REBECCA SLATON

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