Inside the Designer’s House
A pro’s home makeover juxtaposes textures and influences
By Michelle Boudin | Photos by Raymond J Photography
When Heidi Maria Williams and her husband Brian relocated from California to South Charlotte in 2007, they focused on searching for just the right house. “We were downsizing and wanted something that felt cozier. Something that felt like the right size for just the two of us, and we wanted to be able to entertain and use every room,” Williams says.
Moving from the California desert to the lush Carolinas, Williams says they were also looking for a house with good bones and a great tree canopy. They found all that in the Wyndham neighborhood.
“We’re in an old neighborhood, one of the few old neighborhoods in Ballantyne, and that’s what really brought us to this house. There are still huge trees. It feels wooded and private and quiet, but we are also still right here in Ballantyne. I love that it feels very integrated with nature, and because we have so many windows, we see that.”
Every room in the Wyndham house has been redone since they moved in.
“I was going to lose my mind in that kitchen. There was a facelift version initially, and then we gutted [it], really our whole first floor, in January 2020. I had been planning that kitchen in my head for a long time.”
The new kitchen features a backsplash that is a white Moroccan Zellige handmade tile that is perfectly spaced and goes all the way up to the ceiling. The countertops are honed marble that Williams admits most people shy away from because it can scratch. “It’s amazing, and all you have to do is take some sandpaper to it, and it’s perfect again.”
The real showpiece in the kitchen is the coffee bar. “It’s an old cabinet that I found out in the country at a junk place. It’s super fun with black marble on top of it, and I had the drawers redone. What’s really cool about the cabinet is the color. Some people think it’s white, but it’s not quite white. It’s Farrow and Ball ‘Dimpse,’ which is the color of English twilight. It is white with a little bit of gray or gray with a little bit of white. It is both, and I love that.”