Photography by Laurey Glenn
Timing is everything. That’s particularly key to understanding the vibrant atmosphere behind the aqua front doors of Laura and Carson Penkava’s house in Crestline. After seeing decorator Zoë Gowen’s own cottage published in Birmingham Home & Garden, the couple gave her a call in March of 2021. “It was a really drab time for everyone,” says Zoë. The pandemic felt endless, and Laura was itching to get away somewhere warm and sunny. “I could not do neutral grays anymore,” says Laura. Plus, the soon-to-be family of five was bursting at the seams in their Homewood cottage. It was more than time for a change. When the couple found their new home, a recently done design-build by Davis Construction in the flats of Crestline, they decided to bring in the sunshine. “I couldn’t get to Palm Beach, so Zoë brought it to me,” Laura says.
“The Penkavas closed on the house in April, and July was our deadline to have the house shipshape for baby Wilson’s arrival,” recalls Zoë. All of the bones were in place: the finishes, the cabinetry, the layout. The only thing it lacked was personalization.
“This is the perfect home for our phase of life. The open floorplan flows exactly right. There’s a huge kitchen island and an equally huge back porch. There’s always someone for my kids to play with, and this house understands Crestline’s open-door policy.”
— Laura Penkava
Furniture lead times were gridlocked by the pandemic, so the Penkavas and Zoë elected to get as creative as possible to expedite the decorating. “We prioritized what was worth the wait and what we could work around,” says Zoë. There was no avoiding a new set of comfortable living room seating. An order for all-white sofas and chairs went in immediately. “Carson didn’t believe me that stain-proof fabric really works,” says Zoë. “He asked to borrow my swatches and performed ‘stain experiments’ on them. They really have held up.” Carson affirms the fact three years later.
The rest of the decorating plan unraveled around two judiciously chosen Meg Braff Designs wallpapers for the foyer and dining room. Bold paint choices in adjoining rooms accent both wallcoverings. The decorator also upscaled the lighting throughout the house to complement the youthful new look.
Next, the Penkavas invested in a mix of rugs to ground different rooms with some splurges from Paige Albright Orientals, chic natural weaves from Rush House, and saturated runners from English Village Lane. “Laura and Carson have a great eye and appreciation for rugs,” Zoë says. “It was really fun to help them piece together a varied collection.”
After that, the rest of the plan fell into place with antiques, family pieces, original art such as the photograph of the zebra in the dining room (an image captured on the couple’s honeymoon in Africa), and a smattering of cool vintage finds, Zoë also sprinkled in a few just-do-it, wild ideas such as the $99 dining room light fixture from ChineseLanterns.com. “I decided that you only live once, so why not try it?” says Laura. “While we may have been a bit dubious at first, we ended up loving everything.”
