When Dunia Joseph moved into her new home, she wanted to create a space reflective of her personal aesthetic mixed with eye-catching design elements. Elegant and classic in its style, this home, located in Bridgemore Estates, is her dream come true.
By Lennie Omalza | Photos by Kylene White
After Dunia Joseph attended Homearama in 2016, she knew exactly whom she was going to call to design her house. “Having a Homearama-style home was always a goal,” she says, “[and] when I met Tammy [Randall, lead interior designer and partner at LL&A Interior Design], at Homearama, I walked into one of their homes … and I was just struck by how beautiful it was. It was very similar to my taste.”
The traditional-style home boasted a soft color palette and Mediterranean vibes — and Dunia was in love. “We started working together [that year], and she helped style several rooms in my home,” she says. “During that time, I met Sarah [Wooten, interior designer at LL&A Interior Design], and she started to work with me even more — we had very similar styles.”
Custom pillows and chandelier lighting elevate the look.
Dunia and Sarah were right in the middle of a renovation project when Dunia gave the interior designer a ring. “She called me up,” Sarah says, “and she was like, you’re going to kill me — but we’re moving. We bought [another] home.”
Not one to shy away from a challenge, Sarah quickly began considering how she would take everything she’d done in Dunia’s current abode and incorporate the look and feel into the new, five-bedroom, four-and-a-half bath house. Over the next year and a half, Sarah and the LL&A Interior Design team finished a complete renovation of the transitional-style home.
One of the big requests from Dunia and her husband was to have a space conducive for entertaining. “They have a huge family, and they entertain all the time,” Sarah explains. She accommodated this request with a custom-made, built-in banquette area on the lower level that features a full kitchen as well as a bar. “[It’s] a really cool bar area,” Sarah says. “It’s a horseshoe bar with quartz countertops [with] seating on the inside; [and] we [designed] a custom table.”
Custom cushions, pillows, and new accent lighting help bring the space together. “We [also] did some bistro tables and some accent chairs,” Sarah says, “and there’s a fixture that’s rope and metal. … It looks like the silhouette of a woman … [It] has a masculine vibe, but we added little pieces of Dunia, too, so they were both really thrilled with the end result.”
Dunia Joseph’s personal aesthetic for her home is a nice balance between traditional and glam.
The home also boasts new flooring, new wallpaper, new light fixtures, freshly painted cabinets, and finished faux stone walls, among other elements. Most importantly, the furniture, accessories, and other décor were carefully curated to reflect Dunia’s personal aesthetic. “She has a very specific style,” Sarah says, adding that Dunia’s goal is to have people walk into her home and experience a “wow” factor. “It’s a little bit of bling [and] she loves warmth. She really is kind of transitional, but she [leans toward] traditional meets glam.”
Sarah Wooten, Interior designer at LL&A Interior Design, used a warmer white paint color for the walls, layered in texture and taupe-like colors.
Sarah achieved Dunia’s look by painting the walls a warmer white and layering in texture as well as warmer, taupe-like colors. A taupe, antelope runner adds a pop to the staircase, while crystal chandeliers in the foyer, great room, and dining room bring the bling.
Sarah adds that the custom window treatments — which were created specifically for each room — truly pull everything together and are one of the best investments to make when designing a home. “Every room has custom window treatments,” she says. “To me, that’s the jewelry. That’s what makes the space. Everything was custom and tailored to what [Dunia’s] needs were, whether it was sunlight control or purely decorative.”
Dunia adores the window treatments as well, but her favorite aspect of the renovation is something else. “It sounds corny, but [it’s] my friendship with Tammy and Sarah,” she says. “I just love both of them. … The basement is phenomenal, … I love my powder room [and] I just love how everything blends … [but] I can’t say enough good things about [Tammy and Sarah]. I love working with them.”
