Begin Again
By Lisa Arnett
December 2025 View more Home
When downsizing, this couple shifted from traditional to modern
From midlife career switches to romances found later in life, there’s plenty of real-world proof that it’s never too late to change directions. The same goes for the style of your home. Interior designer Shannon Peppeard of Peppeard Design in St. Charles recently reconnected with former clients she’d worked with on two previous homes. “They had just moved from their home in Elgin that had a lot of land and wanted to come in closer into a city proper, so they built this home in Geneva and they had me work with them on all the furniture and pulling things together,” Peppeard says. “They wanted to have this project be completely opposite of their previous homes, which were more traditional, and instead go for more of a modern vibe.” The homeowners served as general contractors for their own new build and called in help from their now-retired friends, the former owners of Steffen Design Consulting in Winter Park, Colorado, to advise on their plans. All furniture and accessories are from Peppeard’s own collection, The Pep Line. “We were able to choose some new modern items that actually melded well with some of the traditional items they had from their previous home,” Peppeard says. “I love to have a layered look, so when you mix genres of design, the result is that your rooms are more timeless, and they never date.” She was focused on creating an approachable and fun gathering place for the homeowners’ extended family. “They have older kids that are all raising their own families now, and even though they were downsizing, they wanted to still be that house that everyone comes to,” she says.
1. (above) An extra-long island with a sink, prep space, and counter stools is the centerpiece of the kitchen. A combination of open shelving, glass-front doors, and closed cabinetry provides plenty of storage. To the right of the island, cabinetry panels disguise the fridge and freezer, and large doors that appear to cover a reach-in pantry are actually a hidden entrance to a walk-in pantry that extends behind the kitchen wall.
2. While the blue rugs that flank the long sides of the island are new machine-washable runners, the red-hued carpet on the short side of the island has a different story.
3. “It’s a handmade vintage Turkish rug that I found on one of my buying trips and personally selected for their last house,” says designer Shannon Peppeard. “It doesn’t have machine-made straight lines, and that’s what I love about it. You can feel that a person made that rug, and it’s cool in an imperfectly perfect kind of way.”
4. The kitchen includes a bar space, complete with a beverage fridge and glass-front upper cabinets for displaying bottles and glassware.
5. “This lighting fixture embodies the vibe that the homeowner wanted for this new home,” Peppeard says. “She purchased it on her own, and when she showed it to me I said, ‘Oh my gosh, this is so different than your style, but it gives me a clear direction of what you’re looking for here.’ ” Peppeard had selected the table and chairs for the homeowners’ previous home and positioned them against a backdrop of modern black-and-white artwork.
6. “In every chair [in the living room], the homeowners wanted to be able to put their feet up,” Peppeard says. “But with it being a bigger space, you need a really big coffee table to make that happen. A little trick of mine is I’ll buy two coffee tables and put them together.” That’s exactly what she did here. Artwork with shades of turquoise and terra cotta set the tone for coordinating throw pillows and other small accessories in the room, such as planters and bowls.
7. The same terra cotta shade from the living room makes an appearance in the home’s entryway with these velvet chairs. Peppeard curated a gallery wall from black-and-white prints carried at her shop and chose pillows with a similarly bold pattern.
8. A pair of wicker chairs and cushy ottomans provide a cozy couples’ perch on the home’s covered porch. “There is a lot of foot traffic nearby so this is a spot where the homeowners can sit outside and see what’s happening in the neighborhood,” Peppeard says.
9. After the homeowners moved in, they asked Peppeard to return and finish their sunroom. She chose a bold plaid-inspired black-and-white tile for the floor that served as the jumping-off point for decorating the entire space.
10. Throw pillows in shades of tan, black, cream, and white complement the graphic feel of the floor. “I want things to look like they have been layered over time, patterns that work together but don’t match perfectly,” she says. Though the tile floor is heated, the homeowners still wanted an area rug for a soft feel on their feet. “We chose a very neutral rug that didn’t have a pattern to it so it doesn’t compete with the graphic-ness of the tile, but it does add some texture,” Peppeard says.
11. In addition to the cushy sofa and chairs, the sunroom also features a small dining table. “They wanted a place they can have their coffee with the windows open,” Peppeard says. “This is a really cool metal table that’s indestructible and has a nice feel for an outside space.”
Photos: Margaret Rajic
