We’re taking a walk through interior designer Brenda Friday’s garden-influenced home renovation in Sewickley.
Exploring Garden Influences in Brenda Friday’s Designs
“I pride myself on not having one particular aesthetic. The home dictates, the clients dictate, their lifestyles dictate. Are they more formal? Relaxed? How do they live day-to-day? How do they entertain?”
This is the philosophy of Brenda Friday, founder of Pittsburgh-based Brenda Friday Design—and it guided her while turning a home owned by a retired couple in Sewickley into a poster child for four-season living.
Friday moved to Pittsburgh from Alberta, Canada, after meeting her husband, and learned design by trial-and-error. “I think a lot of color combinations, knowing what textures belong together… that’s almost intuitive,” she says. “That can’t really be taught. To be able to see a room as it should be… that’s an innate skill.”
Taking Inspiration from the Garden
After designing many of her own homes, a friend asked Friday, and then a friend of a friend. This was the start of her design career. Today, Friday has three employees and runs a shop in Pittsburgh’s Lawrenceville neighborhood.
In order to design effectively, Friday’s projects generally start by getting to know a client. At the house in Sewickley, Friday knew the husband was an avid gardener. With this in mind, she chose pieces that matched the color palette of the spectacular gardens surrounding the home.
“There were a lot of colors taken from nature,” she says. “The greens, the browns, but then we brought in small touches of red and pink and orange — colors you’d see from their gardens.”
And not only from their gardens, but the gardens in a painting by Chicago-based artist Ann Latinovich, which hangs over the one-of-a-kind custom console in the home’s dining area crafted by husband-and-wife team Dunes & Duchess.
Perfecting a Home for the Grandchildren, Too
Friday also knew her clients had grandchildren—with more on the way—and so they needed high-quality pieces, colors, and textures that could “withstand sticky fingers and still look good after the family left,” she says. This includes the Holland & Sherry swivel chairs in the living room as well as the custom 36” table designed by Miles Redd for the Lacquer Company that sits in the home’s entry.
One of a Kind Details
Another quality that sets Friday apart as a designer is her focus on the custom and bespoke. Many of the things she sources aren’t only unique to her clients, but unique, period—perhaps only one of one that exists in the world.
For instance, for the entry, Friday found a mirror hand-carved from a single piece of wood by a wood-carving guild in Soane, England; it’s made by the same company that crafted a birdcage light for the stairway. The living room features a Verellen coffee table, and sofas and custom walnut cabinets lined with Pierre Frey fabric. The outdoor area showcases Janus et Cie sofas, chairs, dining chairs and a dining table, and a custom bench.
“I don’t like to use the same pieces in projects,” Friday says. “I want homeowners to have pieces that are unique and special to them.” Working with a lighting architect on new recessed lighting, Friday was able to showcase each of the unique pieces in the Sewickley house. “Every piece in the home is highlighted,” Friday says. “Every layer of light has a purpose.”
The result is a house as beautiful and curated as a British garden. Just as all the plants in the home’s gardens are intentional, Friday sources contents thoughtfully, focusing on carefully chosen, heirloom-quality pieces.
The entrance and family room are, Friday shares, just the first phase. “We’re now moving into different areas of the home, and soon we’ll be doing their kitchen, laundry, bathroom, and bedroom.”
Story by Kenny Gould
Interior Design by Brenda Friday Design
Photography by Joey Kennedy
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