Debbie recruited area designer Tres McKinney to execute the renovation. The Reynoldses had known McKinney since her redo of their first house in 1993. The designer suggested a palette and found fabrics, furniture, and accessories that suited Debbie’s tastes. The restoration added coffered ceilings, extensive crown molding, and period-appropriate paneling and wainscoting. Then came the soft, pretty touches. A purple, gold, and robin’s- egg blue palette was chosen for three distinct seating arrangements in the living room. Two sofas from the couple’s previous home were placed in front of the fireplace, which was beefed up with a heftier mantel and a dark-chocolate marble surround.

Guests are greeted with a warm welcome in the Reynolds entry hall. Grass cloth forms the backdrop for an antique chest of drawers and gilt mirror.

The kitchen renovation involved a lot of juggling, with new appliances, reconfigured and painted cabinetry, and a backsplash. Brazilian blue granite countertops caught Debbie’s eye as something that needed to be salvaged. “The old kitchen itself was very plain, but the countertops were stunning and just popped out,” she explains.

Painter Peggy Del Rosario went to work, softening the stark white cabinetry with a Swedish/Gustavian finish. A similar faux finish on the walls gave the space an old-world feeling. McKinney designed a comfortable banquette that seats up to eight people in the eat-in kitchen.

An antique china cabinet from New Orleans stores Debbie and Roger’s dinnerware and was the starting point for the kitchen.