In a true labor of love—specifically, over nine years—interior designer Shanon Munn renovated her open-floor plan McLean home top-to-bottom, and everywhere in between. Nestled among ubiquitous colonials, her modern farmhouse was inspired by her and her husband’s Nebraskan roots.
She tailor-made her home to feature good flow with hardwood floors, wide, open spaces and a little bit of adventure. Munn loves the element of surprise as the house reveals itself in layers, rather than all at once.
“I’ve always been enamored with farmhouses,” says Munn. “It’s the simplicity and the zen-ness of just three angled lines and straight walls.” She wanted her home to reflect that inspiration, and that’s pretty much what she told her architect.
Her favorite space is her light-filled living room—with its pitched ceiling that soars upwards of 17 feet. An oversize picture window lets in loads of light. A rug she designed for a show house pulls the room together, its graphic pattern providing a touch of whimsy. A pair of charcoal gray chairs serve as a welcoming nook opposite the anchoring dark gray sleeper sofa. Throw pillows in fuchsia—Munn’s favorite color—add personality. Twin fuzzy stools are parked playfully at the coffee table; “My kids love them,” says Munn. But the eye is immediately drawn to the focal point, and her favorite element in the room: a dramatic gas fireplace—below it, a long, starry quartz-wrapped bench that appears to float.
Design Philosophy
Don’t obsess that every piece has to be perfect. “You don’t want it to be stressful. You want to enjoy the process,” Munn says. “Sometimes things that you love, love, love don’t always go together.” Of her home: “I love most of the things but not everything. And the things that I don’t love, they help to pull it together.”
Toughest Hurdle
Quite literally raising the roof. Prior to the renovation, the ceiling in the living room was flat and uninteresting. “We added the pitched ceiling, which I think helps to give the room a lot more character,” she says. But the process was tricky: “I had to play around with opening the way that the ceilings connected to make it work. That was probably the biggest challenge.”
Favorite Part of the Room
The sculptural, suspended fireplace—and the fact that this is where her family gathers. “It’s where everyone hangs out,” she says. From the kitchen, Munn keeps a close eye on the kids as she makes dinner. They’ll sit on the stools at the coffee table and color or read; it’s more of a quiet room. “But it has to have that balance,” she says. “I didn’t want it to be a family room, necessarily. I wanted it to be dressy enough that I could use it as a living room. It’s very multipurpose.” The same goes for the rest of the house.
