Step inside CoCreations co-owner Ana Tavares’ Chapel Hill home, where patterned wallpaper, vibrant color and global influences create an eclectic retreat
By Anna-Rhesa Versola | Photography by John Michael Simpson
A coffered front door opens in direct view of enormous wallpapered pink and red blossoms on a black accent wall. A black-and-white geometric tufted rug lies beneath an evergreen suede couch and a pink velvet chair. A large television is mounted above a mid-century modern console opposite a bank of windows.
“Years ago, I saw [the idea] in a magazine – these big blooms,” Ana Tavares recalls. “I think because of where the house is positioned, and it’s around such beautiful nature and these mature trees, I think it lends itself to have these beautiful blooms, pulling nature in.”
Ana, who moved from New Jersey to North Carolina in 2012, initially intended the room in her Chapel Hill house as her own haven for quiet moments, where she could watch TV, read a book or chat with friends over a cup of coffee or a glass of wine. “It was supposed to be my pretty room, but somehow everyone gravitates to this room,” she says.
As an interior designer and co-owner at CoCreations Construction and Design – a design-build company focusing on custom new homes, additions, accessory dwelling units and large-scale renovations – Ana has honed her keen sense of style for years. Now, in her own house, she has the opportunity to make even bigger statements.
Stepping into the open-plan kitchen, the light-filled space features an expansive quartz countertop with bright pink and brass pendant lights, a monochromatic backsplash and wood slab cabinets. Just beyond the countertop, the dining table sits beneath a massive pendant light of cascading rings. A breakfast nook displays a collection of framed art pieces above an upholstered banquette and a sleek round table by a corner window.
“My vision for this is to be eclectic, where you have really kooky wall art,” Ana says. “Again, it’s a reflection of my brain. I’ve been curating it slowly, but I envisioned a wall full of different art pieces.”
The laundry room doubles as a mudroom and is accessible from the breezeway between the garage and the house. The mid-century modern pattern in the marble tile floor picks up warm tones from the dark wood trim and provides a contrast to the dramatic wallpaper featuring burnt sienna palm leaves.
“Let me start by saying I have a very particular taste,” Ana says. “I used to paint a little bit, so I’m a very artistic person. To me, this is what brings me joy. It’s not for everyone. I have seen how people design their homes. I am flexible and can do a lot of genres – classic, modern and a lot of different tastes. This is a reflection of what I like – a lot of color, vivaciousness. I like things bold. It feeds my energy.”
Off the entrance hall, the half-bath features another dramatic wallpaper of snarling black-and-white jaguars amid jungle-green monstera leaves. The achromatic quartz sink sits below an asymmetric mirror mounted against glossy emerald green Moroccan-style ceramic tiles.
“I love wallpaper,” Ana admits. “I think it’s such a fun way to bring forward something really visually interesting. I’ve done a lot of wallpaper throughout the whole house.”
In the living room, she added a half-wall topped with angled wood slats to separate the space from the wide foyer. A plush blue sofa with pastel faux fur pillows anchors the space. Textured pillows with Picasso-style faces add a dose of drama to a pair of butter yellow leather swivel chairs and matching ottomans.
Entering the primary suite means passing through a sitting-room-turned-office that sweeps into a bedroom with a gray textured carpet and a lofty ceiling. The opposite wall, covered in black wallpaper featuring weeping willows, softens the light streaming through the bank of windows.
Inside the en suite bathroom, luxurious wallpaper sets the mood with white cranes stepping through chrysanthemums, trumpet flowers and willows. Ana, who was born in Portugal and moved to New Jersey at age 10, says the scene taps into the romantic glamour she encountered while traveling in Europe and Asia.
“I wanted to capture some of the Asian influences throughout the house,” Ana says about the nature scene featuring white cranes, something she paired with pink tiles in the shower. As for the wallpaper, Ana shrugs: “If we get tired of it, we can take it down and paint over it, but we like it. We wake up, and we kind of feel like we’re in a spa.”
