Even a spec home can have a custom look, says Bill Kimberley of Kimberley Development. “We had a home that was about two-thirds completed when Myra Lynn and Craig Hansen purchased it. She is an interior designer, and she tweaked it to give some custom looks throughout the home. It ended up having such a dramatic and individual look.”
The Hansens know building details. Myra Lynn owns MLH Designs, a design firm with offices in Des Moines and Scottsdale, Arizona, and Craig owns Hansen Company, Inc., a commercial builder.
“It has been an absolute joy to work with them because they both know the building trade so well. Their home’s plan is our most popular one. We even call it the Kimberley Plan, and we offer six versions of it. But the Hansens understand the business so well that it was pure pleasure to customize their home,” Kimberley says.
“I pretty much gutted the kitchen that was already started,” Myra Lynn explains. “Plus, I took out a standard closet near the front entry to create a built-in and opened up the wall between the office/library and the great-room. In addition, we were able to add lots of faux finishes, such as Venetian plaster, to various spots.” In the dining room she added brick to the tray ceiling and brick to one wall for interest and texture, new details for Kimberley to use.
In the kitchen she focused the rich look around an heirloom Italian chandelier and chose mixed countertops and an oversize island. The kitchen eating area and nearby dining room both showcase large tables. “Between us, we have 10 adult children and eight grandkids, so we need lots of room when they visit,” she says. The kitchen flooring is Italian travertine marble in a Versailles pattern that is chiseled and hammered for an old-world look.
Myra Lynn’s signature layered look in rich and dark tones takes on practical concerns, too. “With lots of little fingers, we won’t be having white carpet,” she says with a smile.
The open living room, dining area, and kitchen work well for family gatherings.
Plus, just off the living room through sliding doors is the veranda room, a sunroom where she and Craig eat every night. It opens onto an expanded deck, which works well for the traffic flow of crowds. “That space is so versatile,” Kimberley explains. “We have made it a deck, a screened porch, or a three- or four-season room. It’s a great area to expand the home’s usable space.”
The veranda room and deck create a covered patio below, where an outdoor kitchen, dining area, and seating spot look out over a fire pit area with Adirondack chairs and a natural wooded conservation area. An iron fence keeps out visiting deer.
The master bedroom on the main floor creates an opulent look with its tray ceiling, poster bed, and a bevy of pillows in elegant bronze, gold, silver, and copper in textured velvet and shimmery fabrics, with beaded embellishment on some. In the master bath Myra Lynn made another custom change. “I don’t use a bathtub, so instead I created a makeup table in that space, complete with a small makeup sink.” The floor, shower, and countertops are marble.
In working with clients, the designer has one philosophy: “Clients dictate what they want. They have to live there, not me.” She enjoys using a mix of fabrics on upholstered pieces. A large sofa, for example, might have leather, wood, and a couple fabrics on it. She spends hours choosing fabrics.
“If it works out, I really like to work from the ground up with clients,” she explains. “If I can work from the beginning with the architect and the builder, that’s great. I plan the furniture at the same time. It’s a three-phase plan. First I work on the basic plan with the builder, planning even where electrical outlets work best. Second, in the colorizing phase, I work with choosing tile, granite, plumbing fixtures, and even the roof color. Third, in the furnishings phase, we choose what will be best for the look the homeowners want.”
Myra Lynn works for clients in Arizona, California, Las Vegas, and around the Midwest. Another factor she enjoys is mixing woods for a mellow, classy look.
She says she learned her building expertise from her father, who was superintendent for most of his life for a large home builder. She also is familiar with walking framed projects with the electrical contractor for proper placement of outlets and lights.
“When it is done at that stage of construction, you don’t have a lot of callbacks for the electrician,” she says.
From a design perspective, she doesn’t necessarily follow trends. “I go with the nature and the environment of the homeowners. I have them fill out a four-page questionnaire with such items as do they like texture in stone and wood or not, do they have pets, and do they like to eat in the kitchen. All those factors play into the total design.”
Her Own Home
Myra Lynn has fun in her own home’s design. She uses animal print details throughout the home and enjoys playing with colors and textures. On the walkout level, for example, she uses a mix of carpet and brick in the family room, which contains a pool table, game table, fireplace, jukebox, and kitchenette for serving snacks. A large curved sectional features leather, wood, and fabric (wheat, brown, rust, and taupe pattern) components. The floor uses old reddish bricks laid in brown mortar.
Also downstairs are three rooms that are perfect for grandchildren’s overnight visits. One has bunk beds, and another with a wall-size animal kingdom mural is a great playroom. The third one is the “Barbie room,” where Myra Lynn displays part of her 200—count ’em—vintage and current Barbie dolls. She had fun in there with a colorful comforter and window valance. She mixed an animal print, a zebra print, and bold fuchsia and lime fabrics. “My seamstresses thought I was crazy,” she says, “but they had to admit it is pure fun.”
Builder Kimberley, who celebrates 35 years in business this year, says, “This whole project totally shows how you can customize a spec home. It works beautifully."
