Written By Megin Potter
Photos Courtesy of Old Brick Furniture & Mattress Company
[From the 2025 Fall Magazine]
Design by Old Brick Furniture & Mattress Company
The difference a designer makes can be seen the moment you step into a home’s foyer and your eyes are drawn up to a ceiling infused with subtle drama.
The stepped entryway ceiling within a 3-bed/2.5-bath open concept ranch, built by Belmonte Builders, as this year’s Saratoga Showcase of Homes entry, is just one of the many features that the design experts at Old Brick Furniture & Mattress Company have designed to elevate your experience in this comfortably spacious home.
While the contractor’s gorgeous coffered ceilings add an extra layer of expansiveness, the designer’s earthy palette of warm, natural colors is grounded and inviting. A revival of brown in the design landscape, highlighted by pops of rusty reds, tranquil, subdued greens, and the mystery of aubergine, is accentuated by details, including glassware and candles, that add historical depth to this contemporary space.
Lived-In Layering
Old Brick's expert designers narrow down the enormous array of options available to create a cohesive design concept that fits your personal style and budget.
“Great design doesn’t have to be unattainable,” said Kaitlynn Johnson, their award-winning Lead Interior Designer and Director of Interior Design Services.
Since 2012, Kaitlynn has been styling homes for the Saratoga Showcase of Homes. In this year’s home, a welcoming blend of soft leathers and touches of velvet (today’s to-go texture!) come together for a clean, simple look that feels luxuriously lived-in.
Accentuating the Positive
By painting a dining room wall clad in diamond-paneled millwork, Kaitlynn creates a focal point that stands the test of time.
“Wallpaper can very easily go out of style. Paint is a much easier (and cheaper!) ingredient that allows the architecture to stand on its own,” said Kaitlynn.
In the kitchen, a large island with an unobtrusive quartz countertop and comfy seating is the center of the action. Nearby, a rounded table encircled by swivel chairs allows conversations to easily continue after the dining is done. This well-thought-out design flows seamlessly onto the screened porch and extends to an outdoor patio and fire pit that makes you want to linger longer while surrounded by woodland views that seem to whisk your worries away.
Up-to-the-Minute Upstate Style
For the past five years, Kaitlynn has seen a generational shift flood the market with first-time home buyers who have a savvy eye tuned to the pulse of TikTok and Instagram, she said. That’s why you’ll see a little bit of brushed brass (a metal that’s experiencing a recent resurgence in popularity) and trending molding treatments in this design.
It’s important, however, to balance what you see online with how we naturally live in Upstate New York, cautions Kaitlynn. What works in other places doesn’t work here.
“It’s all about making sure it’s livable for where you live,” she said.
With the help of the team at Old Brick Furniture’s Design Studio, an effortlessly stylish cream-colored couch, constructed from innovative performance fabrics, is transformed into an endlessly functional, foundational piece that is so adaptable it can carry you calmly through the years.
“It’s design that makes people walk in and say, ‘This just feels like home,’” said Kaitlynn.
Start designing a home with easy, everyday style today by visiting
oldbrickfurniture.com/design-studio
