Text: Lydia Somerville
Photos: John O’Hagan
When PJ and Winn Harris decided to build their dream house, they didn’t have to look far for a designer. Lifelong friend Mark Kennamer stepped up to the task, which wasn’t much of a challenge at all. “PJ and Winn didn’t really give much guidance,” says Kennamer. “They just wanted it done.” The friends grew up together in Guntersville, Alabama, and Kennamer designed the couple’s wedding when he was still in high school. Now, with two grown sons, one in college and the other in high school, the Harrises were thrilled to have a trusted friend design a house for the next phase of their life together.
Sweet Home Alabama
Sweet Home Alabama
Sweet Home Alabama
Sweet Home Alabama
Sweet Home Alabama
Sweet Home Alabama
Sweet Home Alabama
Sweet Home Alabama
Sweet Home Alabama
Kennamer set about choosing fabrics and wallpapers, as well as scouring the great Southern flea markets at Round Top in Texas and Scott’s in Georgia for the distinctive fixtures and furniture that give the house its collected look. The house’s juicy palette of pink, green, and blue reflect Winn’s taste, which she honed working for designer Richard Keith Langham in New York. She also picked up an affection for the lavish detailing the designer of the ladies-who-lunch set is known for.
“THE HARRIS’S HOUSE IS A HUB OF GATHERINGS FOR FAMILY AND FRIENDS, AND THE KITCHEN WAS DESIGNED WITH THIS IN MIND. THE SITTING AREA IS PERFECT FOR OVERFLOW FROM THE KITCHEN.”
—MARK KENNAMER
Kennamer appointed the living room with a degree of formality that would be at home on the Upper East Side, with its pink custom sofa, wingback chair, and silk draperies. “Back in her New York days, Winn splurged on a raspberry Christopher Spitzmiller lamp and carried it home on the subway,” says Kennamer. Now, it resides on a side table, proving that good design stands the test of time, as well as transport.
The dining room’s scenic wallpaper, with touches of pale coral, sets the scene for a formal table set for Christmas Eve dinner crowned by a frothy painted chandelier. Velvet window treatments and upholstered chairs add softness and warmth. Winn’s collection of crystal, silver, and china features classic patterns that never go out of style.
The house features two gathering spaces, one a large family room with a vaulted ceiling, and the other a set of chairs encircling an ottoman off the breakfast room. “They call it the ‘kitchen den’,” says Kennamer. In the family room, the family celebrates the holidays with a towering tree adorned with heirloom ornaments. “We also used some mercury glass balls and tons of tinsel for some shine,” says Kennamer. Velvet upholstery, a rich kilim rug, and lush draperies up the warmth exponentially in the space framed by 15-foot ceilings.
The master bedroom is worthy of East Coast royalty. A sumptuous cornice of a Brunschwig & Fils botanical print reigns over the room, with the striped fabric Kennamer used to line the bed hangings repeated on the sconce lampshades. A soft-underfoot Oushak rug quietly echoes the house’s bright palette. Now at home in their grown-up abode, the future looks bright indeed for the Harrises.
