Unmatched Style

Susan Block barely has time to sit down.

If she's not overseeing the operation of her Clayton home accessories store The Designing Block, she's likely to be at a board or committee meeting for one of the many civic groups to which she donates time. Then, there are all the occasions for which Susan and her husband Terry open their spacious, English-manor-style home (once the clubhouse of the Bridlespur Hunt Club) to organizations needing a beautiful setting for a meeting or benefit.

“I love doing this, and why not share?” she says of her Huntleigh home. “We've raised a lot of money for different organizations. Last year we had over 1,500 people here.” To accommodate large crowds, Susan has transformed the smaller of the two kitchens that came with the home into a huge, handsome bar area complete with shelf after shelf of glassware and supplies to make entertaining easy. “I have 150 glass plates so groups don't have to rent things for buffets, and they can keep the cost of the party down,” she says.

When Susan does have time to sit, she's likely to curl up in her window-filled conservatory, a fabulous addition to her home that provides a better traffic flow between (and around) the kitchen and bar. Featuring a dramatic, barrel-vault, oak ceiling topped with a clerestory, the rounded architectural details of the room echo design elements found in other parts of the Tudor-style residence. The room has quickly become one of Susan's favorite places to relax and watch television or work  on her laptop. Its eclectic décor reflects the “funky to fabulous” mantra that guides her selection of accessories for her shop.

Dominated by a striking chandelier composed of branches and twigs, the room features comfortable upholstered furniture in mellow browns and greens. That neutral color scheme serves as a backdrop for exotic animal prints, feather and fur accents, and leather and metallic touches that give the conservatory its one-of-a-kind personality. Colorful Brunschwig & Fils drapes, adorned with whimsical animals, birds and flowers – and a color-infused checkerboard area rug by Richard & Victoria MacKenzie-Childs – tie the various design elements together. All the pieces of furniture, Susan notes, have been used in other rooms before ending up as part of the conservatory. For the holidays, she weaves a combination of unique, fanciful accessories into the space for a look that she calls “fun and always changing.”

“People worry too much about things matching,” she emphasizes. “Rooms that are too perfect make people uncomfortable. I love rooms that are just a little bit ‘off.' Psychologically that makes people more at ease. The greatest compliment anyone can give me when they come to my home is to say, ‘I feel so comfortable here.'”

“Great design has no price,” she continues. “You can find something fabulous for a dime at a flea market, and things that cost a million dollars can be horrible. If you buy things you like, you'll find a thread running through them that makes them all work together.”