A well-designed home will reflect the family who lives in it more so than the person who designed it. For interior designer Brenda Friday, achieving a unique identity for each family’s home is an important part of the process. “I really try incredibly hard to find pieces that are really purposeful to that family and the house,” says Brenda. “I don’t want people walking in and saying “Oh Brenda Friday was here.”
Upgrading a Fox Chapel Home with Brenda Friday
Brenda sought to turn the 1929 Fox Chapel home of Dave and Joanie Fuhrer into a comfortable family space. So far, she has redone the kitchen, dining room, entryway, and family room. There are plans in place to do the patio space and the upstairs. Each room has its own identity with pops of color, intricate wallpapers, eye-catching light fixtures, and a careful curation of art.
Finding Unique Furnishings
And when Brenda says she gives homes unique pieces, she means it. “Any time I can’t find what I’m looking for, I just make it,” she adds. For the living room, there is a floor-to-ceiling cabinet and shelving structure custom-made by cabinet-maker Mike Lucci. He also created the bar in the living room, as well as the cabinets in the kitchen and butler’s pantry. At the bar sits luscious pink velvet stools that were brought in all the way from Portugal.
“That was a really hard search to find just the right bar stool. I wanted something sexy in there to even out all of the hard architecture,” says Friday. In the living room, a large space with 18-foot ceilings, Friday wanted to emulate “a cool cocktail lounge in London,” something elegant but still comfortable. A set of cobalt sofas contrasts with pink stools. Leopard-print window shades frame the scene. It’s not a room anyone would walk into and think “the people who live here have no personality.”
Embracing Lushness
In an era of design where minimalism has blossomed like a weed, Brenda’s designs are refreshing. Instead of understated white and beige interiors that feel like a cold museum, her rooms have bursts of color and life, reminding you that homes are meant to live in and enjoy. In the kitchen of the Fox Chapel Tudor, white walls are offset by forest green cabinets and an eclectic window-shade print from Christian Lacroix. “Even the most modern kitchens have a tendency to feel like a black-and-white film. Modern life isn’t meant to be played out in greyscale,” states Brenda on her website.
If the walls in this Fox Chapel home could talk, they would do so with charisma; many of the walls have a statement piece of art, a statement wallpaper, or both. Much like her affinity for color, Brenda goes for bold prints, like in the dining room where a wallpaper from French company Pierre Frey combines 18th century illustrations with modern abstract shapes. The room is complemented by one of the many unique lighting fixtures in the home. When designing the breakfast room, Friday used a whimsical, bright yellow wallpaper as the starting point for the cheerful, yet cozy room.
Searching Far and Wide
Sourcing pieces from around the country, and the world, is another central part of Brenda’s design process, whether it be Portuguese stools, or a painting by Pittsburgh’s own Mia Tarducci. “I don’t want any of my pieces or rooms to feel [repetitive] or anything that’s typical,” says Friday. “I like it to be a little different, a little edgy, a little out-of-the-norm but still functional.”
During the pandemic, international shipments moved more slowly, but Brenda’s business was still thriving. Many people grew tired of looking at the same walls day in and day out and craved a change. For some that meant moving homes or apartments, and for Brenda’s clients, it often meant putting a fresh spin on their current home. “I got so many phone calls,” she declares.
Friday will soon expand her business with a storefront for Brenda Friday Designs set to open in August on Butler Street in Lawrenceville. The space will house Brenda’s design studio in the back, while the front will be a retail space with small furniture, art, and other pieces. Her clients will be able to see potential pieces in person, and Lawrenceville shoppers will be able to peruse and take home decor.
Story by Hannah Lynn
Styling and Interior Design by Brenda Friday
Photography by Joey Kennedy
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