The Chris Loves Julia house story is really a study in how a home can evolve without losing its identity. Their work blends moody modern traditional style, practical family planning, and the kind of layered finish choices that make rooms feel collected rather than staged. In this article, I break down what their current house chapter looks like, which design moves matter most, and how to borrow the approach in a real American home without overspending.
What matters most in this home story
- The newest chapter is a lake house called Merrimore, which shifts the focus from full-time renovation to a more relaxed retreat.
- The long-running modern colonial still defines the brand because it shows the core design language: traditional bones, moody color, and careful function.
- The strongest rooms are built around use first, especially the kitchen, the bunk room, and the outdoor living areas.
- Large-scale upgrades are expensive; one exterior renovation reached $549,521 and took 15 months.
- The easiest ideas to steal are paint, trim, lighting, hardware, scale, and room zoning.
What the house story actually includes
What I find most useful here is that there is not one frozen “finished” house to copy. In 2026, the newest chapter is Merrimore, the lake house they recently bought, while the modern colonial remains the reference point most readers still picture when they think about their home style. That matters because the design story is bigger than a single floor plan; it is about how they make different homes feel like the same family lives there.
| Home chapter | What defines it | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Modern colonial | A deeply renovated family home with moody interiors, a tailored exterior, and a strong indoor-outdoor connection | It shows the full CLJ formula in action |
| Merrimore lake house | A waterfront retreat with mature trees, a storybook feel, and a strong wish list for family gatherings | It shows how setting and restraint can matter more than starting from scratch |
That shift from a major renovation to a more lifestyle-driven retreat explains a lot about their priorities: the house has to work for real life, but it also has to feel calm when the day slows down. Once you see that, the rest of the design choices start to make more sense.
The design formula that keeps the look cohesive
The signature look is not just “dark paint and antiques.” It is a balance of traditional structure, warm materials, and careful contrast. On their site, they describe their style as moody modern traditional, and that is accurate because the homes never lean too far into either extreme. They use classic forms, but they keep the spaces current with cleaner lines, practical layouts, and a little visual restraint.
| Design move | What it does in the room | How I would translate it |
|---|---|---|
| Layered palette | Keeps darker rooms from feeling flat | Use 3 to 4 related colors instead of one harsh statement shade |
| Mixed metals | Makes the space feel collected, not showroom-perfect | Choose one dominant finish and one supporting finish |
| Strong millwork | Adds architectural weight | Upgrade trim, paneling, cabinet profiles, or door styles before adding decor |
| Clear zoning | Prevents large rooms from feeling vague | Define cooking, seating, reading, and storage areas with furniture and lighting |
| Natural texture | Softens stone, metal, and paint | Bring in linen, wool, wood, cane, baskets, and upholstered seating |
I also think their best rooms succeed because they avoid one common mistake: copying the darkness without the balance. A dark wall color only works when the room still has contrast, texture, and enough light to breathe. Without that, the look turns heavy instead of elegant. That lesson shows up clearly when you study the rooms themselves.
The rooms that show the formula best
The easiest way to understand the house is to study the rooms where function and mood meet. Their kitchen, exterior, and family-focused spaces are where the design language becomes practical instead of theoretical.
The kitchen
Their modern colonial kitchen is the best example of why the house feels livable instead of purely decorative. They shared that the footprint is about 28 by 15 feet, with an island that stretches 17 by 3.5 feet, and that scale gives the room enough breathing room for family life. What I like about that layout is the zoning: prep, cooking, plating, washing, drinks, and even a small bookshelf area all have a place, which keeps the room from becoming a traffic jam during gatherings.
The finishes are equally deliberate. The perimeter cabinetry is Bromley Taupe, the island is Plymouth Green, and the pantry is Sutton Blue, while the countertops mix Carrara marble and soapstone. That kind of palette works because it has depth without feeling loud. If you want this effect at home, think in terms of layers, not just “accent color.”
The exterior and backyard
The exterior renovation is where the scale of the project really becomes clear. They turned a red brick house into a more tailored, more grounded version of itself with dark trim, upgraded windows, new gutters, copper details, a pool, an outdoor kitchen, a sunken fire pit, and layered landscaping. The visual effect is polished, but the real story is that a lot of invisible work went into it first: grading, drainage, permitting, and other unglamorous infrastructure. That is exactly why the finished space feels so permanent.
There is also a practical lesson in how they handled the backyard: they treated it as another living room, not an afterthought. Black-and-white outdoor furniture, a defined gathering area, and strong plant structure give the space a sense of order. If your own exterior feels scattered, that is a useful model to borrow.
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The lake house wish list
Their new lake house, Merrimore, shows a slightly different priority list. They were looking for waterfront views, mature trees, big windows, a fireplace, a bunk room for cousins, a screened porch, a deep dock, and a game room. In other words, they were not chasing a blank-slate new build; they wanted atmosphere, family use, and a setting that already carried some emotional weight.
That is important because it reveals a more mature design instinct. Sometimes the best home move is not adding more square footage or tearing everything out. Sometimes it is choosing the property that already gives you the right bones, then editing gently. That is a very different mindset from a full renovation, and it leads straight into the budget conversation.
What the renovation numbers tell you about the real cost of the look
The polished result can make the style seem more accessible than it really is. One exterior renovation alone came in at $549,521 and took 15 months, and that number includes a lot more than pretty finishes. It covered demo, grading, permitting, plants, pool work, lighting, stonework, landscaping, irrigation, drainage, outdoor appliances, and labor that most people never see in a reveal photo. When I look at a project like that, I do not just see décor; I see site work, systems, and long-term durability.
| Spending area | Why it matters | Typical impact |
|---|---|---|
| Infrastructure | Drainage, grading, permits, irrigation | Prevents expensive problems later |
| Architecture | Windows, trim, gutters, roof choices | Changes the whole feel of the house |
| Outdoor living | Pool, fire pit, kitchen, dock, lighting | Turns the yard into usable living space |
| Soft finishes | Furniture, drapery, rugs, décor | Defines the mood after the hard work is done |
There is also a quieter money lesson in the lake house purchase itself. They intentionally chose a place they could enjoy right away, even before making it fully their own. That is a smart move for second homes and family properties: if the bones are right, you can live with the house while you decide what truly needs changing. That gives you time to spend more deliberately instead of reacting room by room.
How to adapt the style in your own home
If I were translating this look for an ordinary home, I would start with restraint. The appeal of their interiors is not that every surface screams for attention; it is that the rooms have a clear point of view. You can get surprisingly close to that feeling without copying their square footage or their budget.
- Start with one architectural decision, such as trim, paneling, or a better cabinet profile.
- Pick a restrained palette of 3 to 4 colors and repeat them across adjacent rooms.
- Use one dominant metal finish, then add a second finish only if the room needs contrast.
- Define zones with rugs, lighting, and furniture placement before buying more décor.
- Spend on the pieces you touch every day: hardware, sconces, faucets, and window treatments.
- Use texture to soften stronger colors, especially if your room has a lot of hard surfaces.
The biggest mistake I see is people copying the mood but not the structure. A room with dark paint, busy accessories, and no architectural backbone rarely feels like this style. A room with good proportions, thoughtful lighting, and a few strong finishes usually does. That is why the look is more transferable than it first appears.
Why the Merrimore chapter may be the most useful one yet
What makes the newest chapter interesting is that it feels less like a design flex and more like a reset. They have already said the house is just the beginning, which is exactly the right attitude for a property like this. The setting is doing a lot of the work: water views, mature trees, a dock, and a house that already had warmth. That means the design choices can be quieter, more selective, and more personal.
For readers, that is the real takeaway. You do not need to chase every trend or rebuild everything to create a home with presence. You need a clear point of view, a realistic renovation appetite, and a willingness to let the house guide some of the decisions. If you remember one thing from this story, let it be this: the best version of the style is not the darkest one, but the most coherent one.
