INSTANT MAKEOVER Stacy Thompson upgrades a brand-new home Written by Neil Charles / Photographed by Rachel Lutz Located in the southeastern corner of Hamilton county, on the fringes of Fortville, our featured home is a custom build with numerous unique modifications added by Stacy Thompson of Compass Design. Belonging to a Noblesville OB/GYN and her husband, the home was completed in late 2017, prior to undergoing significant non-structural additions to incorporate the couple’s personal tastes and needs. The wife, originally from Indiana, met her husband-to-be while doing her residency in Queens. “He was living in Jersey City at the time,” she explains. “He had used an interior designer for his condo there, so we knew when my work brought us back to Indiana that we wanted to design a home that fit our own personalities.” The couple was introduced to Thompson at the very early planning stages of the build. “We followed a different route,” explains the husband. “The home builder has a great product, but they wouldn’t allow us to do a lot of custom work, and our choices and selections were limited.” Not satisfied with many of the fixtures or finishes initially on offer, the couple asked the builders to leave areas either unfinished or, in the case of the powder room, inexpensively appointed in order to barely pass inspection before tearing everything out and starting afresh. “We sat in a lot of meetings with the builder,” says the designer. “They were willing to make some of the changes that we requested.” 16 slmag.net
A major feature, the fireplace, originally planned for the center of the living room, was moved to the corner and faced with stack stone. The same craftsmen created the intricate backsplash in the kitchen, fashioning the design on site from hundreds of narrow strips of tile. Throughout the home, numerous features including the lighting and cabinet hardware were added after the builders had finished. Other items, such as the Kohler farmhouse sink and top-of-the-line kitchen appliances, were upgraded and installed during construction. Eager to have every room make a statement through unique design features, the couple put their complete trust in Thompson, who has over 17 years of experience in the field of interior design and remodeling and a BS in Interior Design from Ball State University. With an attention to detail that involves every aspect of the process from construction to doorknobs, she was the perfect choice to steer the process from beginning to end. “This really wasn’t our realm,” says the wife. “We completely put our trust in Stacy; we didn’t even pick out a place mat before consulting her first.” With the exception of their clothes and their bed, everything in the home was designed and purchased as a couple. “We were newly married, and we started anew and were building something together,” says the husband. “We wanted each room to be different and have a story to tell.”
