HE STAID, traditional red brick façade of the exuberant, one-story
Colonial Revival on Tattersalls Drive in quiet, tree-lined
Glen Meade belies the explosive riot of color awaiting within.
“People are surprised when they walk in,” says homeowner
Joanna Miles-Basta. She and her husband, actor Nick Basta,
keep homes in New Orleans, where they were married, and in New York City, a
classic Brownstone apartment. The couple purchased a permanent residence in
Wilmington because of Nick’s career and, at the time, the city’s ties to a growing
film industry.
One foot inside the foyer and guests enter another world. Bold hand-blocked
gold leaf navy and green floral paper covers the walls warmed by a fluted iron and
coppery finished pendant.
“That might be my favorite thing in the house,” Joanna says, “that umbrella-shaped
lampshade.” The scallop-edged light fixture was selected by Jo Howell of
Big Sky Design to echo the mullioned shapes of the fanlight above the entryway.
Appointed with a canvas-covered metal table placed over a sisal rug, the foyer
hints at the vibrant layers of wall tints and textiles that support an eclectic array
of furnishings gathered from antique shops in Nola and the Big Apple, and arti-facts
acquired by the couple’s travels.
The traditional brick façade belies the colorful foyer and runway, right and far
right, staged with Schumacher hand-blocked “Rampur” wallpaper and appointed
with faux pony hide, spool-legged stools. The oversized wall sconces accentuate
the ceiling height and the cast iron finish echoes the iron and coppery finish of
the Currey & Co. pendant in the foyer.
PHOTOS BY ANDREW SHERMAN
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WBM march 2019