This Drewry Hills home is a showcase for the homeowner’s funky, playful style.
by Ayn-Monique Klahre | photography by Catherine Nguyen

“I love to mix patterns,” laughs Courtney Driver. “I’m a funky monkey!” Inside her Drewry Hills home, the mostly-white walls are a foil for her exuberant love of design. “Mix it all, I say! I like to throw a million patterns and textures on top of each other.”

But the house is more than self-decorated: Driver had a vision for what she wanted, inside and out, and this home was her opportunity to create it. She and her daughters have lived in the North Raleigh neighborhood for a long time and she was excited when a lot opened up where she could create her dream home from scratch. “I’d never built a house before, even though I’d always wanted to,” she says. “I’d been mentally planning for a long time.”

Driver worked with architect Tony Frazier of Frazier Home Design and builder Paul Baggett of Allure Homes to bring her vision to life. “When I met with the architect, I had my own renderings. I knew the square footage of the kitchen and living room I wanted based on my last house, and I had pictures of three home exteriors that I loved,” says Driver. “I just needed Tony to match the inside to the outside—and I needed someone to make it come to fruition.” Baggett agrees: “Courtney was the driving factor on most of the design elements, we just helped them all fall into place.”

The wide-open, welcoming space matches her family’s lifestyle. “There is nothing calm about this house,” she laughs. “It’s always full of people!” With her extended family in the Raleigh area, Driver is often the host for holidays and family events, so having a space that allowed for hanging out together for big family meals was key. That’s why the kitchen, dining area, bar and living room all open up to each other, and to the covered patio, as well.

Another key element: storage. “I’m a knick-knacky kind of person, so I did a lot of built-ins in the whole house,” Driver says. “Every time I travel, I try to get some type of art or funky pottery, and I need a place to display all of that.” Her decor style is eclectic, traditional and modern mashed up in a playful, forget-the-rules way. “I make a decision quickly—not sure whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing—and I had a blast getting our home together,” she says. “I definitely know what I like.”

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