Carrie Michaels is one of our talented Regional Interior Designers at Lennar who designs and styles model homes across our West Coast communities. We asked Carrie to share her insights on designing the Residence 3104 model home from the Drifton Collection, featured at the Northlake master-planned community in Sacramento, CA.
Did the location of this model home influence your design choices?
“Drifton at Northlake is a community characterized by its serene man-made lakes, with many homes offering lofts and second-floor bedrooms that take in the views. With that in mind, I designed these spaces to reflect local sports, community interests and the lifestyles of future homeowners and families.”
How would you describe the style of this model home, as well as the color schemes?
“This home embraces an industrial monochromatic aesthetic, layering gray and neutral tones with accents of metal, stone textures and warm woods to soften the look and add depth.”
What’s your favorite aspect or feature of this model home?
“My favorite space of this home is the loft. With four secondary bedrooms, it’s essential for large families to feel like they have extra space where they can spread out and spend time together.”
The Kitchen
The kitchen’s chic cabinetry, state-of-the-art stainless steel appliances and expansive pantry are ideal for home chefs and entertaining friends and family.
“My favorite part of this space is the cabinetry and countertop space that flows from the kitchen into the dining. This is so often a dead space and completely underutilized. Having it become an extension of the kitchen just maximizes storage and creates more places to host when entertaining.”
The Dining Area
The dining room is set just off the kitchen, perfect for both intimate dinners and larger gatherings. A sliding glass door opens directly to a welcoming patio for easy indoor-outdoor flow.
“My design choices here was to make sure we warmed up the space with a natural wood tone dining table while keeping it minimal in scale. I wanted to maximize the open-concept floorplan with ample ability to fit everyone and then some.”
The Great Room
Entertain with style in this spacious Great Room, located right off the open-concept kitchen and dining space. A large window fills the space with tons of natural lighting, creating the perfect place to curl up with a good book.
“This space overlooks one of the manmade lakes of this community, so I wanted to add dimension with a pop of color on the media wall, while keeping things neutral, light and airy. With so much natural light, I used natural textures, a low-profile sofa, simple coffee table and natural linens to really let the oversized window and view shine.”
The Owner’s Suite
Located at the back of the second floor, the owner’s suite offers a peaceful retreat complete with a private deck, en-suite bathroom and walk-in closet.
“For this space I chose to keep the pallet very light, neutral and serene. One of my favorite go-to design tricks featured here is utilizing wallpaper that looks and feels exactly like stone herringbone tile. It’s an inexpensive way to give an elevated feel.”
The Loft
This second-floor flex space can be used for whatever needs you might have, from a loft or game room to even an extra office space or playroom for the kids. The possibilities are endless!
“I absolutely love to use simple painted stripes in family loft and game spaces. It’s a very inexpensive way to show potential homeowners how they can replicate the style of the space and make it feel impactful. Large artwork, block wall letters and accent décor easily completed the look and theme. The monochromatic design scheme was fun to use for a game room because we were able to showcase how to have a fun family play area while maintaining sophistication in the overall design.”
Four Secondary Bedrooms
This home features five bedrooms in total, including four secondary bedrooms. This provides plenty of space for all your family members, friends and house guests to spread out comfortably.
“With a home this size, it was important to me to showcase a variety of ages and life stages a homeowner might have. From nurseries to teen ages, I had a blast playing with themes that would complement the color scheme of this home. The raccoon room is my favorite—showing full well the power of some paint, fabric and a neon sign.”
What was the best part of working on this model home and seeing the space come to life?
“As a mom of four, designing children’s spaces is a true labor of love that feeds my soul. It’s a gift to wake up each day and bring that same passion into my professional world.”
This model home, Residence 3104, is part of the Drifton Collection at Northlake master-planned community in Sacramento.
Click here to schedule a tour or contact us with any questions. For more interior design inspiration from Lennar’s team, follow them on Instagram: @lennarwestinteriordesign.
More about Designer Carrie Michaels
Carrie is originally from a small coastal town named Bellmont Shores in Long Beach, CA. Her great-grandfather was the original developer of the peninsula portion of this small town in the early 1900s, which explains her love of interior design and all things related to home.
How did you get your start in interior design?
“I have been in interior design for over a decade and transitioned from residential design into the builder world with Lennar about two years ago.”
Why do you love interior design?
“My love for interior design came from my early career of working with investors in the flipping side of real estate and quickly realizing that the aesthetics of a home are what draw a potential buyer and homeowner in. Being able to take building structures and create an environment that homeowners see themselves growing, making memories and creating a life means we get to be a part of turning someone’s dream into a reality.“
Where do you look for inspiration?
“I look for inspiration all over—from researching current design trends to attending home and trade shows, as well as browsing design blogs.“
Current favorite design trend?
“My favorite design trend right now is “classic meets modern”—I love that we’re seeing more natural tones being incorporated into design through materials like stone flooring, accent finishes, textured art and décor.“
