After moving from New York to Charleston, newlyweds Peter and Nathalie Suzanne took their time before buying a house. "Charleston was very new to us, very exotic, and we didn't know a soul," says Nathalie. "We thought we'd like living here, but we wanted to be sure, so for the first few years, we rented."

In 1998, the Suzannes — who by then had given birth to daughter Mae Rose and son Christian — felt certain that this beautiful, centuries-old city was indeed the place for them. "In many ways, it reminds me of a European city," says Nathalie, who was born and raised in France. "It is steeped in history and culture but still very much alive. You can walk anywhere to do your shopping or go out to eat, and this I love."

After looking at several properties, the couple finally settled on a circa 1797 "single" (one-room-wide) house in the Charles Towne neighborhood, the oldest, best-preserved part of the city. Although it needed a lot of restoration work, the house offered a number of special amenities, including an unusually large, very private walled-in lot; a swimming pool; and many beautiful trees and lush plantings.

Treating the architecture with great respect, the Suzannes — with help from preservation planner John Laurens — proceeded to renovate the interior spaces. In addition to adding many new moldings and several fireplace mantels, they reworked the upstairs floor plan to make it more livable for a family with children and extensively remodeled the kitchen.

Nathalie, an artist, was completely taken by the home's many French doors and large nine-over-nine windows, but she was less than thrilled by the way they had been covered up with heavy curtains. She also despaired over the dark, "gloomy" paint colors on the walls. "In lots of houses, they try to hide the light, maybe because of the heat," she says. "But I love the light. It's good for the mood; it's sun therapy."

To remedy the light-deprivation problem, she first removed the offending heavy draperies, then — doing a very "un-Charleston" thing — she instructed her painters to paint every wall bright white. "They couldn't believe it," she says. "Around here, the tradition is to paint the walls in deep, rich historical colors and use white only on the woodwork for contrast."

But coming from France, Nathalie was not wedded to this time-honored British Colonial tradition. Nor was her interior designer, Ritva Heino, who hails from Finland and owns a retail shop in Charleston called Alexandra. "We took a more contemporary, European approach, treating the walls as a blank canvas for adding color," says Heino.

The entire house benefits from this simple, high-impact approach. In the living room, dining room, and home office, bright white is punctuated by Nathalie's bold contemporary artworks and "nothing fussy" unlined curtains in eye-popping fruit-punch colors. Uncomplicated window treatments are common in Europe and Scandinavia, Heino says. "Our curtains are not so dressed up, because they are working curtains that we open and close every day."

Although she's far removed from her homeland, Nathalie has managed to invest her Charleston house with nuances of France. It's not just the tr籠chic colors, so very reminiscent of the South of France and so often seen in Parisian design shops, but the absence of pretension, the refreshing nonchalance. Says Nathalie: "I think that the French are more daring with their decorating schemes, more willing to risk. After all, we have so many periods to choose from; we're not afraid to pick and choose from all kinds of styles and influences."

Her picks include simple upholstered sofas and chairs covered in white denim, a variety of reproduction Colonial West Indies pieces (because they give the house "a feeling of Barbados"), and-but of course-assorted antiques and accessories from France. Designer Heino, who makes frequent buying trips abroad, found many of the French pieces, including the wonderful 19th-century dining-room console, which came from an old Paris hotel.

From the very beginning of the renovation and decorating process, Nathalie and Peter made it clear that they wanted a fun, truly livable family house, not an intimidating showplace. "We love to entertain, and when we do, it's usually on an informal basis," says Nathalie. "Many of our friends have young children like we do, and when we have parties, they often bring them along. Everyone needs to feel comfortable."

Although every room invites, by far the most popular gathering spot for the Suzannes and their friends is the newly remodeled and enlarged kitchen, located at the back of the house. Where two chopped-up rooms (an outdated kitchen and a large laundry room) used to be is now one marvelous open and airy room featuring new French doors, plenty of work surfaces, and separate dining and seating areas.

John Laurens, who designed the new kitchen, loves the way it turned out. "The interesting thing is that it harks back to an old kitchen building [common in historic Charleston] but very much in the French taste, with simple cabinets, a big farm table — actually two matching tables pushed together — and a raised hearth," he says. The design of the brick fireplace was Nathalie's idea. "It's an exact copy of my parents' fireplace in Tours," she says. "I wanted one just like it, so I took a picture on one of my visits home, then gave the photo to John.

"We use it for cooking in the winter, just as we do in France," she says. "We just put a grill rack right on the andirons, over the embers. It's a great way to cook, and the children so enjoy it."

Both Suzannes love to cook, but they take different approaches. "Peter loves Italian and Spanish food, and he likes to follow a recipe — he's very methodical," says Nathalie. "Me, I prefer French and Mediterranean, and whatever we have in the fridge, I'm going to make something out of it. When we entertain, either he cooks or I cook, but we don't cook together. That could cause problems!" She goes on to say that while Peter finds cooking a fine way to relax, she does not. "For me," says Nathalie, "I'd rather take a bath."

In addition to relaxing in the kitchen, Peter likes to unwind with a game of chess. (He once played in a U.S. Open Chess Tournament.) His pride-and-joy chess set — purchased in London and always set up for a game — can be found in his den, a small, many-windowed room that serves as a passageway between the foyer and living room. In designing this room, Heino used the same wonderful curtain fabric found in the living and dining rooms, only this time she dressed the glorious French doors and windows in mouthwatering yellow. Furnishings include a desk and chairs from Indonesia, a Swedish display cabinet used as a bookcase, and a plump ottoman that the children like to play on. The implements for office work — computer, printer, fax machine — are tucked away in a walk-in closet behind the desk. Also in the closet is a door that leads to Peter's new wine cellar — originally an old cistern that was uncovered during the renovation. Stocked, mais oui, with French wine, it's yet another example of how this wonderful historic house has been adapted to contemporary living.

Credits

Text: Pamela J. Wilson

Photography: Gordon Beall

Interior Designer: Ritva Heino

Renovation Specialist: John Laurens

Regional Editor: Lynn McBride