A family home in Wayne filled with art, light, and color

The Addis family home in Wayne initially appears to be a study in black and white: white painted brick with white window trim and black shutters, black-and-white umbrellas shading patios, a sofa slip covered in black with white piping, and black-and-white plaid rugs in the screened-in porch, black cars parked in the driveway, a black-and-white soccer ball on the lawn, and a black-and-white poodle, aptly named Tux, barking behind the black front door.

Once inside, though, after greeting Tux, guests are treated to a panorama of colors.

Lauren and Andrew Addis have filled their two-story house with art Lauren has acquired as the owner of LAA Art Collective in Wayne, which displays contemporary work by East Coast artists. Art in her home does the same, starting in the foyer with an expressionistic blue, green, and white pastel landscape by Maryland artist Tara Will. The purple, blue and green abstract oil over the living room mantel is by Ash-Bob, who graduated from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts just last year. Nearby hangs a painting, Silver Elk, by Kristen Bell, a Philadelphia artist who recently moved to Seattle.

Some of the furnishings are as colorful as the art. Lauren purchased the embroidery-trimmed chairs in the living room from ABC Carpet & Home in Manhattan. The red, blue, and cream rug came from the Velvet Shoestring, a consignment store in Wayne.

Andrew inherited the fine mahogany furniture in the dining room from his family. Iridescent lusterware pitchers on the buffet are from his grandmother’s collection. The dining room mirror and sconces with Asian floral motifs were purchased from Facebook Marketplace, an online consignment store.

Andrew and Lauren, both 39, met at Gettysburg College and married in 2006. Soon after, they bought the four-bedroom, 2½-bath home, which was built in 1949. Previous owners had added a family room with a vaulted ceiling and renovated the kitchen with off-white cabinets and black quartz countertops.

Last spring, sheltering with her young son and daughter, Lauren decided to brighten up the kitchen. She painted the moss green walls white and the black bar chairs green. She then moved a vivid gold, green, and blue oil by Lee Lippman from another part of the house to the kitchen. The Addises have several works by the Philadelphia artist, who died in February at 93.

Lippman’s paintings often feature planes of horizontal color, which in an artist statement he described as “always informed by the natural world. The infinite space above and finite forms of land below.”

A blue ottoman in front of the tan couch in the family room picks up the blue in the large Lippman oil over the fireplace.

A small Lippman oil hangs in the powder room papered with pink rose blossoms. The children’s bathroom upstairs is also papered in a floral print. Patterned wallpaper elsewhere would detract from the art, Lauren said, but she likes it in bathrooms. The rest of the house has neutral-toned walls.

She and Andrew have enhanced the outdoor space with assistance from Roots Landscape in Wayne. The company planted hydrangeas, hostas, and ferns, filled planters with tall grasses, red and green Swiss chard, and white and yellow flowers, and laid flagstone patios by the front entrance and next to the garage. Walkways are lined with bluestem, a flowering grass Andrew cuts back every fall. He and Lauren both garden, and Andrew, a risk management adviser, cuts the lawn.

The flagstone patios have benches and tables and chairs to welcome neighbors who drop by with their kids. When they moved to Wayne, Andrew said, “the best surprise was finding such a friendly neighborhood.”

The backyard brick patio has a stone staircase leading up to a grassy area with a swing set and lacrosse and soccer nets.

A side door is flanked by two concrete black poodles. Years ago, Lauren and Andrew discovered one poodle in an antiques shop in Connecticut. Later they saw a second poodle in front of a house in Wayne. Andrew wrote a letter to the owner offering to buy it. He gave the poodle to Lauren as an unexpected birthday present.

Is your house a Haven? Nominate your home by email (and send some digital photographs) at properties@inquirer.com.