Haven: Forgoing formal for modern look

When Daphne Howard was a child, houses in her Main Line neighborhood had formal living rooms with sofas upholstered in brocade or chintz, and formal dining rooms with mahogany buffets, tables, and high-back chairs. Windows were enveloped in silken drapes with swagged valances.

Today, she owns a Main Line home with a different decor.

"We are not formal people; I didn't want a formal dining room or living room," she says. Instead, she opted for an "eclectic modern" look.

The Cape Cod in Rosemont, built in 1933, was purchased by Daphne and husband Rob in 1997. Previous owners had added an attached garage and an outdoor swimming pool.

Over the years, the Howards renovated and enlarged the house to accommodate a family of six: son Dill, now 15; daughters Emma, 19, and Greer, 21; and a dog, rescue mutt Opie (some Lab, some Great Dane, some pit bull). The original 1,800-square-foot dwelling eventually was expanded to 3,800 square feet.

The Howards built a freestanding two-car garage and replaced the attached garage with a bi-level playroom, where, with the push of a button, a flat-screen TV rises from what appears to be a bar.

"I hate TVs in a room," Daphne says. She has played the Steinway piano in the playroom since she was a child. Nearby is an antique wooden icebox that belonged to Rob's grandmother.

Steps on either side of the playroom lead to a spacious family room. Sofas in both living areas are slipcovered in washable white fabric. Walls are painted white.

"It goes with anything," Daphne says.

The airy kitchen features white cabinets and polished-cement buff countertops. The formal dining room has been replaced with what the family calls the conference room, with its 13-foot-long table.

That table and a farm table on wheels in the kitchen were fashioned from wood left over after flooring, made from pine planks salvaged from a barn in Lancaster County, was installed on the second floor. Downstairs, new wide-plank birch flooring replaced aging oak floors.

Orange globe lights over the conference table add a bright punch, as does the large oil of a Western gunslinger by New Jersey artist Ted Walsh. A love seat belonging to Daphne's mother has a new shocking-pink cushion.

Throughout the house, more color comes from art and a rotating collection of Moroccan area rugs. Daphne, who owns a marketing firm, acknowledges the handmade rugs as "my weakness." She stores those not on display in the basement and insists that Rob's accumulating "lucky stones" are more clutter-producing.

Rob is unapologetic about the hundreds of smooth gray stones with perfect white stripes he has gathered from the coast of Maine on family vacations. The larger stones line windowsills, interspersed with houseplants, and fill glass jars. Smaller stones are stored in a dozen cigar boxes in the guest bedroom.

"They are good luck," he says, "I never leave the house without putting one in my pocket."

The couple also acquired paintings of Maine while vacationing there. And they own several abstract works by a cousin, Ted Arnold, who lives in Portland, Maine.

The three pear paintings in the playroom are by Daphne's former Shipley schoolmate Louise Girling. She also painted coral blossoms and purple grapes on a peach background on the walls of the downstairs bathroom.

Girling, an artist, graphic designer, and architect who lives in San Diego, was Daphne's consultant for home remodeling.

"She guided me through everything over the phone. I could bounce ideas off her," Daphne says.

One such idea was the bank of windows the Howards installed in the family room, allowing views of sweeping lawn bordered by woods. Upstairs in the master bathroom, a deep tub sits in front of a window with the same panorama.

All the windows are uncovered, except one with a shade in the master bedroom. Woods behind the house and a deep setback in front ensure privacy.

Rob, who works in international health-insurance sales, is the gardener. Despite a busy travel schedule, he tends the flower beds and lawn, and grows vegetables, blueberries, and raspberries. He planted willow trees, apple trees, and a Franklinia.

And on the front lawn is a Japanese maple, circled with lucky stones.