A Cigar Room and Tropical Wallpaper Define This Stunning Bryn Mawr Home Makeover
Designer Melissa Urdang Bodie waited more than a decade to use de Gournay’s Amazonia wallpaper.
Cigar room in this Bryn Mawr home makeover by Melissa & Miller Interiors / Photography by Brian Wetzel
Melissa Urdang Bodie was living in London when she first saw de Gournay’s Amazonia wallpaper at the luxury purveyor’s Chelsea showroom. The interior designer fell in love with the tasteful tropical motif but knew she would have to wait for just the right home to use it.
More than a decade later, the ideal project arrived in the form of a French colonial in Bryn Mawr desperately in need of a sophisticated yet livable design perspective for a notable Philly couple. “Form and function were very important to the homeowners,” says Urdang Bodie, of Bryn Mawr-based international design firm Melissa & Miller Interiors. She chose the paper to complement the dining room’s lush outdoor views.
“Many decisions revolved around hosting their family,” she says. The home’s one-level open floor plan was a major selling point for the pair of empty-nesters but presented a challenge. Says Urdang Bodie, “The living room is central to the orbit of the house so we had to consider how it played off other rooms without every space matching.”
Dining room
The de Gournay wallpaper is an elegant backdrop for dinners at the solid oak table custom-built by Black Creek Mercantile & Trading Co. with Palecek chairs made from rope material. A Visual Comfort alabaster chandelier with bronze details lends a modern touch.
Living room
Cuff Studio’s cotton-rope globe light fixtures were suspended from the ceiling at varying lengths. The seating area is anchored by an L-shaped Maiden Home sofa, an Eternity Modern travertine coffee table, and two Lawson-Fenning chairs. “Layering was an important piece of the design, especially light fixtures with different textures,” says Urdang Bodie.
Husband’s primary bath
Zia Tile Zellige jade tiles were used throughout this full bathroom. A pair of Urban Electric wall lights hang above a Perlato walnut vanity.
Cigar room
Farrow & Ball’s Brinjal paint on the walls creates a moody escape for the in-home cigar room, a first for the design team. Thomas Hayes brass bar stools are upholstered in velvet Schumacher fabric.
Published as “Long View” in the September 2025 issue of Philadelphia magazine.
