When Maria Owens and her husband built their Marrano home in 2023, they defaulted to an all-white design scheme.
“Life kept getting in the way of picking paint,” she says.
Pregnant with her first child, Maria found the endless choices for paint colors and finishes overwhelming. She also worried about making the wrong decisions for their open-concept home. The result, she said, felt sterile.
“It was a beautiful house, but it didn’t feel like a home.”
Three years later, with the help of interior designer Jason Pleskow, the Owens family took its first step to change that. They began with the playroom because it’s the first space guests see when entering the home, and Buffalo’s long winters mean the family spends plenty of time indoors.
The transformed space is a dramatic departure from the original minimalist aesthetic, featuring bold wallpaper on the ceiling, colorful lockers and cabinetry and playful finishing touches throughout. Designed for their children, ages 3 and 1, the room encourages creativity, play and exploration.
“We wanted something cool, fun, functional and aesthetically pleasing,” Maria says.
She appreciated that Jason pushed them beyond their comfort zone while still respecting their personal style. She had originally envisioned a nature-inspired space, but admitted she would have gravitated toward safer blues, yellows and neutral furnishings she’d seen on Instagram.
Instead, Jason designed a room with elements that can evolve as the children grow, including sophisticated wallpaper, fixtures and window treatments that won’t feel overly childish over time.
“It’s not too cutesy or juvenile,” Jason says. “We wanted it to feel more elevated than a typical playroom.”
Maria also credited Jason with helping the family stay within budget. Once the color palette was established, she and her husband painted the room themselves and created their own window treatments with Jason’s guidance. He sourced the fabric and connected them with a company that sells DIY cornice kits, helping bring the project back within budget.
Jason is now working with the Owens family on several additional spaces, including the family room, sunroom and foyer. His approach blends family heirlooms with finds from niche retailers, local secondhand shops, and even stores like HomeGoods and Homesense.
Both Maria and Jason describe the process as highly collaborative.
“I don’t want to come in and take over,” Jason says. “If I feel something isn’t the right fit, I’ll explain why. But at the end of the day, it’s my client’s home.”
Back in the playroom, the family’s hockey-obsessed 3-year-old spends hours creating imaginary worlds for his hockey figures among the lockers and shelves, while their adventurous 1-year-old has already discovered the jellybean table is perfect for climbing — much to Maria’s dismay. The space has also become a favorite gathering spot for playdates.
“It’s bright, inviting and has so much storage,” Maria says. “It was so great to have someone whose sole focus was to keep me moving forward.”
