Nicole and Dominique Maddox have perfectly fused a modern addition—featuring clean lines, high-contrast neutrals, and stunning floor-to-ceiling windows—into their 1950s home.
Written by Stacey Manganelli / Photographed by Ashlee Glen / Photo Above: Nicole achieved striking visual interest with her beloved peel-and-stick wallpaper in Chiseled Emerald green, a grey Loloi rug, and a Ted Baker quilt. The geometric patterns in the wallpaper and rug and the floral pattern of the quilt pop in the minimalist space.
Dominique and Nicole Maddox have brought bold modernism to their Southeast Roanoke neighborhood. After living and working abroad for many years, they fused their international design tastes into a traditional colonial, seamlessly blending the addition with the rest of the home and the neighborhood.
Choosing Between Moving and Building an Addition
After extensive international work in public health, Nicole’s job at the CDC led her to the Ivory Coast. There, she met Dominique, who is Ivorian, at a dinner with friends. They parted ways soon after, with Nicole continuing her Ph.D. work in Milan, Italy, and Dominique returning to Roanoke and his job at LewisGale.
Subsequent international meetups and a dinner in D.C., where they stayed until the restaurant closed, led Nicole and Dominique to date for keeps. Nicole moved to Roanoke in 2021, and they looked at this house. The mountain views and hemlock trees sold Dominique, who actually stood outside the home to make his final decision.
As time went on, the Maddoxes began planning for their aging mothers to come stay with them if it ever becomes necessary. They debated between looking for a home without stairs or building an addition with a special in-law suite onto the existing home.
They decided to build an addition because they wanted to stay in their South Roanoke neighborhood. They love walking to Sweet Donkey Coffee House and Crystal Spring Grocery Co. while also having easy access to dog trails and hiking.
International Design Influence
As they planned the addition, Nicole and Dominique’s respective international experiences guided them.
Because Dominique grew up on the Ivory Coast, he was used to Tropical Modernist design, which is very popular there. When they visit Dominique’s home each year, they spend a lot of time falling asleep on outdoor swing beds and taking in light and nature through large windows.
Inside, simple colors and earthy textures and patterns are the norm. He and Nicole wanted to capture a similar look and feel in this addition.
Nicole also fell in love with ornately carved wooden furniture during her travels. She said it’s much more common for people in other countries to have furniture commissioned for their home. While she didn’t know any artisan furniture makers in the United States, she replicated the look of dark, carved wood as much as possible when buying her furniture from traditional retailers.
Nicole added splashes of color and design with a collection of fabrics from Kenya and Rwanda, where she has traveled and worked. She used fabric and other souvenirs as accent pieces around the home.
FAR RIGHT: It’s very common to gift fabric in the Ivory Coast. The fabrics often have different symbols on them. This piece of fabric with diamonds on it is given as a gift for someone who’s not yet married. The friend who introduced Nicole and Dominique gave it to Nicole.
Blending Old and New
Dominique and Nicole thought about the rest of the neighborhood as they planned the addition. Most of the other homes in it are older and of traditional design. When people build additions, the additions tend to mirror the existing house.
But Nicole wanted something surprising. She believed it was possible to blend old and new both because of her time abroad and local architecture downtown.
When she lived in Milan, she saw old churches across from big, modern glass buildings. Here in Roanoke, she has always liked how the Taubman Museum is an ultra-modern piece of architecture that blends in with all the older buildings downtown.
Nicole reasoned that if blending old and new worked so well in these cases, it could also work well in her own home.
To successfully blend old and new, the Maddoxes wanted to keep the front of the home exactly as it was. They built the addition off the living room so that it’s not visible from the street and preserves as much of the property as possible. They also prioritized it feeling fluid rather than as an attachment.
Practical and Luxurious Extras
When planning the addition with CIRCLE Design, Nicole and Dominique started by adding on to work the previous owners had done. The previous owners had opened up the kitchen and dining area, butler-style. They had also finished the walk-up attic and added electricity.
CIRCLE continued this work in the kitchen by installing the current quartzite countertops, replacing the cabinets and light fixtures, and removing the microwave over the stove and installing a hood in its place. They built a drawer microwave to the side of the oven for a more modern look and also added the buffet area in the dining room.
In the walk-up attic, they added insulation and air ducts. They also covered the shiplap with drywall and carried the wood floors from the original home up into that space.
Nicole uses the walk-up attic as her office, as she works from home full time. When she’s not working, she also does puzzles and Legos up there, enjoying a view of the tree line from her desk.
Other addition must-haves included a workout room for Nicole, an office for Dominique, a laundry room, off-street parking in the back of the house, and a dedicated dog wash area. Nicole had been washing their dog in the shower, but she wanted their precious pup to have more of a spa experience at home.
The Guest Suite
Nicole’s vision for the guest suite was for the feel of a minimalist Bohemian hotel. To achieve this, she mixed and matched textures and patterns and color lines with a predominantly neutral base. She placed a striped rug beneath the bed, bedside tables on each side of the bed beneath rounded rectangle mirrors, a T-block geometric wallpaper on an accent wall, and a floral quilt on the bed.
On the wall that leads to the ensuite bathroom, built-in closets extend from the floor to ceiling, and a black and white palm tree painting hangs above a linear fireplace.
When visitors wake up, they’re treated to a view of the mountains beyond the neighborhood through the floor-to-ceiling, two-way glass windows. They shuffle over wooden floors to bathing luxury and can choose between an oversized soaking tub looking out at the tree line or a spacious shower.
Rounded mirrors with a black border, sconce lights above the vanity, and oversized blue matte porcelain tiles on the floor and walls reflect the Tropical Modernist design.
After refreshing themselves with a shower or bath, visitors can access the outdoors right from the suite via a covered deck. The roof prevents water damage from ever affecting the living space but also makes it usable throughout different seasons and weather.
While only a few blocks from downtown, the chirping birds and hemlock trees make visitors feel like they’re in a different, tranquil world.
The Maddoxes added substantial square footage to their home and a different design style without sacrificing unity and continuity with what was already there. Their addition is fluidly blended with the original home, in the original neighborhood they fell in love with.
Dominique said, “Everything is bigger and nicer, but the house’s essential character is the same.” I
The story above first appeared in our September/October 2026 issue.
