Design Hints

Patriot Games

Thu, 16 May 2013 18:36:00 GMT

“When I see something that’s red, white or blue and it works with my house, I grab it up,” says Sharon Pesek, whose home is featured in our July 2013 issue. She decks out her lakeside Florida cottage with a palette she pared down to patriotic hues. Follow her tips for successfully dressing your home in an Americana color scheme.

• Choose dual-colored objects. Boost interest by displaying items that sport at least two colors in the scheme: Blue-and-white dishes, red-and-white textiles and rugs, and red-white-and-blue game boards and quilts go a long way to creating cohesive interiors. To put this idea into action, Sharon brings visual distinction to her great room floors by setting graphically dynamic painted barbershop poles on the pine floors.

• Wave the flag. Gather up old parade flags and group them in a wide variety of interesting vessels to carry Old Glory colors to tabletops, counters and shelves. Tuck a flag into a floral arrangement or stick a handful into a potted plant—Sharon perks up her kitchen counter with a few flags and some flowering branches in a glass vase.

• Stay true to red, white and blue. A Yankee-Doodle palette is most dandy when you focus your decor on just those three hues and then mix in natural wood finishes and/or touches of black. Aside from the occasional bit of greenery, the home strictly follows Sharon’s chosen scheme—however, varying tones, such as blues that run from a light-finish basket in the master bedroom to a deeper blue on a great room hutch, keep the scene lively.

• Compare and contrast. Introduce an assortment of white finishes and surfaces, comfortable upholstered furnishings and fresh-faced fabrics as cheerful counterpoints to distressed patinas and weighty antique cupboards. In Sharon’s great room, for instance, crisp-lined red plaid rugs repeat the motifs of wall-hung game boards that feature a more aged finish.

Written by Ann Wilson
Photographed and styled by Franklin & Esther Schmidt

Graphic Content

Wed, 20 Mar 2013 14:33:00 GMT

Antiques and architectural salvage provide inspiration to Strasburg, Virginia, homeowner Craig Morris, whose home is featured in our May 2013 issue. Craig is drawn to pieces with strong shapes and designs because they give a space a focal point, often serve as a conversation starter and create a truly personal environment. Take his advice and pick items or build displays with these traits:

Visual Diversity: Look for antiques and other decor that draw your eye with their motifs. “Game boards are great because they look folky and almost contemporary at the same time,” Craig explains. Painted signs and patterned textiles bring personality to his kitchen and bedrooms.

Hometown Pride: What is your city or geographic area known for? In Strasburg, that would be high-grade stoneware and earthenware—from 1880 to 1896, manufacturing stoneware was the chief occupation in the city. “Most homeowners in Strasburg today still like to have at least one piece of original pottery to tie back to the town’s earlier history,” Craig says. He has three local treasures, one of which is a crock perched atop a cabinet on the ham shack’s screened-in porch.

Perfect Patterns: Don’t shy away from choosing seating upholstered in graphic fabric. Strong pieces, such as the plaid armchairs flanking the fireplace in the ham shack, can work to tie an entire room’s color scheme together or to spruce up an otherwise simple space. If you aren’t ready to try out a big-impact motif on important furniture, such as chairs or a sofa, wade in on a smaller scale by selecting a patterned footstool or draping a coverlet over a leather ottoman, as Craig did in the ham shack.

Mass Appeal: When grouped together, even the smallest or most mundane items can make powerful design statements. One shoeshine box may not immediately draw one’s eye, for instance, but Craig grouped more than 30 together in a wall of custom cubbies that are built around a small window in the ham shack. From bold red and green to more subdued blue, brown and white, the distinctive vintage boxes work together to give the space a dynamic focal point. The same is true of books stacked in colorful towers on the dining room/library table and yellowware tucked into a guest bedroom cabinet.

Written by April Miller
Photographed and styled by Franklin & Esther Schmidt

Expert Advice

Thu, 17 Jan 2013 17:47:00 GMT

Family and friends had always told Leslie Hoffer that she had a knack for design, and a business was born after she successfully assisted an acquaintance with decorating her newly built house. A certified interior decorator for nine years, Leslie says she enjoys helping both clients and loved ones by “making their visions come true.” Not limiting herself to any one style, Leslie has decorated homes from contemporary to country—including her own Owings, Maryland, farmhouse, which is featured in our March 2013 issue. Read on for her expert interior design tips.

Start outside. Curb appeal is very important, and the front of your home is the first thing guests see. “A front porch can be decorated just as much as the inside of your home,” Leslie says. Bountiful pots of cheery yellow blooms and a variety of lantern-style lighting greet guests outside the Hoffers’ home.

Repurpose furniture. Before you decide to donate or sell a chair, a chest of drawers or a bookcase, take a moment to look at it with fresh eyes. If it’s still useful, consider painting it or reimagining it to breathe new life into the piece. Leslie retasked a trunk with a broken lid as a display perch for crocks in her enclosed porch simply by turning the piece over.

Paint away. The quickest way to update a room is to paint the walls, Leslie says. It’s inexpensive and can completely change the feel of the space. “If your room has a dull color on the walls and it makes you feel glum,” she advises, “brighten it with a cheery yellow.” Paint also offers an inexpensive fix for updating kitchen cabinets; switch out hardware, including hinges, to enhance the transformation.

Layer it on. Leslie’s final decorating step—layer, layer, layer!—is her favorite. “It adds depth and dimension to a home and gives it that personal touch,” she explains. Layering can be as simple as draping a throw over a sofa or chair, grouping accessories on a mantel or organizing family photos on a dry sink.

Written by April Miller
Photographed and styled by Franklin & Esther Schmidt

Hues You Can Use

Tue, 20 Nov 2012 17:16:00 GMT

To create a colorful home, you don’t have to paint every wall, door and rafter. In fact, overt background color can often overwhelm a space and diminish the contents of the room itself. A neutral backdrop provides more flexibility, allowing you to transform your space easily as your tastes and style evolve; moreover, accessorizing with vibrant furnishings can actually help draw attention to your favorite things—not detract from them. Follow these three helpful tips from Penny and Donovan Smith’s well-aged Vine Grove, Kentucky, home—as seen in our January 2013 issue—to amp up the color story of any neutral space.

1. Incorporate painted furniture into your decor. Distressed painted-wood furnishings, including tables, cupboards, chairs, benches and the like, are both functional and eye-catching. Take advantage of painted pieces by using them to display prized collections. Penny’s parlor features a bold country-blue cabinet with white dishware tucked inside, and her prized yellowware pops from the dark recesses of a black cabinet in the kitchen.

2. Combine complementary patterns and textures. Color comes in many forms and textures—solid to checked, quilted to braided. Experiment with combining a variety of harmonizing motifs by way of window treatments, throw blankets, decorative pillows and rugs, until you find an arrangement that makes you smile. In the Smiths’ den, for example, smaller checked curtains complement an armchair upholstered in a larger version of the pattern, and a red-and-blue braided rug boldly breaks up a neutral area rug.

3. Assemble multicolored like items together. Vibrant baskets, yarn skeins, painted bowls, quilts and button-filled jars are just a few items that you can group en masse to create displays that pack a bold-palette punch. From onion-dyed eggs in a glass canister on a parlor table (see the instructions on page 34) to woven handbaskets hanging in the kitchen to pantry boxes stacked here, there and everywhere, Penny ensures that every room features several colorful characters.

Written by Rebecca J. Razo
Photographed and styled by Franklin & Esther Schmidt

It’s a Small World

Tue, 18 Sep 2012 17:08:00 GMT

As a single mom raising two young daughters on a teacher’s salary, Susan Collins didn’t have extra cash to spend on decorating her Ashby, Massachusetts, bungalow (featured in the article "School of Thought" in our November 2012 issue). So, she found creative ways to make the most of the small items that she could afford. “It’s been a little here and there at yard sales, flea markets, places like that,” she says. “It’s the way I display things that makes it look nice.” Here are a few of her favorite tips for displaying even the tiniest of treasures:

• Give a boost. Whether she’s showcasing Santas for Christmas or chicken-themed accents for an everyday country look, Susan doesn’t hesitate to add some height to a vignette. Santas aren’t confined to sleighs—you’ll find them astride horses, sleds and even geese to give arrangements a more complete look. On the kitchen counter, a trio of hen containers roost atop a bright-red vintage lunchbox, which brings a festive punch to the scene.

• Hang it up. Smalls can look lost hanging on a bare wall, so group a few of them in a frame, as Susan did with children’s mittens and socks above the master bedroom bed. Or, hang pieces together on an old shutter; wood mitten stretchers pop against a green shutter in the kitchen’s seating area.

• Play peek-a-boo. Arrange petite pieces so that they peek out of unexpected spots, adding a touch of whimsy to any space. For example, Susan left one of the drawers of an old apothecary on her kitchen counter ajar and tucked in a tiny Santa, who seems to pop out for a quick “Ho, ho, ho!” Small crocks and firkins offer still more prime “peek-a-boo” opportunities.

• Shelve the matter. A large shelf can overwhelm displays of pint-size items, so get creative about finding scaled-down counterparts. Susan has used a tobacco leaf shelf, diminutive homemade shelves, a utensil drawer divider hung sideways and even an antique nesting box. “We found the nesting box in a shop, and Fred asked, ‘What are we going to do with that?’ ” she recalls. “I said, ‘We’re flipping it on its side, and I’m putting stuff in it!’ ”

Written by Nancy Anderson Hedberg
Photographed and styled by Franklin & Esther Schmidt

Premature Aging

Wed, 18 Jul 2012 13:00:00 GMT

Mickleton, New Jersey, homeowner Pauline Fennell, whose home is featured in our September 2012 issue, employed brush, paint, stencils and glaze to create period-perfect walls in her sitting and keeping rooms. Imperfections are essential to timeworn style, so even inexperienced painters should be able to duplicate the look without a hitch. Here’s how to fashion old-looking walls:

1. Pick out Colonial-motif stencils and paint hues that suit your theme and palette. In the keeping room, Pauline stenciled willow trees as a top border and then repeatedly applied a two-color feathery motif to create vertical stripes.

2. If you plan to re-create Pauline’s vertical stripes, mark stencil placement along the top of the walls to ensure that the rows of motifs are spaced correctly across the width of the walls.

3. Position the stencil and secure it with masking tape; or, spray stencil adhesive on the back following the manufacturer’s instructions. If desired, tape off areas that will be painted in additional colors. Use a different stencil brush for each paint color. Dab the brush into paint, and then wipe off excess paint on a paper towel. Pounce the brush over the stencil. Carefully move the stencil to the next position, and repeat as above until all of the walls are stenciled. Let stenciled patterns dry. If you’re doing a two-color stencil, repeat the above steps for the second color.

4. Finish the treatment by dipping a scrunched-up rag in antiquing glaze and blotting it across the walls. Wipe off some of the glaze to showcase stenciled motifs. Be sure to leave more glaze in some areas to create a smoke-stained look. Let the glaze dry.

Written by Ann Wilson
Photographed and styled by Franklin & Esther Schmidt

Revisiting the Past

Wed, 16 May 2012 17:00:00 GMT

It’s no secret that Norman, Indiana, homeowners Debbie and Jerry Loper cherish the old and the antique. Together, the couple restored two log cabins from the 1800s, first into a bed-and-breakfast and then into a welcoming and comfortable home for themselves. Even if you’re not quite ready (or willing) to tackle a full log-cabin renovation, Debbie’s advice can still inspire you to turn old items into something new—albeit on a smaller scale—or enhance your timeworn treasures in creative ways.

Get on board. Rethink the purpose of ordinary household goods. As a complement to the home’s wood walls and floors, Debbie reimagined a handful of old wood cutting boards as a valance over her kitchen sink. Nearby, a black ladder suspended from hooks on the ceiling beams functions as a display rack for wire baskets and other kitchenware.

Take it outside. Vintage pieces that you love don’t necessarily need to remain indoors. To dress up an outdoor nook where one of the cabins meets the new addition, Debbie placed a glass-doored cabinet against an exterior wall and filled it with small decorative accents, giving it new life and interest.

Paint away. When Jerry’s mother was downsizing to a smaller home, she gave Debbie and Jerry two old cabinets that had been in her basement for years. Debbie repainted the lime green pieces dark red and stacked them on top of each other—“When she came to our house, she didn’t recognize them,” Debbie recalls—to create a tall pantry that now sits in the dining area.

Reuse fashionably. Scraps of vintage fabric and buttons can add detail to otherwise so-so pieces. For twin lamps on her master bedroom vanity, Debbie covered the cylindrical shades with old ticking fabric and glued vintage buttons on the top and bottom to finish the look.

Hit the highlights. Even if you don’t want to alter an antique piece, try showcasing it in a favorable light. Atop a great room cabinet, Debbie nestled her collection of kerosene lamps in a bed of white twinkle lights to cast a glow on the glass lanterns. A similar radiance illuminates the shelves installed high on the master suite’s sitting area walls.

This home was featured in the July 2012 issue.

Written by April Miller
Photographed by Bill Mathews
Styled by Gloria Gale

Simply Country

Wed, 21 Mar 2012 20:55:00 GMT

The primitive and Early American inspirations that guide Sharon Pitre’s decorating lend themselves to a look that tends more toward streamlined than cluttered. Here are some of the ways Sharon makes it work in her Tecumseh, Ontario, Canada, home:

• Mix old and new for a similar effect. To stretch your decorating budget, look beyond antiques stores to get the look you love. A reproduction butter churn in Sharon’s living room (purchased from a discount home decor store) has just as much charm as the antique one in the breakfast area—at a much lower price tag.

• Alter pieces to suit your needs. Remove a cabinet door to show off a collection to better effect, or hang a corner shelf sideways, as Sharon did with a corner display rack installed horizontally in the guest bedroom. If the item is not an antique or collectible, consider giving it a new finish; Sharon painted a trio of baskets hung from the dining room ceiling red, beige and blue to better suit her palette.

• Use fabric to introduce pattern and texture. Drape a coverlet over the back of a chair or sofa, hang a bonnet or stockings from a peg or hook, cover a cabinet door with a patchwork quilt, or fill an empty space with a stack of folded linens. Don’t have enough old linens? Dye newer ones with tea or coffee to instantly age them.

• Raise your displays. High shelves, display rails or ceiling hooks draw the eye upward and maximize your wall space’s decorating value. Hang baskets, buckets, lanterns, linens, artwork and even small furnishings from hooks or pegs, where they will command more attention than if they were simply placed atop a table or within a cupboard. Sharon smartly showcases a green footstool and a child’s chair on a peg rack in her dining room.

This home was featured in the May 2012 issue.

Written by Lisa Sloan
Photographed by Bill Mathews
Styled by Gloria Gale

Flights of Fancy

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 21:44:00 GMT

Sometimes Early American style can be quite formal, but California collector Jerilyn Satterfield Jones balances the stately elegance of her furnishings with touches of whimsy. Here’s how she does it:

• Add tiny delights. Little details that are big on charm can bring a sense of humor into a space filled with more austere furnishings. In Jerilyn’s home, silhouettes of scampering mice are stenciled on the stairway, a parade of pottery piglets cross a kitchen countertop, and doll-size chairs hang on the family room wall.

• Break the mold. Choose compatible accents of different styles. For example, a trio of chalkware hens offers a kitschy counterpoint to the sleek decoys in Jerilyn’s family room breakfast area, but the fact that they are fellow fowl ties them together.

•Make it personal. Favorite items with sentimental attachment or personal meaning, including family photographs and cherished heirlooms, are great ways to add your own flair to a classic style. Jerilyn’s grandmother’s floral paintings fit right in with the antique quilts in the guest room, where an iron-and-brass bed that once belonged to Jerilyn’s daughter rubs elbows with a much-older dresser and nightstand.

• Punctuate with color. Bright touches stand out against the deep tones of Jerilyn’s wood furniture and enliven her rooms. Whether it’s a pitcher full of flowers on the living room mantel, a handcrafted birdhouse above the kitchen sink, a vivid quilt over a chair back, or a bowl of realistic-looking stone fruit on the dining table, full-spectrum fare sets a cheery tone.

This home was featured in the March 2012 issue.

Written by Lisa Sloan
Photographed by Mark Lohman
Styled by Sunday Hendrickson

The New Old House

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 15:19:00 GMT

When Margaret Bryant (whose home is featured in our January 2012 issue) faced the challenge of building a new home that would be easier for her to manage on her own, she was sure of one thing: It had to look old. “I did not want to make the house look new inside,” she remembers, “so I had pictures of things I’d seen through the years, and I tried to copy the look of an old house. I couldn’t just copy things, though—I did it my way.” Here are five of her best ideas:

1. Use lots of wood. Margaret didn’t just settle for pine plank floors, she installed pine on the ceilings and even on some walls as well.

2. Forgo upper kitchen cabinets, and install open shelving instead to display lots of antique kitchen implements, crocks and baskets. If future owners want upper cabinets, they can easily be installed later.

3. Hang period doors and window treatments for a more authentically old look. Margaret has two back-to-back front doors; one of them swings in and the other swings out, a common feature in New England saltbox houses. She also installed custom-made wood interior shutters, complete with handmade wood latches, for all the home’s windows.

4. Outfit the house with an interesting variety of old furniture, and display plenty of antiques throughout the house. “I think it’s the furnishings that make it look so old,” Margaret muses. “That and the wood.”

5. Disguise modern appliances when possible. A large cutting board covers Margaret’s stovetop, and her washer and dryer are ingeniously tucked behind a rustic wood door in the buttery.

Written by Nancy Anderson Hedberg
Photographed by Franklin Schmidt
Styled by Esther Schmidt