A true indication of a successful relationship is the ability to share a bathroom. It helps when the room has all the trappings of a great space: recessed lighting, high ceilings, chrome hardware, painted in Spirit in the Sky blue with stones that were individually plotted on a floor of gooey concrete. The main necessity is individual space, as seen with the dual sinks and medicine cabinets so your items don’t have to comingle.

The Accents: Plush towels and artwork aren’t the only ways to inject style into a bathroom, treat the space with personal touches associated with common areas of the home. Family photos and jars containing finds from beach expeditions add a carefree look.

Styled Function: Vintage chairs accommodate extra items and colorful textiles. Keep items in pairs to make sharing more civilized.

The Goods:

University Round Knob: Waterworks

Benjamon Moore #676 Spirit in the Sky Paint: Benjamin Moore

Hotel Recessed Medicine Cabinets: Pottery Barn

Textiles: Kerry Cassill

On a two-lane street seamed with cheerful homes America happens. The road is graffitied with chunky chalk drawings. Bicycles swirl by in lazy speeds. A neighbor returns a muffin pan. This is the avenue of our home, which was built when young men were shipped overseas to serve their country in The Great War. It is a humble, charming home with a pointy roof that blends with the block’s neighborly atmosphere. Inside we made it our own.

Imagine falling into Jeannie’s bottle, a lair so comforting it in no way relates to the ornamental bottle. Our house traipses into the fantastical with unexpected colors and accents.  We chose pieces that won’t be the subject of a freak out when kids spill chocolate milk or the dog snags a spot on the couch when we are out–all regular occurrences here.

There are always games in motion. Artwork is created. Food is prepared and enjoyed. There are helium balloons that get caught in the rafters that take a week to fall to the ground. Neighborhood kids wander in and out.

I grew up with the understanding that you wore hand gloves to the theater and tea is served with squared blocks of sugar. A mix of old values and new traditions collide in our home. While we respect the past, value special passed down pieces, we scale back to fit into today’s lifestyle and design.

Task List for a Modern Retro Home without the Clutter:

1. Quality Pieces: Fewer furnishings loaded with style can carry a room. Consider when to splurge or style with simple, trendy accents like pillows and throws.
2. Add Color with Accessories: Painting the walls white is the ultimate blank canvas. This allows you to design with statement pieces, like wicker furniture painted in a punchy color, art or appliances.
3. Use Washable Upholstery and Fabrics: Eliminate anxiety when someone drinks something aside from water on the couch. Use slipcovers and washable pillowcases to keep a home stress-free and comfortable.
4. Retro Kitchen Appliances Add Impact: A new refrigerator in a mod design, supported by a microwave, espresso maker or appliance with a period look, distinguish the kitchen.

The Accent Pieces:

1. Linked-In style: When designing a room bring in like-minded pieces for keep a cohesive theme.
2. Picture frames: Family photos are the personal accent to a lived in home, which are connected through the shell frames.
3. Wall art: Simple pictures with spots of color like prints from books or maps, expertly framed, bring interest above and add style.
4. Toys: To keep the “family” in family room, kid toys should always be available. An easel or blocks concealed in baskets or drawers make the room more inviting for the 10 and under crowd.

You’d think my cupboard had a celebrity colorist considering all the colors it has been, which is  currently painted in Windy Sky. It has been in my former living area and son’s room, displayed children’s books, beach artifacts, linens and currently showcases kitchenware. But how do you master the art of a display?

Thoughtful Displays of Affection:

1. Consider the Space: With limited shelf space avoid cramming all of your favorite pieces. (I am so guilty of this). Be prepared to do an edit where some items may not make the cut. Simply stow them away in a clearly marked container and revisit to use again for when you entertain or want to rejig a theme.
2. Scheming: In this vignette I picked items that have colors represented in the adjoining kitchen and living spaces. I added pink for pop, whimsy and it goes with the playful theme in our household as we are always experimenting with recipes and party ideas.
3. Create Levels: Pick a variety of objects in different heights to fill in blank spaces. Pedestal plates, trays and the decorative boxes they were packed in are great accessories to stack pieces and add interest.
4. Mix It Up: From modern basics to heirlooms, traditional and updated accents come together to make a personalized look. Dainty porcelain you thought was destined for your Great Aunt Polly’s 90th birthday need not be relegated to storage. Rose printed china looks cool against simple colored pieces.

While the idea of a front parlor room where you can make embroidered cushions and read letters delivered on silver platters is quaint, we had uncertainty if the original room would make sense in our modern lifestyle. After giving the home a few test months, we valued the separation of the front and back sections of the first floor. Since this is a smaller home, different areas for family to retreat in is key. Thus we transformed the original parlor room into a “calm room.”

The bay window brings in natural light and added seating, which helps keep the room uncluttered and relaxing. I kept the furnishings to a few functional pieces that are low to the ground–movable chairs like the rope poufs and stools, with plenty of books tastefully displayed. The home’s primary palette of blues and seaglass green is amply represented. A sisal rug is always key to bring in warmth and seamlessly integrate into the design scheme.

The design theme of this room has a combination of influences, notably favorite places I have lived in like the Hamptons and Laguna Beach. Both coastal regions, though on different coasts, which share a casual elegance–comfortable, ethnic-inspired, light with beachy shades. I upholstered the pillows, valances and seat cushions with a Kravet fabric.

My most dependable design accent is coffee table books. If you saw my last storage facility you would say it is an obsession. Being an author of a few titles I am partial to what’s inside the book, though they also have design cred in accessorizing. I painted a brick wall white and kept the shelving for my books, which I organized by scale and color with a few accents here and there. (More to come later…)

The coffee table is an anchor piece in a designed home. What makes it on the table are favorite books chosen for size, color and style–peppered with supporting accents. When I came across Bitten by Witch Fever (which is actually a lovely book on colorful Victorian wallpapers) the scheme seemed intended for the room.

First impressions is not exclusive to good shoes and handshakes–they matter in a home. With only so many New England months to tackle the exterior we’ve been focusing our attention to lightening the color scheme and adding the right details. The flow of what outwardly appears continues to the #entryway.

Design techniques used on the front entrance are applied to the interior. Simply framed prints of eggs following the line of the staircase are clean, calm and keep to the neutral color scheme. Invest in a chandelier or quality lighting, which takes the drama above, dazzles the eye, and keeps your space clutter free. Bay windows are always appreciated to seat more guests and add a dash of color and style with thoughtfully appointed upholstery. Even better is to create storage beneath for valued organizational space in a small home.

We painted the entryway door in the same shade of icy blue as the porch walls. The result is unexpected and happy.

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With a year to mull over paint colors and hardware you’d think we would get it right. As with every design project there is some trial and error. Unfortunately my budget is not a fan of trial and error. The current before and after of our home’s exterior makeover does show improvement, and for readers treat it like a “count the differences” exercise in those children’s game books my son adores.*

We secured the right painters, who powerwashed the shingles with a bleach cleaner. We changed the paint color of the porch from dark blue to gray, door from red to yellow and trim from light blue to white (with plans to add shutters–more to come on that project). The yellow door makes me smile, which was an impulse change after thinking it would be blue–still have the paint can to prove it.

The other color in flux is the stain, which had an orangish reaction to the wood. Learn from my mistake–do not paint the entire project until you are satisfied with a test patch. Currently considering white based stains and any feedback is appreciated.

Finishing details with the hardware and accents complete the styled look.

The door knocker is by Michael Healy. Yes, door knockers now have designers for those who care about such things. Packaged in a lovely box and felt satchel, it felt like opening a piece of jewelry. It is in fact jewelry for the home. The floating house numbers were a quest to find as most available have a dated feel. Made from recycled plastic, the Pollywood adirondack chairs have a modern feel and are made to endure. Pillows in our color scheme bring in whimsy and comfort. The nautical inspired front light updates the look. The doormat from Cape Porpoise Trading Company is made from recycled lobster trap rope–good for the environment and good looking always earns high points for the ecologically design friendly group.

*Answers to before & after changes: 1. Porch brackets removed 2. New paint color for trim, porch and door. 3. Lighter stain 4. Door knocker and house numbers replaced. 4. Addition of pillows and doormat 5. Ellie in different positions.

Two winters ago I dropped Luc off at preschool, which resulted in another mom saying that the house across the street from her was for sale. While I rather assist on building a dam than moving, there is nothing more enticing as a new home and project. (In the past 6 years this would be my fourth move and I am not in the military). Our town has transformed into that commuter young family brand of suburbia where square footage and sub zero fridges trump charm. Though I will choose old bannisters, slatted closet doors and shingle siding over a game room any day.

That mom-to-mom interaction progressed into an almost year long courtship with the owners whose home we moved into last summer.

Sometimes you just know, like when Luc was meant to be a surprise but I knew I would be having a boy. This is the house we wanted and made it happen. We have been making “slight” alterations, which will be documented, but not enough to move into the nearby Avalon that hosts divorcees and families renovating their residences. Our intention is to stay true to the essence of this 1914 Colonial, which reminds me of the clapboards I’ve always been drawn to in the Hamptons. In a few weeks, contractor availability and rain date depending, we will tackle the exterior. And, for the Where’s Waldo lovers, please note Ellie our dog who always maneuvers her way into a photo op.

A new home mentality is if it’s awkward gut it. That’s like saying if you have a weird toe cosmetically enhance it. A little back history, I grew up in a 1920s Normandy where we were only allotted a 10-minute shower for fear the pipes would burst and used the laundry chute to terrorize the dog. I attended a university where crumbly buildings added to campus authenticity. The idea of living in a home peeled from vinyl strips with a laminate and glue scent never appealed to me.

In every home I’ve lived in there have been the proverbial weird toes: slatted roofs, floors you could roll a marble on and mismatched wood. Rooms contoured to the shape of the home also must be dealt with. If it doesn’t quite fit embrace it.  Nestle beds together, install book shelves or create a special nook.

An attention to colors and accents also build the style. In the girl’s room an orange and pink scheme is captured by Kate Spade bedding. Sweet handprinted pillows by Art Goodies connect the theme.

Back to themes stripes, vintage and nautical compose the setting. Lighting and sailing flags bring to mind a ship’s cabin. The crayon colors of blue, red and yellow keep it from looking too yachting club stiff. The layers of bedding and duvet covers are both practical and show that you can mismatch patterns when they share a color or theme. You can never have enough stripes, which work perfectly with toys your father played with.

Storage is also thoughtfully considered with pieces that are both functional and attractive, such as a bedside table that stows away books, toy box of the NYC subway system that will move through the ages, canvas storage bin and rolling cart that is ideally used for function over a high speed chase with the dog.

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