Updating your Mountain Home

Bright, fresh paint, furniture and finishes can freshen darker millwork.

Sprucing and Modernizing

Lately we have been doing loads of design refresh jobs.   The overall Mountain home look using heavy stone, logs, and timbers is classic in any form, and will always give us the warmth we desire for our “cabin in the woods”.  But we are looking at these structures in a whole new way now. 15 and 20 years ago we were using darker warmer colors and tones on the walls and in fabrics.  Dark, rich, wood stains were very popular, and furniture was visually heavy to balance out the bold architecture.  While that look is cozy and welcoming, current trends mean we are starting to transform these spaces with a little less weight.  Although I am loving this new look and even embracing it in my own home, I sometimes get bummed that beautiful, hand crafted pieces end up being “gotten rid of” and the beauty of natural wood gets covered.  I truly believe you can freshen these homes without painting the whole place white and making it completely minimalist.  But don’t get me wrong, that is super fun too!

I have loads of baby step projects to help you through a modern spruce up without having to do a full-blown remodel.  Absolutely #1 first thing we do is take ALL knick knacks down, ALL art, photo frames, little boxes and please, please just go ahead and put away the small carved bear statues and bouclé moose pillows.  Don’t worry we will bring much of it back in later, not the bears.  This gives you a completely fresh look at your space.  

Next, paint the walls.  I was doing loads of golds and greens on the walls I designed in the early 2000’s.  Heavy texture was in too.  Now looking back, the walls and the wood finishes were often all the same in terms of color tones and shades.  By freshening up those walls and dark wood cabinets too, we let the wood around contrast.  The walls and the wood take on a whole new life right away.  OK, I’ll give away very favorite color right now.  Sherwin Williams – Incredible White SW7028.  It reads as a fresh white but is a very warm tone that won’t go too stark on you.  Designer tip: hire a painter with experience and knowledge.  I am an absolute believer in “you get what you pay for” in this hire.  This may mean not taking the lowest bid, but you will thank me later when you don’t notice sloppy painting for the next year. 

Rugs are the next place where I recommend doing some shifting.  I realize Persian and Tribal rugs are heirlooms and certainly not to be taken away lightly.  But they are mostly darker, heavier colors.  Against a mid to dark wood floor they start to “blend in” in color tone again.  Give the main spaces rugs with lighter, brighter colors and shades.  The contrast will give your floor a whole new life and freshen the space.  Layer the older, more classic rugs under and over the new ones, or even hang them on a white wall.

Light fixtures were also much heavier and the light diffusers warmer.  This is a tough one because again, I prefer not to get rid of stuff.  We try to get perfectly good but more clunky fixtures to organizations like Habitat for Humanity.  Sometimes new shades, diffusers and/or paint can give a chandelier a new life, but this is my favorite jewelry area to splurge and create a full transformation.

Thanks Five Marigolds for this fun photo!

The hardest part of this process for many of my clients, is limiting yourself when you bring your personal bits and fluff back into the space.  Yes, some of these personal things are really what make a house a home but try hard to box up at least part of the older accessories and minimize the weight of everything.  Then consolidate some of the other favorite things.  I have a large shelving system tucked up on an otherwise boring wall that holds all our personal photos.  Then they aren’t strung on every console and side table.  Create an “old art” gallery wall in a less public hallway or bedroom.  I love to take quality furniture pieces and paint them out to give a new life.  Shellac a big buffet blue and it will absolutely make a fun new statement.  From there, the sky is the limit with how far you want to take the refresh.  We can’t give away all our secrets here, so come see us.  We can create a plan to update your Mountain House!

Reused Vanity. Painted it black and gave it bright hardware.