Color - Schemes & Backstory

Transforming the Neville House into the Retro Lake House involved a serious design decision. In the last post, I shared materials I had purchased for this project.  Ultimately, I left the wood surfaces unfinished.  The structure itself prevented good access that would allow me to do a top rate job covering or painting the interiors.  Without a second house, I didn't want any decor to be irreversible. Besides, the wood is just too fabulous!  I may give it a clear wax coat down the line, but for now the wood shall remain naked unfinished.  With that decided, here's how the rest of the design emerged.

The yellow fireplace got me thinking about a color scheme. Since its style is straight out of the 1970's maybe just go with it. I then looked for materials that were from or felt like they were from that decade. I went all out with the yellow and grey and came up with an inspiration board. It felt more modern than yellow and black.  

But, as I began selecting furniture to work in this small space, a new co-star and complement to the groovy fireplace emerged.

So it was in with the Rietveld chair and out with the grey. New color scheme? Why, all the colors of the chair, of course.


Every mini home becomes easier to design and outfit with a backstory, right? The wall of windows screamed, "setting with a wonderful view".  To me, wonderful view is almost always synonymous with a body of water.  But this Asian-influenced design didn't strike me as a beach property.  Then, it came to me...a lake.  A vacation property, a weekend home...but just how luxurious or stark would it be? I came up with this mood...