Design Confidently, Live Comfortably
  The budget dictated a straightforward simplicity, but we worked hard to create some variety and whimsy. While all the rooms are large and simple, there are plenty of smaller, more intimate window seats or nooks to retreat to. The change in ceiling height from one area to another helps to add character and variety to the house: Bruce’s studio in the basement has a low, flat ceiling; the living space has a tall, sloped ceiling; and the master bedroom has a low, sloped ceiling.
We struggled to find the right balance between walls for hanging paintings and windows for views to the surroundings. We put large windows on the wall facing the lake and ran low horizontal windows on the wall facing the marsh. This allows for several feet of wall space above the windows for hanging paintings.
We mixed materials, contrasting new with old, modern with traditional, and industrial with woodsy. For example, the ceilings are paneled in simple 1x6-inch pine, a material as common -- and inexpensive -- as gypsum wallboard in northern Wisconsin. The walls are basic wallboard painted in rich colors to complement the paintings. Trim around the windows was kept to a minimum to avoid distracting eyes from either the art or the view. The fireplace is a black industrial box, and its surround is corrugated galvanized sheet metal. We originally designed the floor to be a raw, exposed, 1-1/2-inch-thick concrete slab with in-floor radiant heating tubes, but that proved too difficult and expensive, so the final flooring is 12-inch vinyl composition tile -- one of the simplest and least expensive floorings available. Sara designed some tile patterns to add a dash of funkiness to the floor. NEXT: Blending in with the Environment—Almost BACK: Simple Plans for a Tight Budget |
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PHOTOS: JOHN GRUEN |
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