Decorating for a mountain house, lake cottage, cabin or rustic camp is a mind set that is not hard to grasp, and very easy to embrace. One need only head out to the local antiques shops, junk havens, and barn sales to find a wealth of furniture and accessories that, when combined, make for the kind of cozy retreat that leaves you yearning to just cuddle up in a comfy chair with a good book or toasted marshmallows in any of the four seasons. The idea is essentially a decor that evokes WARMTH--whether you are back from skiing or you are settling in after after a day in the lake.
This kind of decor is inexpensive and easy to master, as long as you do not venture into the galleries that carry the most exquisite, craftsman made Adirondack pieces. They are works of art, but dear. Unless you feel a need to spend tens of thousands of dollars on those wonderful creations, you can get the look with antiques, textiles, and chotchkas that are equally effective and only a fraction of the cost.
This past weekend we celebrated the New Year with a wonderful visit from friends. There were elements that were traditional, replete with Challah, candles, honey and apples, and there were elements that were totally nontraditional--like real fireworks, which are, thankfully, legal in New Hampshire!
Here are Monica Lee, Tom, and Connor on the deck. Monica is gathering a basket full of hydrangeas to take home. Those are the "Endless Summer" variety, but very plentiful up here in NH are the old fashioned white ones which are more tree than shrub, and which turn pink as summer turns to fall.Of course, there was the requisite gallivanting for fun antiques and collectibles, as well a visit to Keepsake Quilting in Center Harbor, NH, to check out all the quilting fabrics, since Monica and I both design for textile companies. We also visited my friends Norman and Vera who run the Casual Cape, a haven for great camp decor and gifts.
I am always on the lookout for odd pieces and quirky antiques for New Hampshire. Actually I am always on the lookout for quirky all of the time anyway, but I especially enjoy it up here, because, well, there is just more of it! I've found lots of old wool banners, Flemish Art (as in above), advertising boxes, folk art, moose this and that, and so on. The "wood factor" is key; almost anything made out of wood that has either never been painted or has paint wearing off, creating a nice patina is always good. Plaids, Native American Textiles and weavings, old oriental rugs, hooked rugs, old tins, rusty metal, and naturally, anything at all made with birch bark or antlers. Reds, blues and greens. And pottery, which seems to be specially available right now in consignment and junk shops. Don't know why, but I have been finding a lot of hand thrown ceramics lately which are signed, dated and lovely. And those 70s earth tones might be boring if that is all you live with daily, but they make for great accents in a campy decor. Other things to look for: copper luster pieces, old butter churns and wooden washing barrels, Roseville, leather pieces, old wooden skis and snowshoes, quilts, red-ware, blue willow, and vintage souvenirs from tourist spots of long ago. If you try to imagine what you might see on a road trip circa 1950, you need only mine your imagination for elements of the look. It's not about spending a lot of money. It's about recreating the atmosphere as cheaply as possible. That's an old tool carrier above, with some tins, part of an advertising box, and artificial and dried flowers from good old Walmart. So, have fun decorating your own cabin. Think: cozy, cheap and comfy. So long for now! See you up at the lake again soon!