Phoenix Magazine - Cabin Fever
CABIN FEVER--PHOENIX MAGAZINE
WHEN DESIGNING THE PERFECT WINTER HOME, OR WARMING UP YOUR PERMANENT RESIDENCE FOR THE SEASON, THERE’S JUST ONE RULE: HAVE FUN.
If the idea of hanging a moose head over the mantle makes you uneasy about decorating that winter home, rest assured, the rules have changed.
And those obligatory paintings of flying ducks? The bearskin rugs? Put those notions on ice. (Or, if you’re so inclined, warm them back up again.) Anything goes in the world of designing second homes, which can make it a fun and liberating escape from the norm.
Kati Botkin, an interior designer for the firm Bess Jones Interior in Scottsdale, recently worked on a second home in Flagstaff. Her client wanted a retreat that blended both rustic and modern styles. What resulted was a modern take on the old fashioned log cabin.
That might sound impossible. But it simply required tweaking old notions – and materials.
“The only rules are really set by your exterior,” Botkin says. “Keeping a similar look from your exterior to interior is key. To me, beyond that, there really are no rules unless people want a log cabin, then your interior would be more rustic. A house we just finished up in Flagstaff was an interesting combination of both.”
Not all cabins must be made of wood – stone makes an equally rustic impression. The modern cabin got a schist stone, which tends to be thinner and more linear than the round, Old World-style cobblestone you find in developments such as DC Ranch. Instead of using rustic wood beams reclaimed from Europe, Botkin’s firm used finished beams to give the interior a sleeker, more contemporary edge.
Whether modern or vintage, wood is one of the biggest design elements in cabins, and it’s where a big portion of your budget will go. Reclaimed wood is a particularly hot item, and designers will scour the market for beautifully, authentically beat-up, torched, hammered, sawed, stomped-on wood reclaimed from buildings and barns constructed in the 1800s. Many are found in the Midwest.
When clients can’t afford such treasures, Botkin says designers will hire woodworkers to beat up new, pristine pieces of wood. Believe it or not, this is actually cheaper and can give your cabin a similarly worn effect. If you want that rustic look, make sure the corners of your beams are rounded; if you want to go mod, leave them at 90-degree angles.
Once your structure is sturdy, it’s time to warm up by the fire. Although Arizona isn’t known for its blizzards, Phoenix-area designers say residents are keen on fireplaces, and several trends are afoot. Two bits of advice: Go big, and go natural. Don’t be afraid to make the fireplace the focal point of your room, especially during the wintertime, by designing it to be wide and at eye-level for seated guests, Botkin says. Rearrange furniture around the fireplace instead of the TV to promote conversation during holiday gatherings, she adds.
If your home’s exterior boasts stacked stone, consider using similar colors and patterns when constructing the fireplace, she says. Repetition will serve you well, tying in the exterior with the interior.
Claire Ownby, of Ownby Design in Scottsdale, says her clients are tossing out the fake logs and ushering in more natural materials.
“The biggest trend is not everyone is feeling forced to do the artificial log setup,” she says. “I’m seeing more use of sand, more use of stones and rock, more organic use of materials.”
And while 18-inch raised fireplaces have been popular, she’s noticing the trend swing back to floor-mounted boxes.
For desert dwellers especially, outfitting a home in the wintertime can be as fun as putting on a sweater for the first time in December. We are so often relegated to bring and sunny colors that every one in a while, it is fun to play with a warm, dark décor. And these design tricks can work for your permanent residence as well as your winter home.
If nothing else, focus on three areas: color, lighting and texture, Botkin says. It’s about “manipulating some of the elements of design,” and everything should be warm.
Consider colors you find readily in nature, such as browns reminiscent of pinecones, greens like moss and rusts like desert sunsets. Ownby suggests switching out your light lampshades for a dark brown and black ones, and consider getting a shade with texture like linen or grass cloth.
Take it a step further and switch out those bright fluorescent bulbs for soft, incandescent ones. Ownby says she’s even used orange bulbs.
“A lot of this cozies up a space and makes it a lot more intimate,” she says. “You can play with it,” she adds. “Between the shade and the bulb… it makes it feel totally different.”
If you want to stick with fluorescent bulbs, try a compact florescent, which tends to be a bit lighter.
Nothing cozies up a space faster than pillows and blankets. Be sure to pick ones that are warm and soft to the touch. This is the time to grab the fur pillows you’ve been eyeing (go faux for the same effect) and the heavy-woven chenille throws you’ve been pawing at your favorite home décor store.
Do your freezing tootsies a favor and splurge on several rugs, too. This time of year, that hardwood and tile flooring can start to feel harsh. If you want to be tres chic, don’t arrange them at perfectly aligned angles throughout your house. Instead, stack rugs of different sizes and fabrics of various angles and on top of one another, Ownby suggests.
It might sound counterintuitive, but when accessorizing your cabin, experts suggest looking for vintage inspiration in country cottages. The décor is often the same. Dark, floral patterns are at home here, as are antique pots, pot hangers, kitchen utensils and furniture.
For a nod to Arizona’s Western heritage, hand leather saddles, wagon wheels, stirrups, or lassos as wall art. Or, if you want something custom, check out the Phoenix Art Group. You can commission a painting to your specifications, which can come in handy when you are trying to fill a particularly large wall or match a color-coordinated room. And if you see a painting the group already has created but something is a little off, it can be recreated to your specifications, says Botkin, who sends many clients there.
At the end of the winter, you will have a cozy cabin worth returning to year after year.