3 places we found design inspiration for our Lake House
Having the opportunity to design a house is exciting. It can also be daunting, especially when you’re staring at a blank canvas. Even with a vision, there are lots of decisions to make from mundane to major. So far, I have noticed that having a vision, or a specific style, certainly helps weed-out design elements when faced with a multitude of choices. That has seemed to save time, money, and frustration. Arranging furniture however, well, that’s a post for a different time. This particular post is relatively short and I’ll be sharing a lot of inspiration images with you straight from my Pinterest Lake House board. I’ve included the websites for all of these images so you can take a closer look at what they’ve done- I know I will!
We’ve been inspired to design our house around three things, or technically a people, a place, and a thing. They are the Swedes, Chautauqua Lake, and the house itself.
Why the Swedish influence? We’re not Swedish -well, if you want to be picky, 5% of my DNA is Swedish- but the Chautauqua Lake area was settled by the Swedes. I have done zero research on this fact. It was something that was told to me by a shop owner in Bemus Point. If you look closely around the area you can see the evidence- last names, Swedish flags, Dala animals. When the shopkeeper told me that, probably 5 years ago now, before we had a house here, it really struck a chord in me. I love cultural heritage, and once we had a house, designing it to honor the cultural heritage of the area was exactly what I wanted to do. It doesn’t hurt that IKEA is budget friendly and Swedish design is so clean, functional, modern- but not cold.
Since the house is on a lake- Chautauqua Lake- we want it to reflect that. Not in a nautical sense. In fact, we have tried really hard to avoid anything overtly lake, beach, or boat related. Instead, we want it to function as a peaceful retreat with a cozy, cottage feeling. To us, that means a light color pallet, warm wood tones, cozy textiles, and clean lines. Also, lots and lots of beadboard/wood planks.
Finally, we want to honor the architecture of the house, which I believe lies along the lines of mid-century modern. It’s late mid-century and probably more accurately called contemporary. Some sources suggest that contemporary refers to present time, thus modern may be more accurate. The house has lots of levels- small steps up or down- within itself. Eleven to be exact. It has vaulted ceilings in nearly every room, minimal to no ornamentation, lots of natural light, large windows, and a mostly open floor plan. I guess you could say that it’s a contemporary home with modern influences. We plan to use a monochromatic color pallet for the walls and floors, ornamentation only in the form of patterned kitchen floor tile and beadboard/wood plank accents, and focus on nature in the view and in use of materials. I would also like to mix in a few mid-century pieces of furniture as well.
Last week we got a lot done upstairs, though most of it was destruction vs. construction. We also started some major demolition of the loft in the kitchen. Why is there a loft in the kitchen- well, guess what- I found an inspo image. Shall we compare?
We head back to the lake next week to, hopefully, complete the ceilings and painting upstairs, then begin work on the flooring. It’s an adventure for sure. I hope we will have some completed “after” photos to share after next week!