Gathering Inspiration
As I wake up this morning drinking my morning coffee scrolling through Instagram, my soul always takes a pause, and my fingers stop scrolling whenever I run across @the_colors_of_chatham feed. Cape Cod, and in particular Chatham has a special place in my heart and has a strong influence on how I design. Many of you might not know, but I spent two summers in college on Cape Cod, living that lifestyle, working summer jobs, going to the beach, band concerts (so Americana and idyllic it should be a Norman Rockwall painting), riding my bike in the crisp morning dew filled air, watching great summer baseball as the fog rolls in at night. Growing up we vacationed in Cape Cod, as we had family and loved ones that would all re-unite here, some traveled from other places (like us) and some were permanent residences. It’s like the whole Cape and everything it had to offer just wrapped you in a huge welcoming hug. Those warm memories still reside, and the feeling of that pure natural beauty, the fresh crisp air, warm smiles and laughs around from people you love, and the historical charm and beauty of a town that pre-dates our nation’s independence. All in one place….. Aaahhhh.
What is so striking to me about the authentic Cape Cod lifestyle is the embrace of patina’s, history, imperfections, all of these things are viewed as beautiful because they can’t be duplicated. I remember as a kid, I used to love watching how the new shingles would patina. I hated how the cedar shingles would look when they were brand new. It’s as if that structure just didn’t belong. But I knew that it would just take a season or two, and that gorgeous gray patina would start to dull that bright golden tone of the wood. I think the juxtaposition, of these simple salt box-designed homes with their gray patinas and freshly painted blue shutters, punctuated by these vibrant glorious blooming hydrangeas and impatiens, are the epitome of design. It strikes the absolute perfect balance of the building’s soul, which is old, and has history, centuries of life, and stories contained within the walls but mixed with new life and new stories in the contradiction of the fresh vibrant color of nature.
For me, every house should strike this balance, and whenever possible I bring that into the design. That striking balance of old patina’s, items that have history and a soul, and have been touched by generations before, fresh juxtapositions of color and pattern. Timeless classics and beauty mixed with some fresh modern elements of today. I want a space to feel like it evolved and curated. I also want to re-create those same emotions for my clients that the Cape has done for me. I want my clients to walk into their homes and just feel embraced by love, and the joyful dance of beauty.
Photo Creds: Barry Desilets @the_colors_of_chatham
(make sure to follow them to add beautiful photos to your IG feed.)
