In the moment when late summer slips into autumn, attention naturally shifts from beach villas and pool cabanas to cosy woodland retreats, where the chill in the air is welcomed. In New Hampshire, one such property provides a family getaway to suit both seasons, thanks to a colourful-yet-grounded and nature-driven renovation courtesy of Minneapolis- and New York-based Yond Interiors.
This old horse barn had been moved onto the clients’ property many years previously. Painted an auspicious shade of electric green across the exterior, the inside is surprisingly raw and natural, with so much exposed wood that it actually needed toning down a touch. 'It’s harder when you have to build character into the project,' says Yond Interiors founder Julia Miller. 'But this was the opposite. There's so much here that our job was to soften some of it, to make it really cozy and comfortable.'
The three-bed, three-bath residence includes a lofty double-height living space with columns, beams, joists and boarding all left bare. By the time Miller and her team were brought on, the layout, the staircase to the upper level and some of the finishes had already been completed. Their job was to help the interiors feel more stylish and intimate, without compromising the building’s character. 'It’s old and rugged, so we had to be kind of careful when adding a ton of new stuff,' Miller says. 'You can't just have drywall.'
One approach to complementing the expanses of rough timber was to wallpaper generously. Originally from Mexico and having lived internationally, the client had gained an appreciation for colour, pattern and texture, so expressive wall coverings were welcome. From a 'classic cabin' design featuring ducks in the powder room that 'looks like it could’ve been there for 50 years', according to Miller, to a Japanese-influenced print in the primary bedroom, these treatments helped to steer the nature-leaning colour direction for other surfaces, furniture and decor pieces.
In the kitchen, the green tiles across the backsplash were created by New Zealand-based ceramicist Lucy McMillan, who presses different clays to produce a marbled effect across each unique tile. '[The client] wanted these crazier little moments, and this was one of them,' says Miller. 'It’s the perfect place to do something completely unexpected.' Stone countertops with similar patterning also offset the millwork, and a pair of Allied Maker’s Arc Dome pendant lamps over the island visually bring down the ceiling height.
Rugs were another tool for subtly softening the architecture. 'They're not as punchy as they might be if you were interacting with them on a vertical surface,' says Miller. For instance, a yellow carpet based on an Art Deco pattern anchors another unexpected moment in the dining room, where an ash dining table coated with Farrow & Ball’s Bancha green and chairs with two-tone dark leather seats and peacock-blue mohair backs create a layered assemblage. 'By diversifying the materials on these chairs alone, we were able to give something quite special to this room,' Miller adds.
A mid-century-style pendant lamp overhead is one of several winks to the era, with others including the yellow colour of the large, ruched-fabric primary bed and the shapes of the vintage-inspired living room sofas. Yond’s sister brand, Brunel, custom-designed the majority of the furniture and lighting pieces for the residence. A coffee table with fabric-wrapped legs and a flat walnut top was born from the need for something lightweight and durable that wasn’t entirely wood or stone, but that you could still rest a coffee cup on. 'It was a genuine exercise in how to add softness to this room and build a workable surface,' Miller says.
Other items sourced to complement the bespoke pieces include the ceramic-front Riva Sideboard by Patricia Urquiola for Cimento, a Souvenir Table Lamp resembling a conch shell from Kawabi, plus lounge chairs and several decor objets that are all vintage. Textile art again helped to cover large expanses of the wood, including a square tapestry in the living room and a large, brightly coloured and highly textured work hung above the staircase—a family heirloom of the client. 'It's super meaningful to her, and it really helped to soften this space and give this wall a lot of interest,' Miller says. 'I think otherwise it would have been really difficult to hang art here.'
Filled with unusual colour combinations, plenty of pattern and texture, and touches of whimsy, the home invites a sense of discovery as more and more time is spent enjoying its spaces. Spaces in which it only feels appropriate to wrap up in a blanket, sink into the furniture and experience the New England foliage beginning to change outside the window.
