B&W House

Cottage living room

You may know how much I love colors in houses but at times I am fascinated by the serenity of monochrome and I actually often love to shoot my photographs in B&W instead of color, so this time I am presenting you an interesting house on Shelter Island, completely restored by the New York firm Schappacher -White Ltd.
They are a couple in real life, she is an interior designer, he is an architect and what a combination  of talents. I always thought couples are quite lucky to share many interests and passions, just like designer Brooke Giannetti of Velvet & Linens and her architect husband Steve, I am always admiring their combined efforts and splendid results.  By the way they now also have a book by Barnes and Noble titled Patina Style, where you can too admire their talent.

Cottage living area

Going back to the couple from New York…they searched for a holiday retreat and found this cottage on Shelter Island, NY, where they can relax, enjoy cooking and gardening and where friends and family are welcome all the time. The cottage was built in 1904 as fishermen’s house and over the years became almost a wreck.
They decided to keep the original structure and give new life to the open space areas, creating  new  transitions between inside and outside, with new openings and doors French style and building a freestanding veranda with a fireplace that can keep them warm even in mild winters.

Colors are neutrals, white is the privileged choice and black accents create a great stark contrast.

Cottage guest room and bathroom

Upstairs the project required more effort, new closets, new wood floor, another bathroom, but as you can see they maintain the romantic atmosphere of a past era.

Cottage kitchen

Black ardesia takes the whole wall in the kitchen, where drawings and notes are added constantly by the family and their friends, creating a lively ephemeral mural.

Veranda and outdoor fireplace

An extension of the living area is the new veranda with the fireplace in red bricks found in a former factory in New York.

What I love most is that the whole project was done on a tight budget, using non expensive materials, reusing whenever possible, finding inexpensive pieces at flea markets, adding old items. Money was not the issue, but taste was and the house was created with an harmonious blend of old and new.

In this house every piece gives light to the others and everything has its place, no need for more!

Photography by Laura Moss

©2011 Brillante Interiors writes about new trends, timeless decor, iconic pieces, design ideas, or at times just musing about "a certain Italian way of doing things".


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