New England Style Decor (Fresh Take On Summer)

In today’s post we are celebrating New England style decor with a fresh take on summer. With cool whites, slipcovered furniture, natural wood, lots of light pouring in and a mix of vintage pieces…this home outside of Boston will make you swoon!

Modern day homes in New England are often rebels or rule breakers and don’t necessarily rely on the traditions of the past. Such is the case with the beautiful home of Kathy Rich and her family, who have lived in and loved their home in a Boston suburb for almost twenty years now.

Traditional New England Style Decor

• Shaker Style – Based on the devout lifestyle of the colonial Shakers who settled and colonized New England. Decadence was not the norm and considered to be distracting. Shaker homes were sparsely decorated and minimalist.
• Colonial Style – With origins tracing back to England, colonial homes were built for practicality. Traditionally they are two story and rectangular with steep gabled roofs.
• Coastal Style – New England has some of the earliest settlements in the U.S. and  much of the traditional style is influenced by its coastline.

For more history of the New England style roots, see this informative post. Now let’s get started touring more of this stunning New England home!

Kathy has one of the most popular homes in the INSTAGRAM community with her account know as R.HOUSE_. She’s a MUST FOLLOW in my opinion, with her style being “truly homegrown and homemade”.

Kathy and her husband originally purchased this home for the great neighborhood, excellent school system and lots of land with privacy. As most young people, they were on a tight budget and regardless, they started in on a journey to create a true home.  All of the work that they have accomplished over the years has made this home all that much more special to them.

As the years pass they continue to improve and to change, as they change. It’s a natural progression when time and budget permits. One of the most enchanting aspects to their home is a greenhouse on the beautiful property. It’s truly spectacular and just confirms the principles of hard work and budget decorating to create unique beauty!

A true team, the couple enjoy their projects together.  “We dream of the possibilities, he makes them happen, and I do the finishing touches. Most recently our newest addition, and our greenhouse.  I’m proud to say that our greenhouse is made of 100% reclaimed and recycled materials.  Not a dime spent.  My husband built at night after work by himself.  It took him about 5 weeks.   A testament to the fact, you don’t need to spend a lot of money to create the spaces you imagine. Just a good imagination and hard work.”

So many unique pieces collected and repurposed over time. There are lovely flowers and branches outside in the garden that Kathy uses inside to enhance her living spaces.

Large buckets and baskets of summer blooms are the only seasonal accents needed for this New England style decor in the summer.

I asked Kathy what some of her favorite pieces were in her home. ” I fall in love every other day with new pieces of furniture.  But some of my favorites are the French curved deconstructed settee in front of my fireplace, my new dining table, and the French farmhouse hutch that houses my tv in my living room of my main house that my husband and I built and refinished together, modeled after an authentic antique. A good example of my style, old, new and homemade!”

As a self proclaimed homebody, Kathy loves to spend most her time at home with her two boys and two pugs.

There are always plenty of projects to keep Kathy busy. She says “my style is an eclectic mix between new and old, refinished, handmade and store bought. I love using naturals and plants to enhance our living spaces. I consider myself a collector as it’s taken me a lifetime to fill my home with special and unique things. Also, I take great pleasure in finding a vintage treasure and transforming it to make it mine”. Shopping is everywhere with a heavy hit on Craigslist.

With a French farmhouse flair, many of the pieces are transformed with paint. Furniture is very rarely stripped and often painted white and then dark waxed with edges sanded for character.

The built-ins with barnhouse doors were custom crafted by Kathy’s husband to hide the television in the guest house.

Faded charm and simple beauty at every turn with simple rustic bleach toned wood finishes and white linen.

A hearty THANK YOU to Kathy for sharing her home with us today! Stay informed of her latest projects and go follow her on Instagram by clicking here – R HOUSE

If you enjoyed this post and would like to see more New England style decor, you might enjoy these recent posts:
COASTAL HOME DECOR – STYLISH ON CAPE COD
SUMMER HOUSE IDEAS – TASTEFULLY RENOVATED BUNGALOW