Around the Pound

For those who spent many a Saturday evening eagerly awaiting a Summerset Series update in recent months, I raise a glass in appreciation (and admiration, really) for staying the course in the high spirit of interiors, design and witty home renovation commentary. As weeks crept by and the finish line for Phase One dangled like a carrot on the Newport horizon, your messages, inquiries and good-natured humor were warmly welcomed, thank you.

Somewhere in the early stages of starting this process, I heard an interior designer comment that one should design a home for oneself, not for the guests that drop by on occasion. Simple as it may sound, it’s downright brilliant really. In the sacred land of real estate, where a tally of bed and bath rooms rules supreme, the notion led me to do the unthinkable – au revoir second guest bedroom, hello cozy-as-hell den.

While on the subject of brilliance, the Brits have institutionalized a term for the very space I was determined to emulate, the ‘snug‘. Defined by a fellow island culture as a small room which oozes warmth and coziness, who wouldn’t relinquish twelve square feet of closet space, not to mention a realtor’s scorn, in favor of a room purposely designed for naps, reading, sipping coffee or a cocktail, and intimate chats with your nearest and dearest. Visions of beadboard clad walls, a cozy Chesterfield chock full of cushions and a moody paint palette kept me awake at night.

Insert Heidi, whose own ‘Cabin + The Snug‘ project on an opposing coast was already a design sensation, having captured the eyes of editors and enthusiasts alike. Having hit the wall on color selections and a paint schedule deadline looming large, I booked a session on the freshly launched platform The Expert, confident Heidi’s eye was exactly what I needed to nail down the details on this oh-so-daring den. The result, a room drenched in saturated and sultry Studio Green, and the rest we’ll say is history.

Inspired to create your own cozy space destined for morning meditation or reading the Sunday Times? All the ingredients for The Den, along with other Summerset spaces, including The Green Room and The Primary Bath in one easy-to-find location.

Inspiration Sources: 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08

It’s 2021, and like many things to look forward to this week, the construction scene at Summerset has decidedly departed 2020 waving au revoir to caution tape and saying hello new chapter. Our crew is making significant progress, spaces are taking form and soon, visions transition to reality.  Next to debut in ‘A Summerset Story’, the most private of spaces, the primary bath.

Full transparency folks, no rhyme or reason to the sequence in which rooms are being shared, in similar approach to navigating life these days, let’s just roll with it, shall we? The 2nd floor (aka primary) bath – a room that will embody by far the greatest transformation from where it all started. (Lest you forget and need a walk down pre-reno memory lane, drop in here for a refresh of what the space looked like before – cramped, not the least bit cozy, all accentuated by that cringe-worthy infamous platform.)

Our expansion yielded considerably more space to allocate accordingly and yet, I’ve been dead set on the design of the bath be respectful to the remainder of the house, both in scale and sentiment. Original layout drawn up by the architect took a turn early on after a walk-through with our plumber, who quickly identified challenges given the age of the house, particularly pitch relative to location of key drainage points and a desire to minimize construction to other non-reno areas of the home. In creative collaboration, we re-dealt a winning deck for ourselves and have since been on a path to primary bath perfection.

I welcome you to check out some of my inspiration saved here and in the words of friend, mentor and purveyor of the perfect bath – Barbara Sallick, create an experience that’s meaningful for you.

Inspiration Sources: 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08