Harmony is best achieved through a balance of dreams, thoughts and imagination; dreaming only of what is best from the past, thinking through and taking ownership of the day’s opportunities and setting aside quiet moments to imagine a purposeful future.
—Anonymous
“There are times when a searcher ends up being the one who is found!” exclaims the owner of this charming 1930s cottage. She continues, “My adult daughter and son had just begun their own life journeys when I was suddenly faced with continuing mine on my own, which I elected to do with a sense of strength and purpose. One day while on a new home search with a friend, I came upon what I instantly knew was the place that would become my new home—a white-shingled contemporary cottage sitting on a rising hill, surrounded by an abundant preservelike setting of flora and songbirds. Just when I thought I had been the person searching for a new home I realized that instead the cottage on the hill had found me!”
Tucked in a grove of old-growth trees and accessible by way of a half-century-old brick path, the eighty-year-old cottage has, with the help of designer Andra Miller, been provided with new life without losing the unique characteristics and charm of an earlier century. The high-beamed living room ceiling retains a sense of cottage warmth while introducing a sense of openness to take advantage of the early morning sunlight. “Some of the features found in cottages of the past century are in many ways without equal to today’s homes,” she notes. “For instance, the original owner built a whimsical bed into a closeted alcove! When guests come, they fight over the room—they tell me that it reminds them of their childhood days at sleepaway camp.”
She continues, “Growing up I was the youngest and the only girl amongst several boys. My world revolved around my brothers and their friends, including boy sports. I was a ‘tom-girl’ in the truest sense, adventuresome and rambunctious. Yet I was a girl with my own sense of fashion and design, a sense that was predictably softer than the crash of a baseball that every once in a while ripped through a neighbor’s window—I have always felt that I was born to create.”
The open kitchen and dining area is a panoply of color and style.
With constant companion Gunner, a ten-year-old yellow lab retriever, at her side, she has built upon that youthful sensibility with the introduction of contemporary furniture, art and colorful textiles in blues, teals and citrons. She notes, “When my son and daughter, especially my daughter with her pup, Atlas, a Nova Scotia duck tolling retriever, arrive for weekend dinner, Harmony Hill becomes a cottage filled with happiness and love—as it was always meant to be!”
The great American dancer Agnes de Mille once said, “No trumpets sound when the important decisions of our life are made. Destiny is made known silently.” So it has been with this owner who, despite her challenges, was one day suddenly “found” by Harmony Hill, a contemporary cottage that has provided her with a renewed sense of achievement, love and happiness.
The powerful chandelier above the table, and the chair coverings in the informal dining area represent the owner’s bold use of color throughout the white interior.
The yellow chairs tucked under the kitchen island is another indication of the owner’s love of color.
Natural sunlight streams through every window and French door.
Neptune and the sea inspired this beautifully decorated master bedroom.
The Jack-and-Jill vanity features beautifully crafted cabinetry.
The vintage-inspired bathtub is every woman’s retreat.
The bold star and subway tile combination makes showering fun.
The blue burst-patterned tiles contrast wonderfully with the stand-alone vanity.