* CHAPTER ONE OLD MEETS NEW ONE OF THE BIGGEST DECORATING CHALLENGES arises when something old or vintage comes into your ultramodern home, or you fall in love with a new vase from IKEA that seems to have no relation to any of the pieces of antique furniture that you scavenged from your grandmother's attic. Hey, you can't help what (or whom) you fall in love with! But these styles can work wonderfully together when you find something to unify them. Color? Shape? Texture? Theme? When we moved into the Beekman farmhouse, we were perplexed by what to do with two of the small rooms that had originally been the servants' quarters. One in particular wasn't big enough to accommodate a modern bed of any type, and to turn it into a closet or storage space seemed like a waste of a good window. Instead, we turned it into a small study that we call the "writing room." We lined the walls with old portraits Brent had collected from his grandparents' antique frame business. Completely filling the wall space above the chair rail, the collection makes for a dramatic modern "gallery," and the room has become one of the most photographed in the house. Everything old really can be new again if you only look at it in a new way. The writing room at the Beekman Farm, with portraits. AT ONE POINT, drop ceilings and linoleum were au courant. But times and styles change. In this converted post office in Buffalo, Minnesota, the walls were stripped down to the bricks, a dropped ceiling was removed to reveal rafters, and the wood floor was painted white. A Louis XVI-style daybed, a 1920s pedestal table painted glossy white, and a linen-covered ottoman give this room a wonderful atmosphere. IN THE SAME CONVERTED BUILDING, the exposed lath makes a beautiful contrast to the ornate chandelier and plasterwork. JUST BECAUSE YOU HAVE A SIMPLE CABIN by the lake doesn't mean that every piece of furniture has to be made of twigs and bark. Here molded fiberglass chairs scooped up at the huge outdoor antiques festival in Brimfield, Massachusetts, offer a modern place to relax in a rustic setting. EVERY PIECE IN THIS SITTING AREA is old or repurposed, but the unique use of lace and the bold choice of color take it from fuddy-duddy to fabulous. Think about how you can build scenes like this from pieces you may have inherited. THIS KITCHEN BLENDS OLD AND NEW perfectly and delivers analog charm and function. This antique cabinet from an old hardware store influenced the design of the entire room. The kitchen island was built out of plywood to mask an undercounter refrigerator and dishwasher and then clad in Stikwood adhesive paneling and topped with zinc. This piece becomes the inspiration for the room rather than letting the appliances dominate. Is the burlap pendant lamp old or new? Check some back issues of the Restoration Hardware catalog for the answer. Notice the use of old apple crates for additional storage under the farmhouse sink. YOU MAY HAVE THE URGE to decorate this 1907 lodge in dark pieces to match the austerity of the surroundings, but here this ubermodern Eero Saarinen table serves as a perfect break from the traditional. It's been artfully topped with a bust scored on Etsy and a mix and match of family heirlooms. THIS CACHE of small-scale 1950s looking glasses adds up to one sparkling focal point. The dark green paint and matching velvet settee fade into the background, while the loose symmetry creates an orderly, knockout effect. We are planning to use this same idea on one of the walls of the dining room in the Beekman farmhouse. We're collecting varying sizes of circular gilded eagle-topped mirrors. HANG AN OLD RUG OR QUILT to fashion a brand-new kind of headboard for your bed. This one dates to 1854 but, used in this fashion, looks very up-to- date. THINKING OF OLD THINGS IN A NEW WAY brings a fresh perspective to this dining nook. The aluminum pendant once lit an airplane hangar. If you saw this in an architectural salvage yard, you'd probably think it was too big for practical use, but as demonstrated here, it's not. The settee was reupholstered using US Mail bags. YOU CAN EASILY CREATE A WHOLE NEW VIEW from your porch. Upload your favorite snapshot (we like megaprint .com) and have it printed on weather- resistant vinyl. The banner comes to you complete with grommets for hanging. OUR OWN BEEKMAN 1802 furniture collection is a blend of old textures and new silhouettes and careful plays on scale. In a similar fashion, we love how this very modern kitchen is anchored by the custom island that echoes the barnwood beams in the ceiling. SOMETIMES all a room needs to make it stand out is an interesting new use for a traditional item, like the use of this well-worn rug instead of a regular bath mat. THE SECRET to this subtle yet super-stylish wall treatment? Ceiling medallions from the big-box hardware store! They were installed in a single day using adhesive caulk. WHEN WE RENOVATED the 150-year-old building that houses the flagship Beekman 1802 Mercantile, we painted the entire structure except the trim. We left it in the peeling shade of cream applied many years ago. We love the juxtaposition of something worn and rough with something smooth and shiny, and this room does it perfectly. The old plaster walls are made even more beautiful by the perfect lines of the window trim and the floor molding. Beekman 1802 Mercantile in Sharon Springs, New York. SOMETIMES IT'S THE tiniest details. This bedroom is gorgeous as a whole, but one of the best ideas here is the contrast between the rough, untreated plank floors and the baseboard that has been painted in a high-gloss white. When you can't afford to refinish old wooden floors, make a statement about their worn condition with this type of contrast. AT FIRST GLANCE, this looks like a very traditional dining room, but when you start to break down the elements, you'll see it's anything but. Mismatched chairs, a 1930s table, and a Noguchi paper lantern--all come together beautifully. What really makes this room work is the use of curved shapes, from the backs of the chairs to the light fixture to the doors on the built-in cabinet (accented by the wreath). GOOD DESIGN can be done on the cheap. This kitchen makeover came mostly from IKEA (cabinets, countertops, and even the farmhouse sink). The antique bakery table and its well-trodden wood floors add visual interest and form the center of the room. All the new stuff just serves as a frame. HOW MANY TIMES have you seen a version of these twin beds? They are a staple of so many guest rooms, but look how easily you can give your guests something to write home about by adding a blingy mirrored desk (that doubles as a nightstand) and some generous pops of color. IN THIS ATTIC GUEST ROOM, big-box store bargains--a Room & Board bed frame, an IKEA cowhide rug, and a Lucite table from CB2--pair well with the English Regency table and 1970s mirror. IF YOU WANT A STANDOUT SPACE, then you have to step outside the traditional decorating box. The peeling paint, the unique (and easy!) method of hanging artwork, and the partially painted Windsor bench make this room look very much of the moment. DISPLAYING MULTIPLES of items in symmetrical rows makes almost any collection seem modern. The key with this technique is making sure that you have enough items in the collection to fill the required space and make an impact. IN THIS 1920S HOUSE, railroad trestles were used as ceiling beams. A flea- market oil portrait watches over the antique iron bed, which is outfitted with bedding from Pottery Barn. JUST BECAUSE you are living in a single-story "dogtrot"-style house from the 1850s doesn't mean you have to abandon your love affair with the smooth lines of midcentury modern furniture. Here the walls and trim have been painted a high-gloss ebony, which throws the pale 1950s furniture into sharp relief. ONE OF THE MOST PERFECT EXAMPLES of old meets new you are ever likely to see. New custom club sofas flank this family room's centerpiece--an oversize midcentury coffee table fashioned from iron and bleached oak. The twist-turned-leg chairs were found at an antiques store. The newly constructed shelving unit painted in a gloss white serves as the perfect setting for the patina provided by the collection of old ironstone. NEW FIBERGLASS CHAIRS by Modernica contrast with this dining room's 1870s Italian worktable (which is 11 feet long!). The 1960s glass lighting fixture was found at 1stdibs.com and the dress form at Urban Outfitters. The built-in cabinet (painted in Sea Wave Blue by Valspar) and the bird- themed wallpaper applied to the ceiling bring in a bit of whimsy that makes this room unforgettable. IF YOU LIKE A BOLD PATTERN, you don't have to limit yourself to one attention-grabbing accessory. In this living room, stripes are the ties that bind. If the room had only the curtains or only the rug, it wouldn't be that distinctive. By using corresponding patterns, you can show that the choices are deliberate. The striped chair looks like an expensive designer piece, but here the look was created by using upholstery paint found in any craft store. FRUIT-PUNCH COLORS provide a vibrant foil to this kitchen's rustic beams and wood paneling. Even the vintage enamelware looks ultrachic when collected near the ceiling, proving that sometimes old things just need to be put into a new context to be seen in a more modern way. Case in point: The edges of the curtains were crocheted, showing this age-old handicraft in a completely new light. THERE'S ALMOST NOTHING as old-fashioned as a rag rug, but stitching several together--now that is something completely new! If you can't sew, take the rugs to your local dry cleaner and have them join the mats. AN OLD IDEA, like these silhouettes rendered in a different material, scale, and format becomes suddenly fresher and more interesting. Silhouettes can be easily and cheaply made using pictures of children and pets or by doing a simple image search on the Internet. JUST AS BRINGING in dramatic new color schemes can liven up a stale environment, an array of subtle textures and patterns can provide a needed visual spark, too. If you think you are not skilled enough to pull something like this off, break down the task. Find a few "common threads," like the stripes and the hints of red here, that can tie everything together. WHEN YOU ARE MOVING INTO A NEW HOME, money is often tight. But making your new place the envy of the neighborhood does not have to cost a fortune. None of the accessories in this room cost over $50. Combining two small side tables to fashion a larger surface to serve as a coffee table is creative thinking--which can save you lots of money. SOMEONE WAS PAYING ATTENTION to everything we just said in this chapter! The wallpaper was what inspired the makeover of this mere 12- by 13-foot room. The rich colors and large-scale pattern actually make the room feel more expansive while remaining intimate. The floor was painted, and even more pattern was brought into the room in the hooked rug and the striped silk curtains. Footstools were reupholstered in pink so they blend with the rest of the decor. Excerpted from Beekman 1802 Style: The Attraction of Opposites Create a Dream Home with the Person (and Things) You Love by Brent Ridge, Josh Kilmer-Purcell All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
