These formerly dark-brown
laminate bookcases were given
a Swedish air with green paint.

Cottage Style with a Twist

This cozy house is home base for a busy interior designer, Ann Pirhonen, her husband, and two children.

Like many women, she has had to find ways to mesh the feminine, delicate aspects of her own cottage style with a rambunctious family. Her blend old with new, color with calm, and antiquity with durability has made this a 1,200-square-foot house a place that's easy to live and love.

 

White denim slipcovers with
matelasse cushion tops stay
clean with bleach.

As life becomes more hectic, Ann needs her interiors to be less so. Tweaking conventional cottage style, she limits floral patterns and painted wood pieces to accents, relying on light butter walls, white upholstery, and plain linen curtains to provide a soothing backdrop.

The kids dictate two other decorating priorities: high livability and low cost. Ann's husband, Ilkka, a custom furniture maker, crafted the sofa and chairs to last, so they opted for white denim slipcovers with matelasse cushion tops instead of upholstery because they stay clean with bleach.

The couple pinches pennies with flea market finds, some refurbished or repurposed to suit their needs. An old patio table ($12) was turned into a rustic coffee table, and three formerly dark-brown laminate bookcases ($100) were given a Swedish air with a wash of green paint.

View our slide show with even more Family-Friendly Cottage pictures!