indoors
AT HO M E
*
\ X
r *
t wasn’t exactly love at first sight,” says Suzie Mecay. She
-^and her husband, Bob, were looking for a cozy house for
their family, and this modest cottage in Summerland,
California, was the right size but the wrong style.
Painted shades of purple, green, and brown, the house
was gloomy when they bought it. “The only way to hide all
the flaws was to paint it white,” Suzie says. Every wall,
exposed beam, and ceiling was painted white; the dark carpets were
replaced with durable sea-grass rugs. Suzie’s first round of furniture-
nautical blue-and-white stripes—proved all wrong. “The pattern
drove me crazy and made everything feel crowded,” she says.
TABLE TALK
There was no formal dining room in the layout, so
Suzie created one just off the living room. “The
table was meant for our old house, and now it fits
perfectly in the space between our kitchen and
living room,” she says. She built in a hutch to
make the area feel more like a dining room.
40
JULY 2008 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS
