The vintage-style kitchen’s greenish-
blue walls,
left,
offset stark white
cabinets, honed black granite
countertops, and mahogany-stained
oak flooring. Cabinetry gets the look
of a built-in hutch,
below left,
with a
stepped-up countertop, corbels, and
turned-wood legs.
The Shingle-style Maine home,
below,
though built in 2005, has
an old coastal look.
A wall here, a slipcover or pillow there, and the
Laughlins’ house livened up. The lean three-color
palette of pink, blue, and green carries over from
room to room. “Our house is so open that I didn’t
want a hodgepodge of color,” Christine says.
Subtle shifts provide the variety. The greenish-
blue in the kitchen is greener in the family room.
In the living room, walls are neutral and blue
appears in slipcovers. The entry wall plays off the
pinks in pillows and accents in adjoining rooms.
The home isn’t all feminine flounce, though.
The colors have more oomph than pastels, and
many of the blues and greens are tones that
remind Christine of the ocean she and Phil love.
Black accents, such as the coffee table and end
table in the living room, help cut the sweetness.
“I’ve never had black furniture before, but it really
complements the colors and gives them a more
grown-up feel,” she says. A mix of wicker, painted
wood, rustic pine, and soft slipcovers keeps things
from looking too girly.
“I’ll never go back to beige walls and furniture,”
Christine says. “Using color is just a matter of
coming out of your comfort zone a little bit.”
For buying information seepage
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