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f walls could talk.

.. For Barbara Andrea, it’s not whether they can, it’s what they say. “I just go

into a house and get a vibe of what it could look like,” says the 16-year-veteran interior designer.

Her own house definitely wasn’t shy about speaking up. When she and her husband, Tony,

moved into the 1960s ranch in Connecticut, its paneled exterior, low ceilings, and U-shaped

layout said “cozy cottage,” despite

Brady Bunch-era

styling and a pagoda in the courtyard. To

make the house what it wanted to be, the Andreas layered cottage charm over solid, if stark,

midcentury bones. Flat ceilings clad in white-painted boards and beams were opened up to the

rafters. Plain walls were warmed up with paneling and grass cloth. Every doorway was widened

and cased, and every pane-less window replaced with the divided-lite variety.

Decorating for herself this time, not clients, Barbara’s approach was all about ease. The

practical mom (her three grown sons are frequent weekend visitors) used what she already had,

fitting a tan sofa, woven chairs, and sturdy tables into rooms where nothing is off-limits. “I want

people to put their feet up and not worry. When you have boys and dogs, that’s how it has to be.”

1l8

FEBRUARY

2009

BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS