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FeedTrue Blue
By Alecia Stevens
Photo by Alex Steinberg
Their lake house is just 20 minutes from their home in Eden Prairie, but it feels a world away. Mary Hickey, an interior designer at GunkelmanFlesher in Minneapolis, took on the project of transforming what was a rabbit warren of rooms covered in honey-colored pine and bronze and gold faux painting. Hickey took one look at the lake beyond the great room and said, “This house needs to be blue and white.” Vickie’s response: “Wonderful. Blue is my favorite color. Let’s just make it fun.”
1. Color
No color scheme seems friendlier than blue and white. It can be traditional (think Chinese porcelain), transitional (as you see here), or modern. Hickey painted the architectural details white to open the space emotionally and emphasize the playful balustrade. Opting to limit the color scheme, she used variations of blue and incorporated natural materials, such as woven reed for the chairs in the seating area. Hickey also designed the rug in the same shades used throughout the room with lines that draw the eye to the view beyond—the water.2. Seating
This extraordinarily simple seating arrangement is all about the view to the lake and the way the people use the room. “I really design a room with the people in mind,” says Hickey. “In a way, they are the final touch; people fill the space.” The seating is arranged for close conversation, while other people may mill about in the dining and kitchen area (just beyond to the right). “What I love about the house is that it is smaller than our main home,” says Vickie. “We spend so much more time together here—we are physically closer.”3. Geometry
Although the room’s layout looks (and is) simple, it was no accident. Hickey meticulously noted the geometries of the architecture, especially the vertical volume, before creating the furniture plan. It’s easy to fill only a room’s horizontal plane, but Hickey created a vertical plan as well, beginning with the floor. The seat and table height (about 18 inches), the seat backs (about 32 inches), and the towering, 60-inch Alice-in-Wonderland-like chairs in the dining room play with both horizontal and vertical lines. Finally, the vertical art with horizontal divisions is just one more way to make the room a geometric playhouse, giving Vickie the “fun” look she was after.Alecia Stevens is a Minneapolis writer and interior designer.
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