This Adirondack Cabin Will Make You Feel Like You're Back at Summer Camp
Known for over-the-top color and pattern, interior designer Anthony Baratta heads for the Adirondacks and sets up one very well-appointed campsite.
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Anthony Baratta is a firm believer that a home should reflect its surroundings. “Too many people take a cabin and try to make it modern and groovy,” he says. “I’ve lived through enough of these attempts to know they don’t go anywhere.” The New York–based interior designer isn’t kidding. He’s been combining a sense of place with the power of pattern for almost 40 years. So when a client asked him to work on a 9.6-acre Adirondack property located on a secluded lake in northeast New York, Anthony and design partner Erick Espinoza’s first priority was to take in the views.
Exterior
“You come to the mountains for something familiar, not flashy and new,” says Anthony. Adds Erick, “We wanted to pull out all our tricks in terms of color and pattern, but be true to the cabin feel.” The end result is one happy and whimsical cabin in the woods. “When you’re surrounded by history, bold patterns, and a stunning setting, it’s like living in a storybook.”
Living Room
To outfit the century-old space, the design duo studied the homeowner’s antique quilts for pattern inspiration and then played with scale and color with stencils, wallpapers, rugs, and upholstery. The designers also practiced a “when in doubt, go antique” philosophy. When trying to furnish a country house in a more traditional way, “new items aren’t going to cut it,” says Anthony. (A frequent trick: Turning old vessels—coffee grinders, coolers—into lamp bases.)
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Quilts: Versatile antique quilts for a similar look
Lamp bases trick: Antique coffee grinders for a similar look
Dining Room
The dining room has no shortage of visual interest, including early 20th-century artwork featuring feathered critters and an old “Country Club” ice-cream sign that once belonged to Anthony. Still, the dining chairs don’t get lost in the graphic mix thanks to striking lambrequin backs made from old quilts and a woven fabric by Pierre Frey on the seats. A 19th-century quilt hangs above the stove, which is original to the house.
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Wall decor: Anthony's store of wall decorations for a similar look
Nature Motifs
Inspired by the homeowner’s love for wildlife, Anthony mixed in horse prints on the DeAngelis sofa (Baratta Design for Lee Jofa), silhouettes of a menagerie on the custom needlepoint rug, and butterflies on the needlepoint pillow and lampshade. Flower-checked valances serve up another nod to nature. The oversize Adirondack sign offsets the assortment of smaller-scale motifs.
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Oversized Sign: Large antique signs for a similar look
Wild for Antique Quilts
Anthony upholstered both the nine-foot antique bench with coverlets and quilts that had seen better days. “People get concerned when they hear we’re cutting up old coverlets, but we only ever do that with items that are torn, stained, or both,” he says. Case in point, the pristine circa-1920s quilt hanging on the wall is displayed in all of its glory.
Hickory Furniture
On the screened-in porch, a shaved-hickory hanging bed with an antique hooked pillow blends in seamlessly with the surroundings. “Woodsman-y red” accents add a punch of color. (Speaking of red, Erick cites Heritage Red by Benjamin Moore as a good historic shade.)
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Porch Swing:Porch swing bed for a similar look
Firepit
The firepit area features a new lean-to constructed with logs and birch shingles to mimic the neighboring cabin. Visitors warm up under a host of hardy plaid and striped throws (llbean.com; pendleton-usa.com; faribaultmill.com) and relax on custom animal-motif pillows.
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Pillows: Animal-motif throw pillows for a similar look
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