Houzz Tours
Houzz Tours: Lake House in the Berkshires
In order to get some quintessential New England autumn time in, I invited myself to my Aunt Sally and Uncle Steve's house in the Berkshires this weekend. Of course this trip includes a tour so I can share it with all of you. They are that side of the family that's really into classical music, art, plays...your basic culture vultures. They also enjoy taking the boat out to the middle of the lake and going for a dip and taking beautiful hikes. Plus they only live an hour away, so this artsy area of Western Massachusetts is perfect for them.
When we came up to see their newly purchased moldy shack, we all thought Sally and Steve had lost it. But they had vision, and a very bright builder, who came up with all kinds of great ideas and details, right down to these windowboxes that are built into the deck railing.
After the shack was rehabbed, Sally and her son Andrew (13 at the time) "treated this pendant lamp like a puzzle" and attacked putting it together as a team. Eventually, they outgrew the shack, tore it down, and replaced it with this four-bedroom, three-bathroom house so that they could have plenty of room to have friends and family come share the house with them (lucky for me). The new house was built within the footprint of the shack. All of the furniture, including this light fixture, went back into the new house. Well, except for Andrew's drum set.
The house mixes fine art, sculpture, African-American folk art, fabric pieces and figurines they brought back from a trip to South Africa (like these stitched placemats), Oriental rugs and simple framed posters.
"We love to get to Tanglewood as often as we can, including rehearsals." The poster is a nod to the beautiful venue that's right up the road.
This is the entrance from the front door. The big views that are coming are blocked by the back of the fireplace, so that you have to come around the corner to get the full effect. Family antiques, Oriental rugs and Danish modern pieces all work well together in the house.
Music, as well as dance performances and plays, are a vital part of Berkshires culture. Thus the baby grand, inherited from Sally's parents, is perfect in the Berkshires house (though "it was really horrible trying to get it in the house! We told our daughter Alison it's hers, but she's just going to have to visit it here!"). Behind it hangs a tapestry picked up on a recent trip to South Africa.
All of the common areas have great views out to the lake.
The large mixed media painting is by Missionary Mary Proctor.
A painted tin piece by self-taught artist Buddy Snipes hangs over the fireplace today, but the art around this house is always rotating and changing.
More interesting artwork: A large wall hanging consists of intricate mirrored gypsy belts.
Nightstands, tables, beds and lamps came from a favorite furniture store, Danish Inspirations, in nearby Northampton. The bedrooms get most of their color and pattern from Marimekko bedding, a brand Sally has always loved.
An upstairs bedroom gets its color scheme from a David Hockney poster.
The master bedroom is the only room with a view, while the other three bedrooms have a woodsy tree-house feel. The Marikmekko bedding pattern is called "UNIKKO".
Sally worked for The Springfield School Volunteers for many years, so she gave this bedroom an education theme.
The exterior of the house is a dark shade of brown, so it blends in with its surroundings, which are lakeside woods and small camp-like houses. For this reason, the yard is left woodsy with rocks, ground covers, and no grass lawn.
Well, I need to get ready to hit Great Barrington tonight so I'm signing off. I hope you enjoyed a little taste of New England autumn!
Well, I need to get ready to hit Great Barrington tonight so I'm signing off. I hope you enjoyed a little taste of New England autumn!
Stockbridge Bowl is a lake located between the villages of Stockbridge and Lenox Massachusetts, in the Berkshires."I did a lifeguarding camp over here when I was a kid," Steve says. The place always stuck in his memory. In the '80s, they decided to buy a dilapidated shack.