Scandinavian Modern-Inspired Makeover for a New Hampshire Home
A designer helps a couple who preferred traditional decor find a cozy modern look for their contemporary house
Kimo and Amity Johnson bought this contemporary fixer-upper intending to renovate, but they weren’t sure where to begin. The two were used to traditional New England farmhouse style, so they enlisted interior designer Heather Alton to help. For the clean-lined, cold-climate house, she sought her inspiration from those masters of hygge, the Danes, and the couple were completely on board. The result is a bright, Scandinavian modern-inspired look that keeps the family cozy during New Hampshire’s long winters.
The most important (and some of the only) direction from Kimo was that he loved the color blue. Alton had the wood on the walls removed, as it was weighing down the room and threw off the proportions, but she convinced the couple to keep it on the ceiling and paint it a lively teal.
“Though you’d think the blues and white in here would make the room too cool, it really gives it energy,” Alton says. With its soft rug, warm neutral upholstery and soft touches like the poufs instead of a hard coffee table, the room is plenty cozy during New Hampshire’s winters.
The proportions of the windows weren’t ideal, and making them higher would have really blown the budget. Instead, Alton hung the drapes as high as she could to draw the eye up. Along with the rug, they enliven the room with large-scale pattern.
Wall paint: Seattle Gray, Benjamin Moore; trim paint: Chalk White, Benjamin Moore; ceiling paint: Beau Green, Benjamin Moore; Henna blackout curtains: Half Price Drapes
“Though you’d think the blues and white in here would make the room too cool, it really gives it energy,” Alton says. With its soft rug, warm neutral upholstery and soft touches like the poufs instead of a hard coffee table, the room is plenty cozy during New Hampshire’s winters.
The proportions of the windows weren’t ideal, and making them higher would have really blown the budget. Instead, Alton hung the drapes as high as she could to draw the eye up. Along with the rug, they enliven the room with large-scale pattern.
Wall paint: Seattle Gray, Benjamin Moore; trim paint: Chalk White, Benjamin Moore; ceiling paint: Beau Green, Benjamin Moore; Henna blackout curtains: Half Price Drapes
Alton helped the couple change up the arrangement with a new wood stove and more modern surround composed of large white hexagonal tiles framed on two sides with small glazed metallic-looking tiles. “I suggested a traditional Scandinavian white potbellied wood stove to them, but that’s where my brave clients drew the line,” Alton says. The more traditional style is very New Hampshire and fits in just fine.
Wood stove: F 50 TL Rangely, Jøtul; hexagonal tile: Crystal Tech White hexagon slim, Soho; border tile: Casella Anello, Somertile; armchair: Ink + Ivy
Wood stove: F 50 TL Rangely, Jøtul; hexagonal tile: Crystal Tech White hexagon slim, Soho; border tile: Casella Anello, Somertile; armchair: Ink + Ivy
Alton pitched the bubble chair for this corner because its transparency helps preserve the views. Also, it doesn’t clunk up the floor with a bulky piece of furniture. “Amity is a big reader and loves to curl up with a book in the hanging chair,” she says.
Alton replaced the dingy tile floors with eucalyptus hardwood. Light wood on some of the furnishings, such as the sofa, stool and baskets, lends a Scandinavian look, while a sheepskin brings home the hygge. A mix of metal finishes, seen here on the floor lamp and side table, adds some shine. Alton helped the couple select art that worked with the color scheme and scale of the room.
Large beaded bowls give the white wall some dimension and interest. The couple are not into TV at all, but when they have houseguests who are, they pull one in here and place it atop the console — which is filled with books, not media equipment.
Floor lamp and sofa: Ink + Ivy; pouf ottomans: Madison Park; flooring: 5¼-inch-wide natural eucalyptus, Cali Bamboo
Large beaded bowls give the white wall some dimension and interest. The couple are not into TV at all, but when they have houseguests who are, they pull one in here and place it atop the console — which is filled with books, not media equipment.
Floor lamp and sofa: Ink + Ivy; pouf ottomans: Madison Park; flooring: 5¼-inch-wide natural eucalyptus, Cali Bamboo
Now the light colors and cohesive styles create a pleasing flow from one room to the next. Armchairs in a dark mock-croc upholstery and the dark poufs provide contrast and more textures.
Armchairs: Ink + Ivy; rug and throw pillows: Surya
Armchairs: Ink + Ivy; rug and throw pillows: Surya
Note the way the undercabinet lighting makes the new kitchen brighter. Alton added pops of dark paint on the wall for contrast, to make the cabinets seem even brighter and to keep the room from feeling stark. She saved her clients money by choosing reasonably priced cabinets, hardware and tile.
Wall paint: Mysterious, Benjamin Moore; trim paint: Chalk White, Benjamin Moore; ceiling paint: Iced Slate, Benjamin Moore; cabinetry: Amalfi high-gloss slab door in Blanco, Cuisine Ideal; hardware: Contemporary metal pull #801, Richelieu; counters: Summerhill, Cambria
Wall paint: Mysterious, Benjamin Moore; trim paint: Chalk White, Benjamin Moore; ceiling paint: Iced Slate, Benjamin Moore; cabinetry: Amalfi high-gloss slab door in Blanco, Cuisine Ideal; hardware: Contemporary metal pull #801, Richelieu; counters: Summerhill, Cambria
But Alton splurged with a stunning glass tile on the range backsplash. The area makes a big impact, and she only had to buy a few square feet of the tile. The rest of the backsplash is done in elongated glass subway tiles.
Range backsplash tile: Onyx Tile Co.; white backsplash tile: Elements Glass White 3x12, Anatolia
Range backsplash tile: Onyx Tile Co.; white backsplash tile: Elements Glass White 3x12, Anatolia
This photo was taken from the former living room, now dining room. “They really had no need for both a living room and a great room,” Alton says. She also had plans to turn the eat-in area of the kitchen into something else. (The dining room furniture is still being ordered, so we hope to check back in on this project when it’s done.)
Two classic Danish counter stools help tie in the Scandinavian modern look. The pendants are a copper-colored glass that add warmth and shine to the white kitchen.
Pendants: 8004 series, Quorum; bar stools: Modway (these are bar stools the designer had cut down to counter-stool height)
Two classic Danish counter stools help tie in the Scandinavian modern look. The pendants are a copper-colored glass that add warmth and shine to the white kitchen.
Pendants: 8004 series, Quorum; bar stools: Modway (these are bar stools the designer had cut down to counter-stool height)
Doing away with the eat-in area and the peninsula made room for the island. Alton also made the most of the long back wall by filling it with storage and a desk surface.
The tall cabinets on either side provide pantry storage and shelves for cookbooks. “Amity is a librarian,” the designer says. “She uses her cookbooks and needed space to store them close by.”
Floor tile: E-Stone White 12x24, Happy Floors
The tall cabinets on either side provide pantry storage and shelves for cookbooks. “Amity is a librarian,” the designer says. “She uses her cookbooks and needed space to store them close by.”
Floor tile: E-Stone White 12x24, Happy Floors
“Before, this house was dingy and a little scary — it just had bad vibes,” Alton says.
Now it’s bright, cohesive and comfortable. The couple love the new-to-them Scandinavian modern-inspired style.
Now it’s bright, cohesive and comfortable. The couple love the new-to-them Scandinavian modern-inspired style.
Rooms at a Glance
What happened: Kimo and Amity Johnson and their 2-year-old daughter needed to renovate a dated 1977 contemporary home’s great room, kitchen and living room
Location: Nashua, New Hampshire
Budget: Renovation for the three rooms: about $65,000; cost of furniture and soft goods: $7,500
Designer: Heather Alton of New England Design Elements
“I had them put together an ideabook on Houzz, but all of the photos they chose were very traditional farmhouse styles,” Alton says. “I told them: ‘Look, we can do one of three things here: one, convert this contemporary house into a farmhouse, which will be ridiculously expensive and a lot of work; two, keep the house the same on the outside but make it a traditional farmhouse inside, which will be shocking to all who walk through the door; or three, go along with the architecture.’ ”
The couple put their trust in their designer and decided to give modern style a try. Kimo, a scientist, got very into the design process, while Amity, a librarian, took more of a back-seat role and was “really chill about the whole thing,” Alton says.
The designer always gives her clients several options for everything. “It was amazing —they really embraced it, and out of the choices I gave them they always chose the most modern things,” she says.