Simply Cozy
Embrace simplicity with inspiration from a budget-minded New Hampshire couple who utilize their artistic abilities and interest in minimalism to create a clutter-free country home warmed by texture and pops of color.
A budget-minded New Hampshire couple blend their artistic abilities and interest in minimalism to craft a clutterfree haven brimming with country character.
GGloria McMahon adapted a vintage advertising crate for use as a side table and firewood storage, and fit it into a corner of the living room. The rough-hewn wood serves as a suitable accompaniment to the other textured touches in the room, from wicker accent furniture and leafenhanced decor to autumnal throws.
Gloria and Brian McMahon love to entertain, but when they moved into their Hampstead, New Hampshire, home, they realized that the rooms were too small to host a crowd. To carve out open space in the 1830 New England Colonial, they tore down the load-bearing wall between the living and family rooms and put up a ceiling support beam instead. The beam, however, was new wood, and it clashed with the original vertical beams and knotty pine floors throughout the structure.
While Gloria pondered this decorating dilemma, Brian tackled a task in the attic that required the removal of a floorboard. When he asked whether she had a use for it, Gloria realized the timeworn material would make period-perfect cladding for her new support beam. Because the attic was accessed by a very narrow staircase and would never be viable living space, the couple opted to remove all the floorboards and replace them with plywood. They then cleaned, cut and oiled the boards and employed them to enclose the support beam. “It now looks like an old beam, and everyone thinks it is original to the house,” Gloria says.
Gloria enjoys the warmth that wood tones bring to her home. She refers to her overall decorating style as “cozy minimalism.” In addition to lavishing the interior with wood furnishings and decor, she abstains from most color, collects almost nothing, and accessorizes often with natural flora. “I think less is more,” she explains. “I’ll buy a vintage basket, but I don’t need five baskets.”
These days, the home looks quite different than it did when the McMahons began renovating it in 2012. Previous owners had painted the walls deep historic colors and stained the millwork dark brown. Gloria and Brian, who are avid DIYers, spent long hours restoring the wood doors, staircase and trim to their lighter natural tones. They also painted the walls white to highlight the woodwork and replaced the kitchen’s granite countertops with wooden ones crafted from some of the leftover attic floorboards.
Gloria blogs about the couple’s renovation and home decorating adventures on her blog, The Long Awaited Home. She notes that she and Brian have been equal partners throughout the process: “We are a team. We do all our projects together. We are constantly building things and making things.”
The couple have been able to achieve their decorating goals by sticking to a tight budget, Gloria says. “Almost every single thing is a budget item,” she observes. “If it’s new, it was probably on clearance or on sale.” Gloria is a bargain hunter who has honed her strategies for conservative spending by shopping at yard sales, thrift shops, discount and big-box stores, Facebook Marketplace, Goodwill, Craigslist and online outlets. She has even found cast-off treasures by the side of the road.
Gloria is purposeful about her purchases and is willing to wait patiently for the right thing to come along. A measuring tape and room measurements always accompany her on shopping sojourns—just in case she happens across something she loves and wants to be sure it will fit in her home. To update her frugal finds, she keeps her favorite crafting supplies at the ready, including paint, ribbon, and faux flowers and foliage.
Bringing their decorating vision into reality has been a slow but thoughtful journey, from selecting just the right shade of white paint to waterproofing the wood countertops. But, after eight years, Gloria and Brian agree that their long-awaited home was well worth it.