Blue base trim, a simple chair rail, and an understated peg rail modulate the height of this cream-colored Shaker hall wall. Intermediate blue door jambs and posts punctuate its length. The shimmering, darker blue, wide floor boards cheerfully bounce light while drawing you forward. The rhythm of the vertical blue components and the implied hierarchy of the horizontal blue elements, together, differentiate space within this hall, creating a sense of both enticement and comfort. I won’t soon forget the luscious blues that beautifully offset the creamy white backdrop. It’s a dreamy palette.

by Katie Hutchison for the House Enthusiast

"I long, as does every human being, to be at home wherever I find myself."  Maya Angelou

Hope you are home for the holidays, wherever you are.  Cheers.

Recommended New England courses about house, garden and related creative arts

(Classes and schedules are subject to change so check program websites for updates.)

DeCordova Museum School

Located in Lincoln, Mass., “The DeCordova Museum School is the largest non-degree granting studio art program in Massachusetts,” according to their website. I’ve often thought that the campus of the DeCordova Museum (which specializes in regional contemporary art) would be an appealing venue for art classes. It’s near the Gropius House and boasts an impressive sculpture park. Here are two of the School’s offerings that sound tempting.

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These wide, antique floor boards reveal a vibrant layered color palette, worn down over time to wonderful effect. The resulting surface of rich yellow and red ochres amidst cerulean blue, all with a luster finish, would delight on an abstract canvas. It’s is even more sublime under foot. A simple Shaker rocker and matte black, slate hearth provide quiet counterpoints to the animated painted hues. This kind of floor treatment works well with spare wall finishes, furniture, and furnishings -- as the Shakers well knew and the Modernists would likely agree.

by Katie Hutchison for the House Enthusiast

Residential architects generally love stairs. They invite us to sculpt. Stairs provide scale since step dimensions directly relate to the human body. They offer vertical relief from the otherwise horizontal realm of our day-to-day experience. Mostly they provide an opportunity, in a single architectural feature, to distill an overall design concept. Their form, craftsmanship, materiality, and finish can speak volumes.

This staircase does. It's representative of many finely wrought antique staircases in Salem, Massachusetts. The boxed raised-paneled risers are especially noteworthy. Look closely at the balusters too. There are three per tread -- each a different turned shape above the knuckle. The starting newel is a marvel; the corkscrew shape seems to foretell the winding path of the stair climber. The wall panels below the staircase and the wainscot that travels up alongside it elegantly accommodate the staircases’s dynamic geometry. This staircase is the accent feature in a Georgian home in which carefully proportioned wood details differentiate walls and space throughout. It is uniquely of its time and context.

by Katie Hutchison for the House Enthusiast