home sweet home no. 1: raina kattelson + robert butscher



As we've been renovating our townhouse (which is coming along painfully slow, for those of you wondering), we've become more and more intrigued with how others are creating their spaces and making their house a "home sweet home". We've been collecting inspiration as we go, writing down ideas, and saving images in heaps.

With that in mind, we thought we'd share a few house tours here on the blog that are inspiring us along the way in a new column we're calling "Home Sweet Home". Houses made cosy and that inspire. If you feel your home would inspire us and our readers and would like it featured here, just give us a shout at poppytalkblog[at]yahoo[dot]ca with "Home Sweet Home in the subject line, and we'll be honoured to take a look.


Home Sweet Home No. 1

Our first "Home Sweet Home Tour" is a 150 year old house on the Hudson River in upstate New York and the home of stylist and designer, Raina Kattelson, her architect husband, Robert Butscher and their two daughters. Raina first shared her home on D's this past January, and contacted me this past week, when we were tweeting for submissions. Raina and her husband basically rebuilt the house (which had been gutted and abandoned for 15 years) trying to keep the overall look with it's age and style, whilst adding modern touches doing most of the work themselves. Their furniture is a mix of classic modern, travel finds, flea market pieces (Raina is a flea market junky, and is constantly bringing home pieces that need to be stripped, fixed and painted) and a few Ikea pieces. Robert loves lots of saturated color while Raina likes lots of white with hits of color, (her favourites being chartreuse, turquoise and orange); this is their happy compromise. What we see here is a comfortable laid back vibe mixed with fun collections that keep the space interesting, cosy and welcoming. The outdoor garden continues with this theme creating a space for entertaining and relaxing. Thank you Raina and Robert for sharing. Photo credits: John Gruen.



The Garden pics-
The outdoor fireplace was left from a building that had burned down which they use all the time. When it's not in use Raina rolls an old laundry tub filled with plants in front. The chairs are vintage butterfly chairs. The dining chairs are Ikea. The bed is an antique French iron bed where Raina tells us they spend a lot of time reading. To enter the garden from the street you walk through a garden gate and trellis that Robert designed and built. The garden is beautifully overgrown that from the street the only glimpse you get of it is through the gate.





Living Room
Her collection of art in the room includes pieces by Lewis Hine, (over the lounge), Tanya Marcuse, (the large tree over the couch) and photographs by her father, fine art photographer, Sy Kattelson. The rug they brought back from Marrakesh and the black & white basket on the floor by the sofa is from a recent trip to Istanbul. Raina found the chaise lounge (in the corner) at a town yard sale. She loved the raw quality of it so she left it unupholstered, stripped the frame and made a wool felt cushion and added a few marimekko throw pillows to complete it.





Dining Room-
Being a stylist, Raina collects pottery (old and new) that she uses daily and for her styling gigs. The table they picked up at Ikea which Raina sanded down and then whitewashed. The Emeco chairs at the dining table initially had vinyl seats. Raina had them replaced with industrial felt pads. The vintage photo of New York is by her father, Sy Kattelson. The wall color is Benjamin Moore 2027 Grape Green with the aquavelvet finish. The dining table light is from Ikea.



Kitchen Table
They created a sunny breakfast nook on a raised platform in the kitchen that was left over from the original house. Raina loves the graphic quality of old signs and has collections of them throughout the house. The letters she glued nails on the back with epoxy, pre-made the holes in the wall and gently pushed the letters onto the wall. The green Thonet chairs are the first Raina ever owned and have been painted various colors in the past and now look stunning with the Saarinen table. The chalkboard oilcloth on the table is from Bell'occhio.



Office
Raina tells us her office is so filled with books, magazines and craft projects and props it is sometimes hard to tell it's the only white room in the entire house. She has many collections from vintage knitting needles, trays, old cameras, bottles, etc. that she uses eventually at some point for her work as a stylist. The chair was one of two she found at the Brooklyn Flea and reupholstered. The print is by Anthony Burrill. The lamp is from Ikea.





Kids Room
Raina's youngest daughter is a future style junkie-in-the-making and requested the Panton chair (below) for her 8th birthday. She also asked that her dresser be painted silver. The mauve chalkboard paint is Hudson Paint. Raina, who loves Toord Boontje's work and owns several of his lights, painted a Toord motif on the floor (above).



Thank you Raina and family for sharing your beautiful home with us!

Jan Halvarson

30 comments:

BlueRoomGems said...

What a wonderful feature! They have a beautiful home full of color and light!

Spiritual Jewelry said...

Truly beautiful home. I love the desk poster "work hard & be nice to people" Great daily reminder!

monika said...

The radiator is stunning and so is the dining area with the typography. what a lush home.

Jennifer said...

Oh I love the colours, so fresh and cheery! Would love to know what that fabric is on the chair in her office!

Anonymous said...

The garden is so dreamy. I would love to have a place like this to retreat to. Thanks for sharing!

Melanie

Bonnie said...

I've fallen in luv with that outdoor fireplace.
This house is so lovely!!

Colleen / Inspired to Share said...

I love this house!!! Thanks for sharing! xo

Missy said...

Wow, so beautiful. We hope to build this year or next--these pics provide me with great inspiration for our interior--and exterior. Thanks for sharing!

Cara @ Live the Home Life said...

The outdoor fireplace is a dream! We are about to be knee deep in renovation ourselves and could use a little inspiration.

Thanks for sharing these lovely tid bits with us.

-Cara @ Live the Home Life

Katie said...

It reminds me of something in the mediteranean. love everything about this space.

katie

Anonymous said...

Love this! Especially the gardens. Thanks! Look forward to more Home Sweet Home tours!

Unknown said...

Glad everyone likes our home.
The chair fabric is a Marimekko fabric- http://bit.ly/aBFQ3G

Plantress said...

thanks for this! My fav pic is the giant outdoor chimney. I see ladie's mantle, an air fern and some goosneck in those planters. The only thing I dislike when I see these in magazines is when the plantings are obviously not right for nthe planting zone. That's just me. These plants are fine-air fern inside though in winter

kristen joy said...

i love the large white shelf in the dining room with the bright splashes of color. i also like the "work hard and be nice" print...it's so simple, but so true!

Sandy said...

I love the kitchen with the white shelves and super colorful cups on it! So bright and crisp!

Suzanne said...

such lovely rooms! I wish it was my house!

Valeria said...

Wow! That's a really amazing outdoor fireplace. We'll be redoing our backyard this summer and this is definitely inspiration! I wonder if the daybed would rust being exposed so much if it has some kind of protective coating?

Jacinta said...

Love it! I am really drawn to numbers and letters and so many of her details appealed. Great light and a good mix of old and new.

Laura said...

Like the new series! I love that garden - gorgeous!

Fiona Cartolina said...

fantastic! So much light and colour - very springy!
Love this new series!

selena said...

This is a gorgeous home! Thanks for posting!

ElliD said...

Yes you are right. She does have an amazing taste and style. Every single room and space looks stunning. I like the contrast between the white walls and colourful accessories. The whole house looks bright and airy. Especially the ever-presented green makes the interior fresh and friendly. To combine old and new, or to use surprising accessories like the typography on the wall is courageous and unconventional, but it looks great. Presented ideas are truly inspiring and helpful for us especially if we want to do the best from our homes.

Best regards,
Elli

Unknown said...

No worries about the plants, they are brought in for the winter, and carefully tended until it is warm enough to go back outside.
I painted the bed with outdoor spray paint and it has held up pretty well. Probably at some point I will have to bring it inside or put it on our covered porch. But that will just be a good excuse to get something different and exciting!
Today is another dreary day in the Hudson Valley, but- yes my house feels like spring.

Anonymous said...

that gorgeous gray table cloth reminds me of my throw pillows! :-)
http://cutelink.info/pillow.html

Sewing Geek said...

Oh wow! I love this. I am right now trying to do some remodeling and this is so inspiring! Thanks!

Karyn said...

Yes, this is an inspiring home! My favorite is the yard. It's the kind I dream about. The outdoor fireplace with the Staghorn Fern is so perfect.

Valerie said...

I love how you managed to make such bright colors totally work and pop against the white! Your yard is divine indeed as well.

precious said...

I am so inspired with their home! I love it! Thanks for featuring.
dining table

Tina said...

Your design is amazing, it's a great source of inspiration, I was looking for long time something like this. I love how you've made your outdoor fireplace.

Barnabas said...

Fantastic desgin and best blog! I happen to be a daily visitor to your blog (somewhat more like addict :P ) of this blog. Just wanted to say I appreciate your blogs and am looking forward for more to come!