How do you incorporate your favorite patterns into a sophisticated new look for your home? Ask interior designer Kate Binger, the founder of Dwelling. She brightened up this active family’s Solitude home using modern textures and colors that complement the family’s favorite Pendleton plaids. The entire house was painted gold, which dumbed down the brilliance of the wood ceilings, making the house feel dark and heavy, Binger says. The walls are mostly white now, with a few key ones clad in barnwood. “Barnwood is an excellent accent. It gives houses lacking texture an instant interest and depth.”
WHEN I USE OVERSIZED MIRRORS, I LIKE TO PLAN THE REFLECTION OF AT LEAST ONE LARGE WINDOW.
— KATE BINGER
A balance of neutrals and pops of colors and dog-friendly fibers contextualizes the home in its dense forest setting, allowing the owners to let their rescued Rhodesian Ridgeback dogs happily roam free.
Binger seems to attract clients who enjoy living hard in their homes, just as she does. Feet on the table, wine and dogs on the sofa and muddy boots on the entry rug; she enjoys this aspect of entwining form and function in her designs. In the dining room, a large, gold-framed mirror on the barnwood-sided wall lightens up the open floor plan, reflecting the windows that look out onto a creek and a grove of trees. “When I use oversized mirrors, I like to plan the reflection of at least one large window.” Binger says. “In this case, the dining wall was an instant win for a mirror since it is able to reflect the transom windows, operable windows and the stone of the fireplace.”
For me, clean lines paired with the warmth of texture and color is paramount.
— KATE BINGER
She also makes a good case for introducing bright colors, especially because of the long, white winters here. A wood pedestal coffee table is painted with red lacquer and designed to function as a gathering place for drinks and games. The red brings a playful aspect to the colorful mosaic of cowboy paintings by Duke Beardsley from Altamira Gallery. At the bar, Binger chose barnwood shelving, which complements the matte, etched-limestone backsplash tile. Cowhide and polished-chrome barstools create a great contrast to the existing cherry cabinetry. A funky twig chandelier brings whimsy to the custom, live-edge dining table.
In the master bedroom, a classic leather headboard and navy painted nightstands balance the pop of the lounge chairs, which are covered, of course, in Pendleton wool. “For me, clean lines paired with the warmth of textures is paramount,” Binger says.
