the new cathedral-ceilinged kitchen, this one an eight-foot-long island made from antique rough-sawn oak by a local woodworker. Weathered beams that span the room provide a subtle country touch. Two antique French armchairs that belonged to Eric’s father, sporting a pretty Barclay Butera fabric depicting white flowers and birds on a paprika background, sit near the fireplace, giving the new room a sense of family history. The fireplace in the living room is another memento from an
earlier chapter in the Salks’ lives. “That mantel was in the basement of our house in Roxbury and we brought it with us here,” Salk explains. So are the Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams settees that she recovered in an exuberant ikat fabric from Ballard Designs. The fireplace screen came from Pergola, a garden-antiques store in the nearby village of New Preston. “The owners brought it over to let us see how it looked before making the commitment to buy it,” Salk says. “A great fireplace screen is like a great piece of jewelry for a room.” The judicious use of unexpected, quirky, even flamboyant elements—such as the living room’s red chinoiserie bar she discovered at a consignment shop—are the linchpin of Salk’s style. “The bar is like a piece of sculpture, and it has so much personality,” she says. Salk takes fierce pride in finding bargains from sources such as Anthropologie, Ballard Designs, and West Elm. “You are going to laugh when I tell you that the living room rug with the big flower pattern came from Pier 1,” she says. “I drove over there and brought it home myself! The room would be so much less exciting if I
“People are much braver now. It’s rare to go into a house and see just one kind of style,” according to Salk. “They want to mix it up.” had put down sisal or an oriental rug.” Back when the couple first moved to Connecticut, Salk says, the country look was popular in decorating. Now, she says, “people are much braver. It’s rare to go into a house and see just one kind of style. That’s kind of dated. People aren’t so onenote anymore. They want to mix it up.” Salk believes we should all live in houses that excite us and reflect our own sense of style, and she will keep producing books, blog posts, and segments for the Today show to get her message across. “I want to encourage people,” she says. “It is easier and cheaper than you think to have a house with personality.” • Resources For more information about this home, see
page 155.
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