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How to Bring Yankee Style to a Home Anywhere
Born in New England but with a spare, understated beauty that resonates much farther afield, Yankee style is all about substance
Houzz Contributor. I am a former magazine editor specializing in travel and design. I just completed my first remodel, turning my crumbling 1941 kitchen into a beauty of grays, whites and natural wood. If I could, I'd sleep on the countertop. That's how much I love it.
You can also read my parenting blog on Baby Center http://blogs.babycenter.com/author/sschoech/
Houzz Contributor. I am a former magazine editor specializing in travel... More »
Yankee style is not simply a regional thing (although it does originate in New England); it's more a state of mind. It's simple, upright, hardworking, no-nonsense, maybe even a little flinty. Shaker furniture is the ultimate Yankee aesthetic: spare, beautiful, functional and well made.
Yankee style is Hollywood Regency's polar opposite, but it shares some similarities with cottage, country and farmhouse styles. It's warm and inviting but not lavish, cozy but not cushy, functional but not sleek.
Yankee style might be the least show-offy of the bunch. Like a good blue blood, it doesn't like to draw attention to itself.
Yankee style is Hollywood Regency's polar opposite, but it shares some similarities with cottage, country and farmhouse styles. It's warm and inviting but not lavish, cozy but not cushy, functional but not sleek.
Yankee style might be the least show-offy of the bunch. Like a good blue blood, it doesn't like to draw attention to itself.
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Yankee style is often, but not always, colonial style. This Georgian colonial living room is unfussy Yankee all the way, from its columns to its geometric layout.
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Traditional furnishings (nothing flashy or trendy, please) against a black wall. The look is elegant but understated.
A plain farmhouse table and a no-nonsense china cabinet on a bare wood floor. Martha Washington would be proud.
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| This entryway is a homage to the Yankee way of life. Hard work is reflected in the farm tools, upright living in the church pew bench. The color scheme itself is muted, earthy and discreet. |
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Another Yankee-inspired entryway. Read: You are now entering a self-sufficient and morally impeccable home.
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Tall colonial windows, upright furniture, a spare setting and unadorned wood floors. This room may be in the South, but in it beats a Yankee heart.
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This kitchen is functionally modern, but its style — classic New England beadboard, plain wood floors, Shaker-style cabinets and a farmhouse sink — hark back to colonial times.
by Su Casa Designs
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The shingles and the simple, no-fuss furniture tell us that this covered porch is north of the Mason-Dixon Line.
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| This porch in Maine is the epitome of Yankee opulence: solid materials and a lovely view of nature. No further adornment is needed. |
Ideabook published on Aug. 27, 2012.
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Black wall, white trim, clean lines, few pieces, spare, hardworking...Love.
To my southern husbands chagrin, I am always downsizing and minimizing pieces. If it doesn't serve a purpose it has to go. What's the point? His comfort loving self is always perplexed and at a loss as to why a cushy oversized item has been tossed. HA!
Great article.