I love to bring the colors from outside into the interior decor. So this is a lake home? Then I'd be bringing in lots of serene blues and soft greens... and repeat some more of that nice gray stone you have around the fireplace.


You for sure have enough wood, don't bring in any more of that... for stools, do painted stools that will accent the wood instead of compete with it.

Get, or even better yet, take a picture of some rocks or the beach of your lake and enlarge it on a canvas and hang it on the wall to the left of the TV.

For the backsplash, I'd probably go with, depending on your budget, either soft gray/blue tile, maybe in a small hex or 'penny' shape, or even easier and cheaper would be to install beadboard and paint it a soft gray/blue color.

For the wall opposite the FP, where it looks like maybe there are wall mounted speakers? I'd do a grouping: if you have room for the walkway still, could you fit in a console type table with a lamp or a pair of lamps and some sort of interesting hanging above it? I'd love to see some rusty old 'junk' that you've made into art, or a collection of fun vintage fishing rods and gear, something interesting that you love and fits with the fun 'lake house' idea.

Liz www.HometoCottage.com

Ooh nice. Where's the lake? I would consider a shimmery glass backsplash like sunshine on water and paint it cool blueish green.

I like the idea of bringing the colors from the outdoors to the interior like Home to Cottage suggested, especially for a lake house. A blue-green would work nicely in the kitchen and surrounding areas. Think about using some stronger colors that coordinate with the blue-green as accents in the family room. Be sure and buy sample paints and paint them on the walls to check the colors and how they look in your space and lighting. Have fun!

The lake is in Minnesota. What walls would you recommend painting if I did decide to add some color to them? Thanks for all of the input! It is always nice to hear others thoughts and ideas! Most of the house is rustic and earthy tones so I feel as it is in definite need of some color.