Home Design: Three Rivers Retreat

Cozy Retreat

A local interior designer revamps a riverfront property in Three Rivers for vacationing perfection.

Story by Lifestyle Staff | Photos by J. Matthew Ledbetter

Home design can be daunting—or inspiring, depending on your point of view. Determining what needs to be functional, low maintenance, and durable, yet cost effective will impact the outcome. Whether you prefer to tackle the project yourself or you’re able to hire a professional, having clear design objectives will help you achieve the best results.

Local interior designer Kelsey Ormonde willingly dives into the design process with clients and finds joy in creating spaces where people feel the most at home. This month, she shared the design details with us for a vacation property she recently completed in the community of Three Rivers.

Natural Style

For this vacation property, Kelsey created a cozy, transitional, and collected feel that reflects the natural surroundings of Three Rivers. This was achieved by blending as many organic textures as possible throughout each space.

Earthy Elements

Earthy tones were incorporated by using warm woods, leather, lots of jute and woven basket accessories, as well as painting the cabinets an earthy shade of green. They balanced these natural tones with soft ivory fabrics and bold brass. The terracotta hue in the planters and sofa adds a soft pop while vintageinspired artwork and black iron adds complementary accents.

Easy Furniture

Kelsey and her team carefully selected materials and furnishings that could hold up to wear and tear for this vacation property.In addition, they had to be cognizant of selecting decor items that could be easily replaced— they sourced from places like Target, Amazon, IKEA, and Wayfair.

We really wanted to respect the organic nature of Three Rivers when this space.

Kelsey Ormonde

Design Goals

The priorities were to create a 3 bedroom, 2 bath home with a dining room and ample storage space. They achieved this by maximizing every square inch and ended up with extra space beneath the stairs, which they transformed into a kids' reading nook with cozy pillows, books, and board games. Perfect for making vacation memories up in the woods.

Plans

The property owners gave Kelsey a budget and gave her complete design control over the floor plan, materials, and furnishings. They trusted her to make decisions both big and small. One of the biggest? Relocating the doors and windows to offer the best views of the river.

Project Duration

From the planning stage to construction to completion, the project took five months working with local contractors and included managing the jobsite during construction. It started out as a shell of a barn and the only thing preserved inside was the stairwell to the second story.

Getting Started

Kelsey's tips to create your dream space:

Vision Board

Create a vision board on Pinterest or Instagram, and include a few key items or images that you love. You’ll be able to refer back to your board throughout the project to keep your vision on track.

Key Investments

Furniture is an important part of day-to-day functioning; choosing good-quality seating is always a good investment that allows you to spend less in the long run. The same goes for “touchable items” like hardware, fixtures, or linens.

Accessories

Keep the necessities neutral, and play with style and color through your accessories. As you feel like refreshing spaces, it will be much more budget-friendly to replace pillows or wall decor rather than furniture.