Decorating & Design
This Beautiful New Brunswick Home Puts Nature First
Updated on May 27, 2021
Natural materials reflect the rural setting of Maritimer Kelly Anderson’s house, nestled in a river valley in Taymouth, New Brunswick. The designer and owner behind Refreshed Designs, Kelly coaches clients on how to live beautifully while reducing their eco-footprint. “I prefer wood, jute and 100-percent cotton, linen or wool to keep everything nontoxic,” she says. “You can’t go wrong when you mimic nature.” See how Kelly created a calm oasis that prioritizes simple, sustainable design.
Kelly’s brother, Luke, built the working greenhouse from lumber and windows salvaged from demolished buildings. Kelly (pictured) grows herbs and perennials in the eight-by-16-foot structure.
With shades of blue, a reclaimed-wood bench and touches of greenery, the porch is the perfect bridge to the outdoors. Maritimers rely on screened porches from May through July to keep out blackflies and mosquitoes.
All-natural materials like jute, wood, linen and cotton abound in the living room. Kelly used leftover paint to create the graphic artwork above the sofa.
Kelly found the wood used to make this hanging storage piece on a walk around her property. The bench was a lucky vintage find.
Natural light pours through the skylight into the functional galley kitchen. Open storage and white walls keep the look bright and airy.
Mason jars make dry goods look attractive on open shelves, while a wooden tray corrals coffee beans and accessories on the recycled-glass countertop.
Multigenerational family gatherings are an easy fit around the oversized dining table that Luke made from reclaimed bowling-alley flooring.
Open shelving in the dining area puts gifts from friends and weekend-market finds on display.
Kelly claimed the light-filled former principal bedroom as her studio. She created the shiplap doors from scrap lumber, with help from her brother and father, enclosing a formerly open closet.
Kelly worked with an existing feature wall in the principal bedroom, reupholstering a vintage bed frame in a complementary blue ticking pattern. She wired an Edison bulb to reclaimed barnboard to create the sconce.
Painting the bathroom walls the same crisp white as the rest of the house made the room brighter. The stump stool was crafted using reclaimed wood from the family woodlot.
Robin Stubbert
House & Home July 2017
Kelly Anderson