Design inspiration for mountain homes and cabins — curated wallpapers, fabrics, and interiors that blend rustic warmth with designer style by Sue Pipal.
Powder rooms, kids rooms, bunks and laundry rooms are all perfect places for whimsical wallpaper.
In vacation cabins and mountain homes, whimsical wallpaper patterns add unexpected charm and joy. Shouldn't your vacation home be a place of surprise and lightheartedness? Let "serious" design stay in the city. Your cabin is a perfect place for a dose of decorating fun.
Appres Ski
Are you skiers? Consider this tongue-in-cheek ski pattern in a traditional French toile style, Apres Ski. We love how it combines design sophistication, good looks and smart humor all at once. Sometimes joy is the best decor! Available in 6 colorways. Photo Source Katie Kime
Kilim
Are you a touch boho glam? Then consider Kilim a funky bold ethnic pattern in cool contemporary colors. (4 colorways available.) Its strong patterns and cool colors make it ideal for accent walls where you want energy and personality to shine. Photo source Quercus
Wood in River
For a playful twist on natural textures tryWood in River. What's more whimsical than a brightly colored wood grain print in a woodsy cabin! Adorable in a powder room. (Available in 6 colors but for maximum whimsy try the blues, green and red!) Photo source: Kravet
Bluebird Day
Bluebird Day. If you have a girls bunk room, this is your paper! (Available in 3 colors.) Photo source: Katie Kime
Wychwood
Dream of a walk in the forest. Wychwood wallpaper...charming and affordable, too!! (In 7 colors.) Endlessly versatile, Wychwood is a customer favorite. It balances whimsy with elegance, making it a great choice for those who want playful design without going over the top. Photo source Kravet
Explore More Wallpapers for Mountain Homes
These are just a few of the whimsical wallpapers we love. At Tahoe Dream Interiors, you’ll find hundreds of specially curated wallpapers and fabrics perfect for cabins, lodges, and mountain homes.
To make shopping simple, all items are sorted by color. And don’t forget — we offer free samples, so you can see patterns in your space before making a commitment.
For design advice, questions, or just to chat about your cabin project, contact Sue Pipal, Interior Designer, at spipal@att.net.
Some photos in this article come from well-known designers and magazines. We are updating sources as fully as possible. If you know the original publication for any images, please leave a comment and we will add credit.
It seems like modern construction and decorating is definitely starting to impact large-scale high-end mountain projects. However, I don't see it having much influence on more moderate projects. That's one of the reasons that I really like this modern cabin, originally published in Country Living. It's pretty rare to see a normal family sized cabin, designed with these airy, light modern surface materials and contemporary interior furnishings.
I am really appreciating all the pickled pine wood and the white color palette.
This room is so smart looking and it's really all due to the light colors in the woodwork and modern shaped furnishings. These choices are really no more expensive than the typical rich wood and brown sofa look you see so much in cabins. One of the nice things about choosing to design and decorate in this style is that part of the look is open empty space, which means you need fewer, although carefully chosen, furnishings. In this case, there are a number of statement making pieces, such as the two light fixtures, the dining table and chairs and the crazy furry pouf.
Although this house gives a modern impression, it is actually an old ranch style house in the Berkshires, remodeled by Hauswork Design. Formerly dark, dingy and depressing, most of the materials got a contemporary face-lift, except the fabulous stone fireplace, found as is on the site.
And, of course, a piece or two of over-scale high-impact art is required. When a room is mostly in whites and creams, it's important to use a lot of textures so that it doesn't become too bland. In this case, the rustic wood bench used as a coffee table, the tongue and groove on the wall, the white hair hide on the floor and the nubby fabrics all keep the eye both soothed and entertained at the same time.
Interesting collections united by the white color scheme add additional eye candy.
In the kitchen, the theme continues with natural woods contrasting with more white. The mortar on the stone chimney is very white and has been left thick so that it, too, makes a white statement in the room.
A simple but stylish entry.
A sliding barn door system with horizontal planks adds modern interest to a wall in the master. A simple contemporary natural linen bedding collection in lots of textures keeps things clean but stylish.
A lot of the furnishings and soft goods were purchased at stores like Ikea and West Elms and Bobby Houston of Hausworks pickled the pine walls himself. Carefully adding in a few authentic and collectible mid-century modern pieces and splurging on a few modern elements elevates the entire design.
The most modern cabinets, hardware and fixtures contrast with the rustic wood siding.
No color allowed. Even the dog slips beautifully into the neutrals color palette!
Some photos in this article come from well-known designers and magazines. We are updating sources as fully as possible. If you know the original publication for any images, please leave a comment and we will add credit.
What do you do when you love your small cabin but your family needs more space? The Bacon family solved the problem by leaving the original Vermont log cabin intact and building rooms around it. In the photo below, you can see the original outside walls, which are now indoors.
The rag rug is from the 1930's. The dining room table came from Canada and the mismatched chairs are from the 1880's
The Bacons are lovers of camp and cabin antiques. The island in the new kitchen area is from the 19th century. The hickory hoop chairs are from the 1930's. The kitchen has been accessorized with a collection of tin plaid picnic boxes from the 40's and 50's.
In the great room, older upholstered chairs have been recovered in a classic Lee Jofa floral fabric. Leslie Bacon collects old hooked rugs and there is a large beautiful example on the floor and a smaller cabin-themed hook rug hanging above the fireplace mantle.
On the front porch, comfortable old rockers supplied with wool plaid blankets provide a cozy place to sit with a hot cup of cocoa and watch the snow fall. Vintage accessories contribute to the charm of the porch.
Old carved Black Forest boxes are shown to advantage on an old store display rack.
The master linens are all vintage along with the braided area rug, above and below.
Classic cabin arts from the hand-made quilt, pine cone lamp, hand-woven basket, cabin mirror. The log walls create a charming backdrop for the Bacon's pretty collectibles.
A charming old hand-made cabin and scissors that were once part of the signage on a tailor's shop.
Although the many collectible pieces are from different eras and sources, they are kept cohesive with a color palate made of muted greens, red, yellow and blues. In fact, it almost looks as if the same can of green milk paint has attended to the front door, the dining table base, the kitchen island and other vintage items scattered throughout the interior. This color scheme is also repeated in the fabrics and rugs tying the rooms together. The log walls and wood floors provide a pretty but subtle backdrop, allowing these colorful items to shine.
The couple enjoying their antique hickory game table amidst their charming collection of antique cabin furniture and accessories. Bandit the dog supervising.
"Our architect thought I was a little nuts to keep the old cabin, and that it would have been a lot easier to start from scratch", Leslie admits. "But I love when people use what they have around. That's why folk art appeals to me. Something someone else might have thrown away, I'll always be happy to keep around me."
From Country Living.
We always have a number of antique and vintage pieces in our online store. To view our current offerings, click here.
Yes, there are some gorgeous lodge kitchens out there. You know the kind...no budget, big spaces...high impact. That's not what this posting is about. We're talking charm today. Of course, a healthy budget never hurts, but when it comes to charm it's about more than that. Charm is something that money really can't buy. Charm takes cleverness, style and confidence. Not everyone knows how to mix together just the right amounts of whimsy, pretty and color to come out the other end. But these folks do. Let's take a look...
No pretentions, just rustic pretty. This kitchen looks like it was cobbled together over the years with unfitted cabinets. It wasn't though. Designer Colette van den Thillartfound the main unit in the UK and had it shipped to be installed in her inherited Canadian family cabin. Each piece was carefully selected to keep the original old cabin look. Love the creams, white, natural pine and the way these finishes mix with the sea glass paint on the old logs and bead board. My favorite detail? Why, the curved stained wooden back splash, of course! Image source unknown — used here for design inspiration and educational discussion.
This kitchen is an example of how a few statement making pieces are all it takes. Here, old painted barn wood cabinets, some fabulous industrial style bar stools and two impactful old warehouse lights come together spectacularly in a simple, light and airy, rustic kitchen that is heavy on the charm and style.
A great use of antique pieces. The lower cabinets were a former store counter which were cut in half and installed on either side of the range. A gorgeous stone back splash and a high impact hood featuring some old flea market applied woodwork and this small but utterly charming kitchen comes together with panache. Image source unknown — used here for design inspiration and educational discussion.
A sophisticated version of charm with rustic wooden beams, headers and trim around the base of the hood. Black leaded windows, iron strapping on the beams and two beautiful lantern pendants add touches of black to the otherwise cream and beige color scheme. Can you make out the word "stock" in the tile behind the cook-top?
In this cabin kitchen, a wonderful Adirondack stick style island becomes a centerpiece. The sage painted cabinets and the pretty floral curtains are the icing on the cake. Bent willow bar stools available here. Image source unknown — used here for design inspiration and educational discussion.
With a large old family camp, many would be tempted to modernize and update. I love the way this family has decided to focus on adding charm with pretty paint colors, accessories and to let an unpretentious but much loved space simply be what it is.
And then there's the art of selectively updating, where new cabinets and appliances get tucked into a patina-ed older space and the charm lies in the contrast of new with old and the clean with the untouched and aging. A shiny retro Robin's egg linoleum floor, polished antique furnishings and the brightest of white paint all contrast with the aged and rugged upper walls and ceilings.
Cabinets prettily painted, striped flooring, rough sawn wood on the walls and a pretty collection of oil paintings. More on this same kitchen, below...
Antiques and simple slipcovers in a lovely blue linen, a gorgeous hanging lantern. All this combine in a kitchen that contrasts luxury with simplicity.
Hope you enjoyed seeing some of my favorite charming kitchens!
Colette van den Thillart worked for years for Nicky Haslam in London before returning home to run NH Canada.
Van den Thillart states that this lakeside cabin has been a part of her life for as long as she can remember. The original cabin was built by her grandfather, then used by her parents during her childhood and has now fallen under van den Thillart's care. As the years go by, the size of the crowd enjoying the cabin has increased (as is often the case with family cabins) and it finally became obvious that additional space was needed.
According to Van den Thillart, she wanted to avoid "Canadiana" in her decorating of the remodeled space. Instead, she has come up with a fresh, pretty, definitely English-cottage-influenced style for the cabin. However, the look is at the same time both more casual and more stylish than traditional English cottages, and yet, surprisingly perfectly suited to lake house living. The entire effect is one of old mixed with new. Colette says that as she looks around, she sees many objects from her past, but there is also so much in charm and livability that she has added.
See if you don't want to be there as much as I do...
Van den Thillart placed Canadian barn siding on the walls of the new living room and searched out an antique mantle for the fireplace.
A pretty seating area.
Adjacent to the new living room, a dining room with additional seating was added. While the ceiling tongue and groove was left untreated, the log walls were painted a soft grey blue and the trim a crisp white. The overall effect is pretty, comfortable and fresh.
The kitchen cabinets were found in her London neighborhood and shipped to the cabin's location in Muskoka Canada. The kitchen has the look of "collected" cabinets that you see in English country cottages. This part of the cabin was original to the house. Van den Thillart states in the video how much she loves the old wood patina on the ceiling and floors. Again, the softly painted log walls are so pretty. These work beautifully here because of the old wood surfaces contrasting with them. If the ceiling had also been painted, it would not have quite the charm.
Colette in her new casual but oh, so pretty new blue and white Master.
A casual mix of fabrics and cottage furnishings in this light-filled room. There is nothing so fancy here that you can't lounge around and be comfortable. And yet everything is an absolute pleasure to the eye.
To really appreciate this cottage and see more on how it all came together, you really must see the video below.
