As soon as she saw the 200-year-old cottage, interior designer Deniece Duscheone knew it had to be hers. “When I bought it, I was renovating another really old house, but I fell in love with this and decided to just sell [the other house] as is and put all of my energy into this,” she recalls. “There was just an energy that was really nice in this house.”
Upon seeing the natural light flooding the home, Duscheone had an immediate sense of the color palette she’d lean into. “I want to celebrate that light in a very neutral and soft palette,” she recalls thinking.
Duscheone looked past the jet-black hardwood floors, severe water damage, and years of general neglect. With expertise in preservation architecture, she’s mastered the art of intuition, tuning into the space to identify what it needs to return to its potential. “And from there, I tell a story,” she says. “Who lived here 200 years ago? How did they live here?
How do we celebrate that? But also, how do we celebrate the person who’s living here now?”
Here, with a view of a river and minutes away from a cobblestoned historic village center, Duscheone was inspired by the Muses of Greek mythology. This home was meant to become her creative space, where every room is designed to inspire from the moment you enter through the three-season porch.
Notwithstanding its name, she designed the porch for year-round use, adding blankets to enjoy the warm winter sun reflecting off the snow, while opening the windows to appreciate her summer garden blooms. As her casual inspiration space, where she’ll curl up and journal every day, choosing the right seating was crucial. A casual dining table mirrors a plush linen sofa. “You’re kind of forced to put your legs up on the sofa and really sit into it,” she says. The earthy color palette roots the home, while natural materials ground it.
Inside, Duscheone highlights the natural light with a soft neutral palette, a blank canvas for her creativity; she honors those who lived there before her with a curated mix of older and newer touches. “I think that’s what lends itself to feeling modern and livable, without being literal,” she says.
She gives texture to the entry hall by matching the original radiator’s color to the walls, then adds a marble countertop to hold florals. Beadboard recalls the home’s history, while a gallery of old maps and local artwork bring it to life. One piece, dated 1865, is a birthday letter from daughter to father. “For me, those are nods to the age of the house, the past . . . and how they lived,” says Duscheone.
In the bright living room, a 120-year-old Windsor chair sits opposite modern artwork featuring a woman whose face is obscured by a 3D flurry of butterflies. Through sliding glass doors, a jewel-box of an office with dark walls and a delicate wallpaper accent contrasts the lightness of the living room. “I want to engage like all of the senses when I design, whether it’s visual in the way I layer things or it’s tactile in the way things are touched and how they feel,” she says.
In centering her creativity, Duscheone’s act of preservation becomes an act of inspiration. “I want timeless things that maybe could be handed down, handmade, things that are precious but usable,” she explains. “I really want people to find such a comfort level that you feel like you could touch everything, and when you do, it’s just perfection.”
The 200-year-old floors were hand-sanded to remove black paint from previous owners. Duscheone reintroduced the shade sparingly, including around the dining table with chairs from the 1800s that were signed by the artist.
