Summer Camp Grows Up
Screened Upper Porch by Cocoon Interior Design
Shades of Minnetonka! This soaring screen porch evokes all the pleasures of summer camp, with a very grown up sensibility: casual comfort and a smart graphic edge.
“The canoe was the inspiration piece, because of the ribs that echo the wood ceiling,” says Paula Benton of the Cocoon design team. “It’s a vintage canoe made in Camden, Maine — it’s about 65 years old.” The inverted canoe — trimmed with tiny lights — creates a sense of intimacy, while adding festive ambient lighting to the space.
“We had the poplar bark siding and the stone fireplace,” Paula continues, “and it followed that we wanted rustic, so the log furniture by Tiger Mountain Woodworks came into play. Then we popped it all with a little red for a contemporary touch.”
Pairing chocolate brown and red — an unusual, yet pleasing, combination — the designers chose to work with a stripe motif, paying homage to the strong linear elements of the construction and the vertical stand of trees beyond (with a wink of the eye to the classic Indian blanket, a log cabin staple).
Positioning a folding screen and a pair of shutters in the corners of the porch enhances the sense of enclosure, without compromising the outdoor feel. “ They help to cozy up the room and make you feel snug and cradled,” notes Paula.
Low maintenance and decidedly unfussy, this is a space that can accommodate family time, entertaining or just unwinding — just like that cabin by the lake. Except that summer camp was never this stylish.
