The outdoor influence was, in part, sparked by the Spode Woodland dishes that Sonja displays in the dining room. “When I saw that pattern, I thought, ‘I want this house to be about nature and animals and the outdoors,’” she says. To that end, Sonja incorporated swaths of blue, brown, and green throughout the interior, complementing the shades with nature-inspired motifs and details like landscape paintings.
Sonja found a balance for her love of color in the white-on-white design of the kitchen, where everything from the cabinets to the countertops to the backsplash features a crisp, clean finish. “I’m trying to create something that feels relaxing and peaceful and serene, so as much as I love color, I like to calm things back down a little bit by doing a lot of white everywhere,” she says. She kept interest in the space with a subway tile backsplash and splashes of cheerful hues.
In the dining room, a selection of her Spode Woodland china collection is artfully displayed on the wall, tying the kitchen and dining spaces together. “I bought those dishes before I even knew what I was going to be doing with our cottage,” Sonja says. “When I saw that pattern, I knew that was the feel that I wanted for our next home.” Highlighting the design’s color scheme, buffalo check drapes dress the window, and a collection of soup tureen lids further contributes to the nature-inspired theme.
When it came to designing the master bedroom, Sonja wanted a space that wasn’t overwhelmed with too much décor. “I just wanted it to be a place where, when I walk in, I feel totally relaxed,” she says. To create drama without overpowering the space with accessories, Ronnie added paneling to the walls, and Sonja lifted an elegant headboard off the floor to elevate the eye toward the tray ceiling.
One of the more popular spaces among the couple’s followers on Instagram, the guest bathroom showcases the design’s attention to detail. “I actually hand-cut each one of those little black pieces of hexagon tiles and made that pattern myself,” Sonja says of the tile on the floor.
On the porch, Sonja’s love of nature has translated into a vibrant, cheery space softened with throw pillows that she created herself. “I love hydrangeas, and so I’m out there every day after work babying those flowers,” she says, adding that she and Ronnie have a lot of plans for the exterior of their home in the coming years. But for now, it’s enough to enjoy the summer breezes from the red porch swing that they brought from their first custom home—a reminder of all they have built together.
This story was originally printed in our Summer 2019 issue.
