house she and her husband had commissioned. When he was
transferred to Germany, they sold it reluctantly and put all of
their carefully chosen furnishings in storage. Now, back in New
England, seasoned mover Kramer was confident that their sophisticated wordly possessions would prove an intriguing contrast to
the rugged beamed setting of their new house.
Using her cache of stored treasures, Kramer turned her
attention to the interiors. “But, with no local sources of my
own, I knew I needed help to finish,” says Kramer. Enter inte-
rior designer Eileen Marcuvitz of Plum Interiors in Lincoln,
Massachusetts, and Newport, Rhode Island, whose work she had
seen in a magazine. “She turned out to be just right,” Kramer
says. “With Eileen, there was no risk; she’s responsible, knows
quality, and has taste.”
There was instant rapport between the women. “It’s a lovely
thing for a designer to know she’s working with someone whose
eye is equally good,” says Marcuvitz. Kramer echoes the senti-
ment. “I’m comfortable with design myself,” she notes. “I also
happen to believe that working with the right professional can
be a very smart move.”
They shared a simpatico aesthetic, agreeing to respect the
house’s post-and-beam integrity, but add a little dazzle. “I’m
open to any style,” says Marcuvitz, “but I do like clean lines,
lots of light, and color when needed. This house is interesting
and has wonderful light, but we both knew we had to soften the
architecture cosmetically and downplay its rusticity in favor of a
cosmopolitan background.”
One space that needed particular attention was the
22-foot-by-62-foot double-story main room, where a freestand-
ing brick fireplace acts to separate and define the space. “It’s a
great party room, but it’s also enormous and needed cohesion,”
says Marcuvitz. Their solution was to leave the wood beams’
natural finish intact and paint all other millwork, including
superfluous wood embellishments, a shade of soft vanilla. Next,
the chandelier in the family room
(above) was purchased in Germany.
The custom bar, inspired by the
room’s Christian Liaigre furniture,
has a white top finished with a sheet
of green glass. The curved base is
stained to match the faux wenge
cabinetry. In the master bedroom
(left), antique rattan chairs are
paired with a modern upholstered
headboard. A smoky brown glass
overlay, which wipes clean easily,
tops the custom ebonized dining
table (facing page), another piece
retrieved from storage. The French
beveled-mercury-glass mirror
surrounded by bronze branches
above the fireplace was a birthday
gift to Kramer from her husband.
