SPACES - HOUSE OF BLUES

RHYTHMIC PATTERNS AND A NAUTICAL PALETTE HIT ALL THE RIGHT NOTES AT A WATERSIDE HOME IN WISCONSIN.

Blues, both the music genre and the color of sea and sky, can span a spectrum. "If we had to count, there are probably 50 different shades used in this home," says Melinda Cahill, who co-owns North Shore Nest Interior Design in Glenview, Illinois, with Suzanne Glavin. "But it's not blue in your face.

To us, blue is a neutral. Working with different shades, you don't have a feeling that any one is overused." A Chicago family had the duo design this custom-built retreat in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. "We work on a lot of waterfront properties. It's always our goal for the homes to feel like where you are without stating the obvious," Cahill explains. "It's in the quiet, understated elements, whether it be striped wallpaper, antique oars hanging in a hall, or brass fixtures that carry a whisper of the fittings on an old wooden boat."

The home's crisp, transitional style doesn't steal the show from the views-but it's far from mere background music. In addition to playing with blues, Cahill and Glavin harmonized patterns, keeping large upholstered pieces neutral for balance. Personality sings in zippy textiles, graphic tilework and kinetic wallpaper, like watercolor striations striping the foyer and golden stars shimmying across a hallway ceiling. Each room offers something new to appreciate, details that make a splash... without going overboard.