#spool bed

An upstairs bedroom was given a cathedral feeling when the original low ceiling was taken down to reveal hand-pinned support beams. The spool beds and the night table are painted blue to harmonize with the cottage piece, an Eastlake bureau. The wooden floors are splatter-painted and laid with handwoven cotton rugs. The wicker chair is made of raffia, and the curtains are checked gingham.

The dormer bedroom is lined with a nineteenth-century chest in a sprigged floral print that touches everything with a cheerful flourish. The Italian chairs are fine companions for the American spool bed, the Federal period mirror, and the French dressing table. A small anteroom that serves as a dressing space is freshened with lots of white and leafy green plants filtering the sunlight. The tiny greenhouse in front of the windows is Victorian. The iron animals are all antique doorstops.