by Mary Sears Photos by Gridley & Graves
From the outside, the house fits seamlessly with the casual coastal atmosphere of New-port, North Carolina. But the inside of Buddy and Kathy Russell’s house looks more like the historic homes in Beaufort, a mere 15 miles away. That’s because the Russells’ decorating inspiration came from the 1800s and early-1900s homes there.
The couple worked hard nailing down the right details to make the inside of their 2-year-old seaside-style house look older. “Back in the 1800s, window casings, baseboards, and headers over windows and doors were square-edged, not rounded or detailed,” explains Buddy. So the Russells used the same wide, flat trim: 1-by-6-inch baseboards, 1-by-4s around the windows and a 1-by-6-inch header that stands out atop windows and doors, the vertical and horizontal
pieces separated by a ^-inch piece of neck molding, like a little ledge, to convey that old-fashioned charm.
The pair purposely chose dark hinges and hardware instead of brass for doors, sinks, tubs and light fixtures. (Buddy recommends dark finishes like rubbed bronze, black or satin nickel.) To re-create a sense of history, interior doors have beaded-board panels and oval doorknobs, which Kathy chose for their old-timey appeal. Also, “They’re more rustic than the round ones,” she adds.
