Blue Heaven
February 21, 2011
Text by Regina Cola   Photography by Laura Moss
Barbara Pervier believes in drapery. âItâs not home until the curtains go up,â the Salem, Massachusetts, designer insists.
She also has strong feelings about millwork, tinted ceilings and classical proportions.
Pervier, who lives with her Jack Russell terrier, Ralphie, in an 1830 redbrick house facing Salem Common, put those convictions into practice when she bought her condominium. With carefully considered window treatments, moldings, subtly colored ceilings and other details that lead the eye upward to tall ceilings or outward toward the view, she created a home with big panache in a footprint measuring a mere 640 square feet.
Small rooms in old houses can present challenges, but Pervierâs design creates a sensibility thatâs anything but cramped or fusty. With a personality far more expansive than its square footage, her home is a lovely showcase for her antique furniture, art and well-loved collections.
âTo guide me, I used the memory of how it felt the first time I stepped into this room,â Pervier says as she snuggles into a fireside wing chair upholstered in creamy white linen. âI walked to the windows and looked out at the Common, the trees, people walking and the beautiful old buildings. I resolved to always focus on the view.â
In service to that view, she painted the living room walls a color she describes as soft blue-gray-green. âThis shade of blue brings the sky in from outside,â she says. âItâs very soothing and makes for a feeling of openness.â The hue is a first for her. âI like blue, but before this I never had blue walls,â she confesses.
Two living room windows gaze down on the iconic New England cityscape. Flanking them is a single pair of luxurious silk panels in the same blue as the walls. With a Greek key motif at the leading edge, each panel drapes the outside of one of the windows. The sophisticated design seems to increase the roomâs size while placing the view front and center.
Crown moldings the color of ginger line the upper walls, drawing the eye upward and making the room look larger still. Other elements contributing to the living roomâs tranquility include the neutral herringbone pattern of the flat-weave broadloom rug, the simple, pale upholstery on sofa and chairs and the opalescent Murano glass lamps, all of which bring an elegant restraint suited to the building. âThe style of the house is classic, but neutral,â the designer says. âThe proportions, to my eye, are perfect.â
Pervier has loved historic architecture since, as a child, she visited an aunt who lived on Bostonâs Marlborough Street. âI loved to visit the grand old brownstone, and I used to say, âSomeday Iâm going to live in one of these beautiful houses.â â
Her old-house fondness, however, has no truck with fussy fabrics or crowded rooms. âIâm not someone who likes a lot of pattern. I always like things fresh, simple. I use a lot of neutrals; I like to come home and feel serene,â she says. âAlso, when the background is neutral, it allows objects to stand out.â
This philosophy informs the bedroom, where millwork applied to soft beige walls lends distinction and a sense of space. A coverlet and pillows in a standout Manuel Canovas plaid in plum, beige and cream drive the color scheme for the room.
Above the fireplace, twin sconces flank a Federal bullâs-eye mirror. âThe sconces are brass, which I painted with gold-leaf paint,â Pervier says. âIt softens them and makes them look less garish beside the antique mirror.â
She used the same trick to age the brass of the bedside table with a soft patina. âI have always loved to mix old and new,â she says. âSometimes the new has to be aged a bit.â
In the kitchen, a white marble countertop with warm gold veins sets the tone. The narrow room allows for a table and chairs at one end. The walls here are blue, too, though a paler shade than that of the living room. At the kitchenâs far end, a window looks down on a wide perennial bed planted by the designer. âI have it all,â she says, âa home that suits me perfectly, a wonderful city neighborhood and even a garden!â
Pervier stresses the impact of local history on her design work. âWhere a house is located is very important,â she says. âWhen you live in a town rich with heritage, you have to acknowledge that. In the living room, the gilt head mounted on the wall between the windows is my nod to the figureheads on Salemâs famous China clippers.â
In another nod to the sea, Pervier has strewn seashells all about her home. She places them on fireplace mantels, heaps them in bowls and keeps them on the desk as paperweights. Ever since she was a child, when her father collected them on a posting to Okinawa, Pervier has loved seashells. âIâm a nature girl,â she says with a laugh. âThey make for interesting shapes and textures in most any kind of room.â
Perhaps theyâre also responsible for her penchant for iridescence, whether in a collection of silvery elements on a tabletop, clear glass drawer pulls that reflect and refract sunlight in the kitchen or the delicate tints she applies to ceilings. âA room isnât painted if you leave the ceiling bare,â she declares. âThe soft tints reflect light in flattering ways and can be subtle echoes of stronger colors.â
The designer knew she had gotten her home just right when she participated in the annual house tour sponsored by Historic Salem. âLots and lots of people came through,â she recalls. âAnd I got lots of positive comments, mostly from women. What I remember best, however, was hearing a man say, âI could move right in here.â Then I knew that it works!â
Interior design: Barbara Pervier
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