Beth Skogen
Skogen’s one-of-a-kind personalization of a thrift store cabinet (below) perks up the living room.
Lifestyle photographer Beth Skogen’s home will celebrate its 100th birthday this year. But despite serious-looking design elements like a grand staircase, dark oak paneling and elegant built-in cabinets, this classic bungalow is young at heart, thanks to Skogen’s playful decorating style.
When Skogen first looked at the three-bedroom, 1,200-square-foot house on Madison’s east side, close to the Barrymore Theatre, she was drawn to the big front porch and the open space that makes up the entryway, living and dining rooms. Both were features she knew she wanted in her first home.
But the color scheme at the time almost turned her away. The living and dining room walls were painted red, the ceiling and stairway a bright yellow and the kitchen an unappealing shade of green. Looking past these colors, though, Skogen saw the home’s potential. “Paint can change the feeling so much,” she says.
Skogen bought the house in 2013 and promptly changed every paint color. She wanted vibrant hues, ones that she was attracted to — cooler shades of blues, purples and grays. The staircase and ceiling of Skogen’s main room are now a clean cream, a beautiful contrast to the robin egg blue walls. The kitchen went from green to gray and the master bedroom is now shades of dark purple and lilac.
Beth Skogen
The galley kitchen (left) boasts a classic black-and-white tile floor and farmhouse sink.
When Skogen turned her attention to furnishing and decorating, she took it slow: “When you buy a house, it’s stressful because you want it to look good right away,” Skogen says. “But you should think about it one thing at a time.”
With an artist’s eye, Skogen started gathering pieces, her inspiration coming from some unlikely places. “There’s an alpaca in every room of my house,” Skogen announces shortly into the tour. After attending the Great Midwest Alpaca Festival in 2012, Skogen fell in love with the animal, which she calls “a mix between a long-necked dinosaur and a unicorn. I love their eyes.” An alpaca scavenger hunt in her house would lead you to gold alpaca bookends, framed photos of alpacas, a white alpaca-shaped ceramic lamp (which she admits might actually be a llama) and an alpaca Halloween costume she made herself, now on display.
The inspiration for the revamping of a mid-century modern cabinet that Skogen found at the Williamson Street St. Vincent de Paul for $35 was a $3 frame from a chain craft store. The frame, with its blue triangle design, sits next to a bright yellow chair in the living room (displaying a photo of Geoffrey, her photogenic Airedale terrier).
The frame’s design prompted Skogen to commission local furniture restorer Oak and Olive to paint the wooden cabinet to match. In addition to being a strategic spot to store her shoes, the piece is now a stylish focal point in the bedroom with its graphic geometric blue-and-brown triangle pattern. Always on the lookout for a bargain, Skogen also asked Oak and Olive to refurbish a large dresser in the guest bedroom. That piece she found on the side of the road, recruiting a passerby to help her load it into her car.
Other pieces in the home belonged to her family or were made by local artists. A large, whimsical embroidered tree, stitched by her grandmother and later found in Skogen’s parents’ garage, hangs prominently above her stairs and sets the tone for the house. “It really was my inspiration,” Skogen says. “It’s all the colors I love.”
Beth Skogen
Vivid robin egg blue walls set off the simple, classic lines of Skogen’s mid-century furniture finds.
An antique sun-shaped mirror that also belonged to her grandmother is a centerpiece of Skogen’s bedroom and displays some of her favorite necklaces.
Paintings by local artists Tammy Schreiter and Juliette Crane and fanciful ceramic sculptures by Rachelle Miller brighten walls and corners. Skogen displays some of her own work, too, including a striking black-and-white photograph of the son of a family friend standing up in a rowboat, setting the tone for the aqua and white, water-themed guest bedroom.
Her galley-style kitchen has a classic black-and-white tile floor, wooden butcher block countertops and a farmhouse sink. Punches of color come from the orange, red and yellow fabric of the seat cushions and pillows in the breakfast nook.
This is a spot people tend to congregate during Skogen’s parties and potlucks. So is the back deck. Come warmer weather, that’s home to roses, hostas and ferns and at night, brightened with hanging bistro lights.
But it’s Skogen’s garage in a back alley that is party central. It’s home not to her car but to a ping pong table, with ambiance provided by strings of Christmas lights.
Last year, when she thought the house had been built in 1916, she threw a “century party,” inviting friends and a vendor who makes wood-fired pizzas out of a trailer. Now that she’s learned that the charming bungalow was actually built in 1917, who knows what kind of party she’ll dream up for its real centennial? Perhaps she can even find some alpacas for the shindig.
