To make sense of the many style influences, they hired interior designer Karen Davis of Davis Raines Design. “We knew our style and knew what we wanted, but we couldn’t get there on our own, yet didn’t want it to look like a designer helped,” Pam says. “Karen’s talented eye made it look effortless, collected—and she was so good with color.”

When Davis came into the project, the family had been living in the house for a while and they knew what worked and what didn’t. “The house was neutral, in paint colors as well as furnishings,” she explains. “We brought in color, some new rugs and textiles, repainted some of the walls, and replaced some of the lighting.”

Wykeham Rise (an Ocean House Management Collection Property) is a new luxury inn, restaurant, and spa in Washington, Connecticut, currently in development on 27 acres. Wykeham Rise re-imagines the country inn for the 21st century, cultivating a community for outdoor enthusiasts and lifelong learners. Karen Davis joins the Wykeham Rise team, designing the suites and bedrooms.

Whether you get lost in a beautiful landscape or prefer to find your own meaning in something more abstract, art is an essential element in decorating. Karen Davis, of Davis Raines Design, believes in the power of art to personalize a home. “I strive to design homes to be really lived in,” she says. “Artwork adds authenticity and balance that complement the colors, furnishings, lighting, and feeling in the space.”

Design Collaboration of Tree House guru Roderick Romero of Roderick Romero Studios and Washington, Connecticut based interior designer Karen Davis.

Design Collaboration of Tree House guru Roderick Romero of Roderick Romero Studios and Washington, Connecticut based interior designer Karen Davis.

Karen collaborated with designer India Mahdavi and her Parisian team on this Litchfield County, Connecticut estate, mixing modern furnishings and high-impact art to bring sophisticated flair.

Karen Davis selected as Judge of Design for 13th Annual Detroit Home Design Awards Presented by Michigan Design Center for Detroit Home Magazine.

Interior designer Karen Davis of Davis Raines Design introduced a custom barn-wood island topped with chestnut, a stove hood comprised of antique wood and a stone backsplash opposite the fireplace. “I wanted to balance the stone on the two sides of the rooms,” says Davis, who then filled the adjoining spaces with comfy furnishings in keeping with the rustic motif.

Designer Karen Davis of Davis Raines Design, also in Washington Depot, was enlisted to help create the inner life of the new home. Her space plan and her decisions about palette, textiles, and other decorative elements would introduce a lighter, brighter tone—a contemporary note, but one that would harmonize with and buttress the classic Adirondack style.

Davis selected interior hues that echo those outside the enormous windows, sourcing materials from local companies whenever possible. Having begun her design career on the West Coast, she has a Californian’s love for indoor-outdoor living. Her version pairs rooms with porches, their function-extending counterparts, and adds the New England necessity of screens.

Karen’s Pool House design from Bull Frog Pond house, a New England colonial in Washington, CT featured in “At Home in the American Barn” a book on Renovated Timber Frame Homes by James B. Garrison (Author), Geoffrey Gross (Photographer), Brandt Bolding (Photographer).

Book Signing with Interior Designer Karen Davis and Photographer Brandt Bolding - At Home in the American Barn.

What really intrigued me about this museum was that it was originally a personal home. Covering over 5 acres of land, and set in a residential neighborhood, the space is filled with mesmerizing outdoor sculptures and modern art from artists like Henri Matisse, George Rickey, and Leonardo Nierman.

Washington, Connecticut, interior designer Karen Davis vows this year to seek out manufacturers and local craftsmen who use sustainable techniques in their production process. “Every little bit helps the environment and the economy,” she says.

One of my newer hobbies/passions is beekeeping. I visited a garden that interestingly enough had beehives integrated into the landscape design.  That initial interest in bees and the healthy balance bees create, expanded to a deeper interest in finding out what the bees are doing, how they survive and how important they are to agriculture.

When you have a career that constantly keeps you “on the go”- meeting with clients, vendors and contractors, a trusty work tote becomes a necessity, for me it is out ranked only by my morning fix of caffeine. Over the years I’ve struggled with finding the perfect tote; trying many and loving few. When scouring the market for the latest and greatest in chic carry-alls there are a few key features at the top of my list.

Recently, my family and I visited Colonial Williamsburg, an area rich with our nation’s history, natural beauty, and colonial design. Among the many places we stopped was the St. George Tucker House, home to Revolutionary War militia officer, lawyer, legal scholar, and judge St. George Tucker. Beyond the varied rooflines and expansiveness of the home, one of the things that most grabbed me was the use of the bright green wall lacquer.

In the January/February issue of New England Home, Karen Davis was asked to choose her picks for a Game Room.