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Winter Whites
Lovingly restored, the home of designers David Nault
and Paul White is a model of understated style
Written by Mary Weaver
Photographs by Bob Smith
Everything about the Cape Cod home of David Nault
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| Woven storage baskets and machine-washable slipcovers are stylish yet practical. |
and Paul White appears effortlessly pleasing. The windows in their late-18th-century house allow a stream of dreamy light to filter into the ancient-meets-modern interior.
The decor is simplicity itself; the whole space is painted white. Furniture is covered in white twill, designed to be removed for easy cleaning. Even period pieces, like a Chinese chest in the TV room, have not escaped a whitewash. “I need a white environment to feel calm and in control,” explains White, acknowledging that this desire could be related to his name. He won a battle with Nault over painting the pine floorboards but concedes that a total, 100 percent whiteout would detract from the character of the house.
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| The classic Cape-home dates back to the 1700s. |
Balance is achieved with coir matting rugs and old Asian chests, too beautiful to camouflage. Splashes of color and texture are added in artworks collected from painters Sandra McPherson, Joanne Hughes, and Hiro Yokose. “The joy of a neutral backdrop is that it allows you to make changes with accessories and to move things around,” says Nault. “It works all year round for us; it’s as good at Christmastime as in spring or summer.”
When Nault and White bought their half-Cape home, dating back to the late 1700s, they planned minimal refurbishment. As interior designers, it may seem unusual that they had no desire to reconfigure rooms, but they fell for the house because of its quirkiness. It had additions tacked on in the 1850s, and again in 1969. “The way the house has evolved is very classic,” says Nault of the building, which now
resembles a long L-shaped corridor. With its pitched roof and cedar shingles, it was a house they coveted years before it became theirs.
“We used to drive past and admire its position in the middle of a plot of land and envy the light it always seemed to be bathed in,” says White, who has childhood memories of his grandmother living in the area. When a “For Sale” sign appeared, the pair did not hesitate. “It was seriously dated and hadn’t been maintained for years,” says Nault, “but that was part of its charm.”
Structurally, Nault and White called for very few changes, and the layout remained intact. “The
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| David (left) and Paul knew each other for 24 years and worked together in the fashion business before setting up their interior design company 11 years ago. |
electricity failed the day after we moved in, so we upgraded to a two-zone heating and air conditioning system,” says White. As fellow Cape dwellers know, in a region where temperatures in the summer can hit 90 degrees and winter temperatures can dive below zero, this is vital. The only building work was in replacing a mantelpiece in the sitting room, renewing the bathroom, and creating a galley kitchen in the old pantry.
There are plans for a new kitchen on the site of the old, but meanwhile, White has created a secret tented room in its place. Hidden behind a canvas awning is a space that functions variously as a gym, meditation den, and disco party area. “I love it because, being in the middle of the house, it is so unexpected,” says White, adding, “We switch off from the world in here.” When the space becomes the master kitchen, another multipurpose room and office, as well as a guest house, will be created in an outbuilding on the land.
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| Asian trunks are to store blankets double as a coffee table in the family room, while an antique chest provides further contrast to the room’s white color scheme. |
Above the fireplace, a gilded mirror captures the light beside a jigsaw puzzle that friends brought back from Venice. White flowers add a fresh touch. |
In the 12 years they have been running their design company Weena & Spook, named after two pet cats, Nault and White have become renowned for their timeless, understated style. Their speciality is in juxtaposing the elegant with the easy, and the beautiful with the functional. “Everything we design and produce for our clients we have already tested in our own home,” says Nault. “We know firsthand how good the glass cutters are, or how well the linen-wrapped tables in our bedroom wear,” he adds.
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| A custom-built glass table paired with easy chairs makes for comfortable dining. The modern lighting contrasts with the ancient woodworker’s bench used as a sideboard. A splash of sunshine in a painting by local artist Joanne Hughes highlights the wall, while the display of white stoneware plates hides old plug sockets. |
In the master bedroom, a cream wool sisal carpet is luxurious under foot, and stylish metal reading lamps contrast with the plush furnishings. Finished in black and white crinkle silk, the bed was designed by David and Paul and made by their company. |
With their easy manner and enormous talent, it is not surprising that many of Nault and White’s clients, half on the Cape and half in Boston, are employing them for the second or third time around. “Many become friends and we end up organizingparties and events for them,” says White, who is an excellent cook. Their clients want more of this couple who were born in the same hospital, in the same week, and have led parallel lives ever since. Staff stay loyal and most of their suppliers have been with them since day one. Their skills are complementary: Nault juggles clients while White is the technical wiz.
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| The bathroom’s fir vanity unit was custom-built by Weena & Spook’s carpenter. |
David and Paul maximized storage and work space for the temporary galley kitchen, which has bamboo floors. “Even we drew the line at a white floor in the kitchen,” says Paul. |
Their passion for what they do, combined with their humor and charm, is infectious. A day in their company is as inspiring and uplifting as the homes they design. They say they will never leave the Cape, but nor will they stay still. Thoughts of designing a restaurant, an art gallery, or a white cube house on the side of a mountain are all possibilities. . .
Paul White & David Nault
Weena & Spook Interiors
845 Main Street
Osterville, MA 02655
(508) 432-7713
www.weenaandspook.com
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