OR AN ANTIQUES DEALER AND DESIGN BLOGGER KNOWN FOR
her strong collector’s eye and sophisticated interiors, Cynthia
Harper is surprisingly indifferent about the architecture of her own
home. Her first house, a modest newlywed starter for her and husband
Chris, was a quirky 1920s structure missing its front door and all interior
fireplace mantels. Six years ago, with an 8-month-old in tow and a baby
on the way, the Harpers moved into their second (current) home, a 1990s
builder-grade brick. “It was well maintained but just very basic and
cookie-cutter,” Cynthia says. “No real personality or style.”
Scrolling through Cynthia’s website and Instagram page, “basic,”
“cookie-cutter,” and “no style” are the last words to spring to mind.
Turns out, Cynthia and Chris are skilled do-it-yourselfers, adept at
transforming any character flaw, functionality fail, or boring space into
an ingenious and stylish design solution. Knowing this gave them the
freedom to evaluate spaces based on their big-picture desires. “With this
house, we could see it had the space we needed, a footprint that worked,
and a wooded lot where the kids would be totally safe exploring and
playing,” Cynthia says. “All we had to do was bring in our version of a
cozy, modern farmhouse and neutral colors.”
One of the couple’s favorite character-adding tweaks—the one so go-to,
it never leaves the to-do list—is to apply painted shiplap to any number of
plain, unfinished surfaces. “It’s a great way to add visual interest while
maintaining simplicity,” Cynthia says.
They installed it along walls in the dining room, office, and entryway,
wrapped it around the range hood, and capped the ends of their kitchenf