Text by Bethany Adams
Upon purchasing a 1925 English Tudor-style cottage in Indiana with her husband in 2019, Kelly Colby was fully aware that the house was going to need lots of love. As a team member at Tiffany Skilling Interiors, however, she had the confidence—and the resources—to pull it off. “I dragged [Tiffany] through the house and said, ‘What are we going to do to this?’” she says.
To answer that question, the two needed to find the perfect balance between preserving the past and bringing the home into the present. “It’s always our intention in a whole-house renovation—especially with an older historic home—to keep all the integrity of the architecture and special details of the home, but make it function better for a modern family,” Tiffany says.
In the case of the Colbys’ home, this was made more difficult by several prior renovations that affected the flow of the layout. “It kind of created a lot of disconnect in the home . . . So, we were truly trying to bring it back to its original beauty,” Tiffany adds.
The redesign also included the restoration of a number of original elements—most notably, the decorative ceiling in the living room that Kelly refers to as a masterpiece. “We kept it exactly as I think it probably was when it was built,” she says. The feature hangs above a sofa that belonged to her husband’s grandmother—one of many family antiques that fit beautifully among restored stair railings, windows, and stained-glass doors.
Balancing the historic elements of the design, the team planned practical updates like reworking the layout that was originally designed to accommodate both the family and the live-in staff. And antique pieces find a fresh counterpart in bold, contemporary prints and patterns.
“One of the things that Tiffany does really well is pulling together traditional designs with more geometric shapes,” says Kelly of the wallpaper and upholstery selections, like STARK Carpet stair runners and powder room walls bearing bold prints. The color palette found its driving influence partly in the home’s abundant natural light.
“I think one of the things that our design firm tries to do in general is really bring the outside in,” Kelly says. “We like to focus on things that are found in nature, and the house has so much natural light pouring in from the original windows—so I think going with a color palette of blues and greens really reflects off of what’s coming in from the outside.”
The robin’s-egg blue kitchen is anchored by an oversize island, which, in addition to accommodating casual family gatherings, provides a convenient spot to enjoy the view from either side of the blue-and-white tile backsplash. Modern amenities tucked away in the pantry and larger appliances made to match the cabinetry help continue the atmosphere of timeless beauty, and china gifted from Kelly’s mother-in-law adds another layer of history.
Upstairs, a favorite touch of both Kelly and Tiffany incorporates old and new, as they were able to use a deep green tile from Rookwood Pottery—a company whose products were often found in homes in the area during the ’20s and ’30s. “It’s been one of my favorite design projects ever,” says Tiffany.
As in other areas of the home, she updated the space with an eye-catching contemporary light fixture—in this case, a starburst ceiling light that firmly brings the room into the 21st century. From front to back, Kelly and Tiffany’s teamwork paired classic charm with modern personality to usher this storied home straight back into its glory days.
