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Grandparent Style: 13 Design Ideas to Steal from a New Mountain Retreat in California

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Ideas to StealIssue 9 — The Return of Color

Grandparent Style: 13 Design Ideas to Steal from a New Mountain Retreat in California

Jenny Siegwart March 1, 2023

As a Los Angeles native, designer Sara Simon grew up visiting Big Bear Lake, a charming mountain town about two hours from the city. With a ski resort, campgrounds, and (of course) a fish-filled lake, the alpine destination was ideal for her outdoorsy family. Her father and brother even developed rock climbing sites in the area, becoming something akin to local celebrities.

So when Sara, the founder of LA- and NYC-based design firm Handsome Salt, decided to open a small boutique hotel, Big Bear Lake was the obvious place. “It used to be under the radar, but it’s so close to LA, and it has every season, so obviously it boomed during the pandemic,” Sara explains. “My whole motto is bringing hospitality home, so I thought it would be cool to bring my residential design to a place where people can stay.”

Sara and her husband made the idea a reality when they purchased a 1980s property with seven cabins and a lodge, then completely gut-renovated the structures, painted the exteriors dark green to blend in with the surrounding trees, and added modern concrete patios to each. The couple also built out a communal space with picnic tables, barbecues, hammocks, and horseshoe pits.

The best part, though, is the very personal inspiration behind the retreat’s interiors: the couple’s own grandparents and their distinctive identities. At Noble+Proper, Sara adds, “every single unit has its own name and theme behind it.” Let’s take a closer look and gather ideas to borrow along the way.

Photography by Jenny Swiegart, courtesy of Noble+Proper.

1. Consider a dark exterior.

each cabin got a fresh coat of regent green by benjamin moore, a moody hue that 17
Above: Each cabin got a fresh coat of Regent Green by Benjamin Moore, a moody hue that changes throughout the day. “I looked at hundreds of paint samples and I just always gravitated towards that one,” says Sara. “I wanted the outside to be really dark and sleek and sexy.”

2. Experiment with 3D art.

in orville&#8\2\17;s lodge, a 3,000 square foot house with four bedrooms, p 18
Above: In Orville’s Lodge, a 3,000-square-foot house with four bedrooms, playful three-dimensional art installations like this hat-and-frame number pay homage to Sara’s fun-loving grandfather. They also serve as prime social media backdrops for guests. “I look for lots of Instagrammable moments,” Sara says. Other installations include rackets and cameras.

3. Mix unexpected patterns.

maria&#8\2\17;s cottage channels sara&#8\2\17;s husband&#8\2\17;s e 19
Above: Maria’s Cottage channels Sara’s husband’s Eastern European grandmother—an energetic spitfire who’s always laughing, she says—through a variety of lively patterns. “Sometimes people think there are rules to design,” says Sara. “Excuse my language, but fuck rules. I don’t believe in them. You should do what expresses your personality and what makes you feel good. I like peach, I like blue, and I’m going to put up some floral wallpaper. People say, ‘You can’t mix this with this.’ Why can’t you?”
another kitschy cottage kitchen—this time, in fran&#8\2\17;s flat, w 20
Above: Another kitschy cottage kitchen—this time, in Fran’s Flat, where Sara reupholstered a rolled-arm sofa with maroon stripes and faded florals.

4. Try a bright trim.

in many ways, fran&#8\2\17;s flat is a classic example of grandma chic styl 21
Above: In many ways, Fran’s Flat is a classic example of grandma chic style, with its flowery prints, retro colors, and quilt-like pattern on the tile floors. Sara turned it up a notch, though, with vibrant blue trim throughout. “People probably would play it safe and have white baseboards to keep it very traditional, but we had to add a little funk factor to it,” she says.

5. Bring back colorful toilets.

the vintage pink toilet and sink set is the highlight of lucille&#8\2\17;s 22
Above: The vintage pink toilet and sink set is the highlight of Lucille’s Manor, a hyper-feminine cabin that nods to Sara’s own beehive-d grandmother. “I had them schlepped across the country to give the bathroom this little girly moment,” she says. “I would put a colored toilet in everywhere.”

6. Source vintage furniture.

otto&#8\2\17;s chalet, much like the rest of the units, is furnished with a 23
Above: Otto’s Chalet, much like the rest of the units, is furnished with antique finds—like this heavy wooden bench—that Sara accumulated over the course of a year. The mix-and-match pieces add grandfatherly character to the cabins.

7. Craft custom headboards.

sara designed custom headboards for every unit, with specific shapes and fabric 24
Above: Sara designed custom headboards for every unit, with specific shapes and fabrics to honor each grandparent. “I could have just bought generic beds, so they’re all the same like a true hotel, but it wasn’t going to work,” she says. “Every single one needed its own personality in the bed. It added so much to the space.”

8. (Really) commit to a theme.

sara committed to a theme more literally in joseph&#8\2\17;s hut: dogs can 25
Above: Sara committed to a theme more literally in Joseph’s Hut: Dogs can be spotted pretty much everywhere, from the red-and-white toile wallpaper to the vintage art and tchotchkes she collected at swap meets and antique fairs.

9. Match the backsplash to the floors.

in elfriede’s haus, an ode to sara&#8\2\17;s husband&#8\2\17;s g 26
Above: In Elfriede’s Haus, an ode to Sara’s husband’s German grandmother, the same white-and-beige checkerboard tile appears on the backsplash and the floors for a cohesive kitchen look.

10. Rethink antique runners.

who says a stair runner has to be uniform? sara combined multiple vintage rugs 27
Above: Who says a stair runner has to be uniform? Sara combined multiple vintage rugs to create runners for the staircases in each unit. “I wanted to mix and match,” she notes. “All of the runners are a blend of either two or three different Turkish rugs. I actually found some on Etsy, which is bananas because I had them shipped from Turkey and I got them in four days.”

11. Add extra patina.

to give joe&#8\2\17;s tavern a historic air, sara added sheeted brick to a 28
Above: To give Joe’s Tavern a historic air, Sara added sheeted brick to a few walls. “To make it seem even older, we did kind of a German schmear on it, which is basically grouting it, but then instead of cleaning your bricks, you wipe it over the brick to create more of a weathered look.”

12. Go bold in the bathroom.

compact baths offer an opportunity to go unapologetically bold with color. in f 29
Above: Compact baths offer an opportunity to go unapologetically bold with color. In Fran’s Flat, a WC is done tip to toe in salmon pink. Elsewhere, in Elfriede’s Haus, bubblegum pink and spring green tile offer a shock to the system in what Sara refers to as the “Miss Piggy and Kermit bathroom.”

13. Never spurn wallpaper.

it&#8\2\17;s no secret that sara believes in the transformative powers of w 30
Above: It’s no secret that Sara believes in the transformative powers of wallpaper. “I’m a huge wallpaper person,” she admits. “I’m pretty sure I put wallpaper in almost every single unit. Some people are like, ‘Isn’t wallpaper outdated?’ I’m like, ‘Oh god no.’ Wallpaper just gives a room a totally different energy.”

More in the way of grandparent-chic style:

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