A Utah pioneer house deftly updated for modern life

In my opinion, the foundation of any work you do with clients is trust," says Meta Coleman. It's not an unusual thing for an interior designer to say, but it resonates particularly with this house, whose owners speak so warmly of Meta, and she of them, that a kind of friendliness seems to radiate from the walls. First built by Scandinavian pioneers in the mid-19th-century, the house is part of a small town, Spring City, that has always thrived on tight bonds within the community. Lovingly restored by its previous owners, the cottage is intimately linked to the history of the town, and it took a light touch on Meta's part to bring it up to date.

Having long worked as a stylist, Meta first came to this cottage in the small Utah town of Spring City in 2016 to style its interiors for a book. At that time the owners, Shari and Randal Thatcher, had been living there for several years, and were wary of making any changes to the house that might disrupt its charm and character. Moving to Spring City from Seattle, the couple bought the property – a traditional rock house with wooden outbuildings – from a German couple who had worked in antiques and reproductions. They had worked on the place over many years, filling it with handmade furniture, adding a traditional German stove and retaining the simple, graceful feel of the pioneer house it had once been. They also named it 'Das Haus in der Sonne' (the house in the sun), hand-painting the sign that still hangs at the front. With a history of such devotion, it is easy to see why Shari and Randall were reluctant to change anything.

Nonetheless, as Shari says, "it didn't quite feel like us." And when Meta arrived to spruce things up, "I fell in love!" Meta was just beginning the transition from styling into interior design, driven by a desire to create spaces that would reflect the personalities of their inhabitants in a lasting way, rather than just for a day at a time, as happens on shoots. Trust and respect were vital in this process, as this was not a house where it would be possible or desirable to start from scratch. Much of the furniture and all of the architectural features of the house had be preserved, but a sense of renewed youth and joy was to emerge from the details: the use of colour, pattern, light, and the fresh arrangement of existing things.

Textiles and wallpapers went a long way in this scheme. "We wanted to retain a Scandinavian feel to the house," says Meta, "so I brought in some Josef Frank patterns that Shari was particularly drawn to." The sofa in the living room is covered in the vibrant botanical pattern 'Under Ekvatorn', while the walls in the bathroom are papered in 'Klöverblad'. Finding out about Shari's love of magenta, Meta upholstered a slipper chair in that colour to complement the sofa. A rich green rug grounds the colour scheme in the living room, adding a layer of comfort to the pine flooring and bringing a sense of the outdoors inside.

Meta presents her clients with a detailed questionnaire at the start of the project, and by this means determined that the sofa would need to be long and deep enough for Randal's afternoon naps, and that Shari should have a footstool made where she could put her feet up as she embroiders. The couple had amassed a substantial art collection during their years in Seattle, and also collect pieces by local artists (Spring City has become something of an artists' colony); Meta arranged a gallery wall to feel as organic as possible, to reflect the collection's growth over time. "It was important that nothing felt too fussy," notes Meta. "It's not who the owners are."

Shari and Randal's respect for the house chimed well with Meta's own drive to avoid waste – part of the reason she has moved away from styling. "You don’t have to revamp everything," she emphasises. "You can try and see the good in what you already have, and just freshen it up." In the living room, the armchair in the corner and the characterful cabinet above were already there, and Meta simply gave the chair a new look. In the bathroom the existing wainscoting was painted a vibrant blue to ground the green of the wallpaper, while accessories such as the shell sconces and opalescent pendant add a note of playfulness. Meta even worked with the heavy Victorian furniture in the log cabin's guest bedroom, adding softly coloured textiles from Howe and Schumacher to bring a sense of lightness to an otherwise dark room. It's now a room where Randal likes to spend his time, sitting in the sun, gazing out towards Mount Nebo in the distance, strumming a ukulele.

Meta continues to work on the house, currently attending to the mud room, while Shari and Randal root themselves in a community that is committed to preserving its wonderful historic buildings. It's a testament to Meta's sensitivity that Randal, who initially was more reluctant to take on renovations, now loves everything she's done. "I was resistant at the beginning," he says, "and thought everything was fine as it was. But once she worked her magic, I just got it. I could see how much better it was." The key to the house's charm, much like the town's is a considered blend of the old and the new, respectful of the house's past, its beauty and dignity, but also fun, colourful, and full of joie de vivre.

metacoleman.com