My Houzz: Creativity Flows in a New Hampshire Cottage

When painter and felting artist Lauren Decatur was searching for a new place to call home, a little isolated cottage tucked away in the woods of New Hampshire had the perfect balance of peacefulness, a natural setting and privacy that she was looking for. She made some changes to the gardens and added storage and worktables, but otherwise embraced the space as it was. It has now become her own little oasis to live and work in. “It has spurned the most creative and prolific period in my life as an artist,” Decatur says.

Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Lauren Decatur
Location: Francestown, New Hampshire
Size: 850 square feet (79 square meters); 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom

“I love my bed!” exclaims Decatur. When she moved in, the walls in the bedroom were already painted a soothing seafoam green that matched what she owned. She has since created a cozy haven with an abundance of vintage linens, down pillows and comforters that keep her warm on brisk New Hampshire nights. With the beautiful evening light and views from her bed of the busy bird feeders, this spot is a little slice of heaven for Decatur.

The nightstand is home to many photos of her sons and a very special vintage portrait of her mother. These framed photos, which had always been on her mother’s nightstand, were a recent gift from her father.

The painting above her bed is part of a series that Decatur worked on several years ago, which was inspired by three phases in a little boy’s development. As she has two grown sons, this painting is a wonderful reminder of the halcyon days of motherhood. On the adjacent wall, the framed baby sweater was a gift from a close family friend that Decatur wore home from the hospital as a newborn. The pastel below is one of her works featuring a special boy, Esben, whom she babysits.




Decatur’s dresser also provides a display area for early photos, here showing her brother as well as her sons. The tulip painting was a gift from one of her beloved friends.


The grand stone fireplace and the abundance of natural light from the back garden are Decatur’s favorite features of her living room. The fireplace is surrounded with her artwork. These pieces and the style of decorating were inspired by the Italian Renaissance and repeated visits to the museums of Florence. Decatur is always on the lookout for 18th- and 19th-century frames to complete the look in this series of paintings.

A built-in table with fireside seating has become the perfect spot for Decatur to work on her felting pieces while taking in the garden view.


A door from the living opens up into the back garden. Decatur’s landlord and friend, Dan Taylor, made the twig table from materials found on the property as a housewarming gift. The rug has been with Decatur for more than 20 years. She acquired it during her 13 years as an antiques dealer at a shop on Charles Street in Boston.





Decatur loves the rounded steps to the sunken living room, and says they give the room a 1920s feel.


Decatur had this additional worktable built when she moved in. This table and nearby bookshelves create studio space and storage in the otherwise awkward area that separates the kitchen from the living room. “The cottage was charming and unspoiled when I moved in,” she recalls. “I lived in it as it was for several months whilst I planned storage and workspace without compromising the original feel of the place.”

Decatur surrounds this workspace with rotating inspiration on, above and beneath the table. She keeps frames waiting to be used on the wall nearby. They serve as decoration too; it’s an artful way to store them.



Collected treasures and Decatur’s artwork are displayed on her bookshelves. “The art that I live with tells my life’s story. I have the first oil painting I ever owned, an owl given to me by a friend of my mother’s in the early ’60s. The first portrait I ever did, a crayon drawing of my mother, sits framed on my desk,” says Decatur. “I’m fortunate to know so many talented artists, and their gifts of art are especially cherished. I also hang my own current work. The walls change as paintings catch the eye of a client or visitor.”


Although Decatur rarely shops anymore, she has a weakness for linens. One of her favorite local haunts is Grove and Main in Peterborough, New Hampshire. The owner, Jane Gallagher, goes abroad to find vintage sheets, napkins, aprons and nightgowns. Most of Decatur’s newer acquisitions come from her daily walks in the woods; a nest or a feather will often make its way into her artwork.



Decatur converted what was once a laundry room into a closet to house all of her felting and painting materials. Open shelving holds her supplies, while curtains hide everything from sight.



This bunny is a felted creation of Decatur’s. Her felt creatures are displayed throughout the cottage, a charming reflection of the wildlife found in the area.


“I am so comfortable in the cheery simplicity of my kitchen,” says Decatur. She added the open shelving and edited her kitchen tools and china to include only what she really needs. One of her little luxuries in the space is a crisp white tablecloth, which always adorns the dining table.


When downsizing to fit into this small cottage, Decatur gave up most of her small appliances — including the dishwasher — a process she found rewarding. She’s replaced them with vintage hand tools that fit much better into the cabinets and with the overall look and feel of her home.


Even with minimal counter space and appliances, Decatur loves to cook, making meals with herbs from her garden and other fresh local ingredients. She has learned to make this space function comfortably and efficiently.


Decatur painted the beadboard in her bathroom in Benjamin Moore’s Dill Pickle to add some bright color. The original claw-foot tub is another original feature. To complete the look, she hung hand-tinted photos done around 1920 that she has been collecting for years. They are from Venice, Italy, and transport her to a favorite, simpler time.


The backyard, which opens up into the woods, is filled with beautiful flowers and includes a pond that is home to a family of beavers. Decatur loves to plant perennials such as hollyhock, lupine, foxglove and hydrangea. She also has an herb garden full of basil, tarragon, parsley, cilantro and sage that she uses continually throughout the growing season. And since it’s such a short growing season in New Hampshire, she often freezes her fresh pesto to enjoy during the winter.


When Decatur moved into her cottage, the gardens needed a lot of help. She hired a stonemason to build the substantial stone wall that encloses the garden. She then spent a fall and spring planting and building retaining walls.

Decatur spends time outside as much as she can during the warmer months.


Decatur continued drawing upon the natural inspiration around her when landscaping the front of the cottage, choosing plants that would be at home in the neighboring woodlands.

“I’m endlessly inspired by the natural world that surrounds me,” says Decatur, “It is, without question, my greatest artistic inspiration. In the past month alone, I’ve been visited by deer, red fox, black bear, lynx, raccoons and so on. There’s an absence of chaos here that allows my creativity to flow.”


Having found her beautiful oasis in this cottage, Decatur (seen here) has been inspired by the local wildlife for her own artwork. She paints and makes felts animals based on what she sees on her daily walks, as well as takes requests from her clients, including making replicas of their own pets.

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