Orono Screened Porch

PROJECT: Orono screened porch
DESIGNER: Lucy Penfield, ASID, Lucy Interior Design, 612-339-2225
ARCHITECT: James Dayton, AIA, James Dayton Design, 612-338-0005

No room says Minnesota like a screened porch. The architecture of this bow-shaped screened porch addition—part of an Orono home’s renovation by architect James Dayton and builder John Kraemer & Sons—is “old school,” Dayton says. “It’s like something you’d find in a turn-of-the-century lake house, with a smaller scale than in a lot of today’s Lake Minnetonka homes.”

Furnishings depart from the current standard as well. “We imbued the space with fun colors,” says interior designer Lucy Penfield. “Eastern cultures provided much of the inspiration, and that balances with the greens of the natural environment outside.” The room’s unexpected furnishings work surprisingly well with the the classic envelope of Douglas fir paneling and slate flooring. The teak furniture and daybed swing were custom-built by Majestic Furniture of Minneapolis. The cushions are covered in fabrics from Holly Hunt at International Market Square—the daybed features a black textured ticking called Dibble from the Perennial line. The chair sports a reversible acrylic with Mango on one side, and Paprika with a flange detail (shown) on the reverse, from the aptly labeled Chameleon line. “We took many of our colors from Indian oil jars, mixing ochre and paprika and curry yellow,” Penfield says.

The daybed’s big pillows are made from orange seersucker cotton from India that Penfield found at Bjorling & Grant. Smaller throw pillows are sewn from vintage Thai and Burmese fabrics, also from Bjorling & Grant. “They are random, they are creative, they are relaxed,” Penfield says. “They aren’t matching or perfect.”

Indeed, many of the fabrics have their own stories. Penfield says the pillow that forms an orange linen cross was made using an old fabric children’s game that has little pockets of shells, and the green pillow was made from a “beautiful waxed linen” with a scrolled embroidery. The blanket on the chair is an African textile purchased several years ago in New York. “It’s boiled wool patchwork—a big, snuggly blanket,” Penfield says.

Although the daybed grabs much of the attention, a teak dining set beyond is a destination for fresh-air meals. The Burmese lantern overhead, uncovered at Architectural Antiques, has been wired for practical use. A moodier glow emanates from the modern bronze sconces by Archipelago Metalworks, the studio of Eden Prairie sculptor Peter Vanni. “We used real candles, and they’re encased in glass to protect them from the wind,” Penfield says.