California Farmhouse with Garden

White & Wood Bathroom

Throughout the house, Nancy embraces contrasts via a black-and-white color palette and pairing wood furniture with the softness of upholstered pieces in cream homespun, plenty of fresh flowers, and vintage linens.

Bedroom Bathtub

The master bedroom perfectly combines the pleasures of a roomy tub, fireplace, and her bed: "I can go from a hot bath right to bed!"

When it comes to design, Nancy Fishelson has a knack for knowing what works. And nowhere is the designer's instinctive and inventive approach more apparent than at her Mar Vista, Calif., house. Nancy fell for the quaint Los Angeles neighborhood, but the 1940s house she bought needed to be almost completely rebuilt.

Antique Dining Room

Because she likes the emphasis to be on texture as well as shape, Nancy sticks to a neutral palette, which she punches up with folk art, old signage, and Americana.

Wood Countertops

She seized the opportunity to create an open plan with high ceilings and plenty of light. To put her own stamp on the new interior, Nancy added plenty of unexpected old-house details such as weathered outdoor bricks in front of the hearth and kitchen countertops crafted from salvaged wood floors.

Neutral Vintage Decor

"Textures and shapes are enhanced against white," explains Fishelson. Subtle but significant details such as the original paint of a vintage fireplace mantel and the bold lines of an 18th-century American cupboard get their due when displayed against a backdrop of plain white walls.

Designer Nancy Fishelson

At American Garage in Los Angeles, designer Nancy Fishelson shops for her Mar Vista, Calif., farmhouse. Nancy always looks for "architecturally interesting pieces," she explains.

Read more: Decorating with Contrasting Textures and Colors - Country Living 

Vintage Charm

Even the kitchen countertops are crafted from salvaged wood floors. When Nancy had to buy new, she chose faithful reproductions of 19th-century favorites such as the kitchen's pulley lights.

Worn Vintage Mirror and Drawers

To inject old-house character, Nancy put in vintage doors, fireplace mantels, and wide-plank wood flooring. 

Read more: Decorating with Contrasting Textures and Colors - Country Living 

Vintage Wooden Sign

Details such as beadboard and antique brackets, as well as plentiful fresh flowers, add personality to Nancy's understated style.

Neutral Vintage Living Room

Nancy also found imaginative applications for vintage finds--she turned a 19th-century wooden tub into a coffee table and utilized an antique checkerboard as a unique piece of art.

Quirky Whiriligig and Apothecary Cabinet

Wood signage punctuates every room for a graphic effect. The result is a house with a fresh, uniquely inviting look.

Read more: Decorating with Contrasting Textures and Colors - Country Living