The location on historic North Broadway in Saratoga Springs, New York, was ideal. But when Bryan Browne and Lisa Bates first peeked into the aging split-level, the prospects were problematic.

Designed as a kit home, the house was built in 1959 from preassembled components; yet when Lisa and Bryan bought it, its modern elements were at odds with the neighborhood. To bring in more light and add living space, they bumped up and out the rear of the house to nearly double its size to about 3,000 square feet, which gave the house more scale and sense for its surroundings.

Key finishing details came next, and here the influence of Scandinavian design came to the forefront. Bryan and Lisa tapped into the style’s penchant for blonde woods, ambient light, a white palette, and the use of natural materials both as exterior elements and indoor backdrops. Brick, stone, board-and-batten walls, and even windows themselves all migrated to the interiors.

Maple woodwork and cabinetry and fresh white walls were laid down to give the spaces a clean, and clean-lined, canvas for Lisa’s design work. “I think the interior of the house lends itself to almost any kind of furnishing,” says Lisa, who is fond of antiques and flea-market finds but likes to use them with a spare hand.

I tried really hard in the design to not do something that’s going to be dated in a few years,” Lisa says.