Doris Harkaway Designs a Home with Personality

By Melissa Borgerding
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE

“I had ten to dinner on Christmas Day,” says Doris Harkaway, surveying her large living room. And that was a small party. “At one of my parties, I had 14 or 15 people, and it worked out very well.”

Doris entertains more often since moving to Sedgebrook from her threelevel house in Diamond Lake. “There wasn’t a lot of camaraderie there,” she says of her former neighborhood. “Here, you’re meeting people, and they’re always so friendly.”

When she’s feeling social, which she says is most of the time, she can always find a Bridge game going on in the clubhouse. For dinner, Doris dines with a group of good friends. But when it comes to her number- one passion, reading, Doris says that her home is her sanctuary.

‘The Kitchen is a Lovely Size’
“It has a half bath and a nice-sized kitchen.” Doris walks from room to room in her Hastings, pointing out the features she loves most, like the walk-in closet in her master suite and a niche in the hall that’s perfect for a table of photos and knickknacks.

In the kitchen, Doris flips the switch to reveal artful lighting above the cabinets. “The kitchen is a lovely size. I was able to bring in a baker’s rack.”

However, Doris admits that she chose her Hastings not for the large kitchen or even the guest room, but for the wall space. “I had to find walls big enough for my cabinet,” she says of a striking French Regency-style piece. Doris had no intention of going anywhere without the cabinet that belonged to her mother, along with the china inside.

Situated against the far wall of her living area, just behind her dining room set, the tall cabinet fits beautifully into its surrounding space. The piece serves as the focal point of the room without overwhelming it, as it easily might in a smaller room.

The cabinet is just one way Doris has brought her individuality into her home.