Q: We are in the middle of building a mountain house; we want it to look like it's been there since the l900s. I know there's a lot of "lodge" furniture around, but what should we do in order to make the walls and floors appear older?

A: You're about to undertake a fun adventure, but one that's also fraught with danger. It's neither nice nor easy to fool with Mother Nature. Emulating the march of time takes delicate footwork or your ersatz aging can end up looking hokey.

That said, let's see how an expert managed to ape aging in the impressive pictured log library. It's actually in a new resort, the Ritz-Carlton Bachelor Gulch in Beaver Creek, Colo., surrounded by the natural beauty of the Rocky Mountains. With nothing contrived and no need for inauthentic items, the designers managed to create the rich patina of time ... and completed it instantly.

Here's the process, according to Trisha Wilson who heads up Wilson Associates, the interior architectural design firm that specializes in hotels and resorts (and wrote the book "Spectacular Hotels," Signature Publishing Group). Ceilings and walls were lined with timber, which was chinked with more wood, instead of plaster on the walls. The floors — "We wanted them to squeak" — were designed with wide planking in a rich chestnut color and accented with rugs in Indian motifs.

Natural materials were used everywhere possible, including stone fireplaces, woven rattan and oversized leather furniture; the designers sought out leather that already looked worn. Accessories were chosen with care to avoid clichŽs — there's only one antler trophy to be found. Lighting is low and warm, which enhances the golden glow that radiates from the natural wood.

The effect, as Wilson writes, is that the lodge has "an unmistakable sense of place. It belongs in the Rockies, and looks as though it's been there for a century."

To learn more about the book, click on www.panache.com.

Q: Color us depressed?

A: Whether it's the down economy or up-market taste, gray is the top color seen at the October Furniture Market in High Point, N.C.

Designers had different words for it: slate, charcoal, sun-bleached, mouse. Manufacturers at all price points displayed it in fabrics, leather, wood finishes, and even elaborate passementerie applied to pillows and upholstery like Ankasa, www.ankasa.com.

By any name, gray looks great paired with a crisp bright white or a softer parchment white. Gray makes a great companion for sharp, clear colors, such as lime and cherry red, or a partner for pastels like pink. Gray is also smart with turquoise, another coming color.

The dark-light duet played well in what design Gale Steves describes as the "spectator shoe" look, two contrasting colors evocative of '30s glamour. Calvin Klein Home did it minimally with deep, dark woods and light marble. French Heritage used midnight blue lacquer and light French cherry for a stunning Art Deco wall cabinet. Laneventure channeled Dorothy Draper with a gray, cube end table cut out to reveal a cream lining, or vice versa.

You might as well prepare for gray — also "the new skin color for Wall Streeters," jokes furniture-business guru Jerry Epperson.

The items in the shows at High Point count. It's the largest association of home furnishings companies in the world, attracting thousands of buyers, designers and design journalists; they overwhelm the small Southern town for a week twice a year in search of what's new for your home.

Stay tuned for more insider insights from High Point coming up in my next column.

Rose Bennett Gilbert is the co-author of "Hampton Style" and associate editor of Country Decorating Ideas. To find out more about Rose Bennett Gilbert and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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