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A FULL-TIME MOM AND COMMUNITY VOLUNTEER WITH AN EYE FOR COLOR INFUSES A WESTPORT HOME WITH A VIVID PALETTE

Rick and Susan Weber have spent their entire married life in a charming historic farmhouse near the Saugatuck River in Westport. After meeting in New York in the late '80s, they bought the circa-1932 house six months before they were wed in June 1990. "Our wedding took place on the property under a big, old willow tree," Susan says. "Years later a storm destroyed the tree, so we put in a swimming pool. I like to tell people we got married at the deep end of the pool."

A first glimpse of the Webers' two-story home reveals a classic Connecticut scene: amber-hued shingle siding and roof, dark green shutters and two Adirondack chairs perched on a white-railed porch. But a closer look at the porch hints at the cutting-edge interior: While its surface looks like a lush lawn, it is really ceramic tile printed with images of blades of grass.

Susan's former career as a Manhattan ad agency creative director still serves her well on the domestic front. When she welcomes you inside, her engaging style and clever design eye are readily apparent everywhere. The casually comfortable house reflects the couple's passion for color, design and light. Rick, an investment analyst who commutes daily to Manhattan, happily indulges his wife's design experiments. Their teenage son, Mack, and middle school-aged daughter, Nell, similarly go with the flow in the wake of their mother's eclectic design eye.

In 1994, the Webers hired architectural designer Patricia Miller to help execute their vision for makeovers of the kitchen, master bedroom and bathroom.