Showing posts with label white. Show all posts
Showing posts with label white. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Refreshing a Master Bedroom

AFTER: soft spring green combines with plum, yellow, white
and gray to create a fresh color palette for a master bedroom.


Recently I made it back to check on the end result of a
decorating project that I planned for one of my clients.




Her decorating goal was to freshen up her master
bedroom by painting the walls, adding fabrics in cheerful colors,
and at the same time improve the layout while reusing the existing furniture.
I was happy to help!





Here is the before shot of the room: lots of traditional fabrics in neutral colors – black and white toile combined with a tan plaid and medium sized check – nice enough, but she was tired of the look. Accessories seemed to be all in the same color resulting in little to no contrast. The gray walls seemed drab next to the warm color of the furnishings, and the decorative painting over the arched window and doorways did not help to create a sense of calm in this area of rest.



First we addressed the layout. By rotating the bed to the left-hand wall in front of the smallest window, we were able to open up the room considerably. The pair of chairs with ottomans were moved over to the corner making a more intimate seating area positioned by the window for natural light. We moved the television onto a corner unit stand that could now be viewed both from the chairs or from the bed. Two dressers and a favorite curio cabinet also were repositioned along walls more suited to their sizes.



BEFORE: This corner was under-utilized
and the view outside the window was not
as good as the blocked view outside the
palladian window behind the bed.



AFTER: Switching the bed to this side opens
up the space while being much cozier.


In the end, only a handful of new pieces were added to the room including a shapely pair of lamps with the perfect colored shade that I found at HomeGoods, a white ceramic garden stool was brought in to add shine and contrast to the warm woods, and the TV stand is also new (sorry, I did not get a shot of it). Items that were taken out included a basket collection, a small painted table, and the candlestick lamps with toile shades. We also incorporated some larger more graphic works of art on the walls to replace the many small framed prints that we edited out.














During the process, I gave my client a few different options on fabric choices and I was glad she chose this modern twist on traditional. By using a confident mix of bold patterns with predominantly solid fabric choices the end result still has personality, but in a more subdued way. I was also happy to see her “go green by re-dressing her existing furnishings instead of completely starting over, creating a new look
while honoring pieces collected over time.






Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Guest Designer: Nicole Yee

White looks fresh with blues and browns
in a room designed by Nicole Yee.

When spring arrives in New England, my first instinct is to head outside and replace my evergreen-filled winter containers with fresh spring buds. But how do those blessed with warm-and-sunny-days-on-end welcome spring? Who better to pose that question to than native New Englander, Nicole Yee, now living – and designing beautifully! – on the West Coast.


A palette inspired by spring colors
Nicole Yee Interiors


Crisp white and bold brights make this kitchen shine.
Nicole Yee Interiors



Here are Nicole’s tips on creating
a spring inspired interior ...


“I’ve been working with a client to change bedding, pillows and throw blankets in her bedrooms to go from cozy warm to cool summer breezy. Changing bed linens has a huge design impact and freshens things up for the season. For me, spring also inspires color! I have attached a few photos of recent projects that are blooming with cheerful color. While these rooms are designed to look good all year, there’s something about them that says, ‘spring is here!’ Finally, don’t skimp on spring cleaning! Purge, purge, purge so that you can live simply this season! Happy spring to you! – Nicole

All photos above by Greg West Photography
for Nicole Yee Interiors


Thanks, Nicole, for sharing more great
design tips (and photos) from the West Coast!





While Nicole chose a plate of pears to decorate a kitchen windowsill, I chose a pineapple to be the centerpiece of our Easter table. Fresh fruit displayed on a white dish says warm weather to me –
regardless of which coast it is served on : )


Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Spring container gardens


This year I am going for white, both inside and out. Our front porch now has fresh containers of delicate ranunculus blossoms combined with white pansies, tall branches and deep purple sage for a touch of foliage color. This miniature garden should look nice for quite some time. When the ranunculus are spent,
I will find a summer replacement.


On my side porch, growing tulip stems
are supported nicely by a bird cage...



Monday, April 5, 2010

An all white composition


I was back in the art studio recently for another lesson with instructor Mary Taggart of TaggArt Studio. We practiced using varying weights of charcoal pencil to establish foreground and background values when illustrating the all white still life shown below.



More art from the studio that
uses white as a focal point ...




I am really liking white as a
dominant “color” right now.






Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Just because I love it ...


Faux bois ... one of my favorites,
love it on this love seat
.



I would love to have this chair and ottoman
(what a great tone-on-tone zebra fabric)
in my new master bedroom.



I love ottomans. The style of this one is
so much fun, but in a traditional way.



Etched Pedestal Bowl

I saw all of these stylish items while browsing at
Ethan Allen in Burlington. What do you love?

Thursday, August 20, 2009

My Secret Garden Room


My favorite spot in my house this summer actually isn’t in my house at all. I have been taking my coffee each morning (and a glass of wine many evenings) in this newly designed garden room.

The inspiration for this outdoor living space has been hanging on my refrigerator since I ripped it out of
Southern Living magazine in May of 2008. While they went with a black background for their garden room, I chose the opposite. The feeling of being surrounded by lush plantings and a green view remain the same.

Southern Living, May 2008
Photograph by Van Chaplin
Styling by Scott Martin


When I first saw this photo, the green striped chairs reminded me of the Winston Patio set that my husband and I bought over a decade ago for our last house. While the chairs are still in great shape, the cushions could use a little freshening up.


Some fabrics I have been looking at ...

Winston Marrakesh Palm

I love this pattern. It reminds me of the unopened buds of a hydrangea blossom. My design plan is to keep a neutral color palette on the chairs, but change up the colors in tablecloths and accent pillows to match the flowers that are in bloom at the time. These perennial hydrangeas (in pots right now) will later be planted in my garden.



This chocolate brown, green and pink outdoor fabric with white ferns would be nice as a table topper or on a set of pillows. It looks very much like the one in the inspiration photo above. Maybe I would pair it with a more subtle pattern on the chair like the stripe in the Winston Cedarkey Kiwi.

Available at JoAnn Fabrics


We chose to cover the walls with a barn-board like MDF that comes in huge vertical sheets and is pre-primed. Since the room is adjacent to our garage that is next to our barn, it seemed appropriate. Painting the entire corner room in brilliant white gives the vertical siding a more glamorous appearance. I love how pristine it looks, and hesitate to put anything on the walls. For now, I am using dark accents to contrast with the white backdrop.


Set of two Parisian Luminaries available
through Southern Living at Home


This tablescape with its iron cherub and fretwork candle holders inspires this fabric choice for the chairs ...

Winston Antique Fret

If I decide to have slip covers made through my workroom, I might use this outdoor fabric in a similar pattern (but available at a much lower price point than brand new cushions):

Available at JoAnn Fabrics


Maybe I will add this Chinese Garden Stool from

Wisteria for a bit of contrast to the white walls.



And if I want to change up the colors completely, this palette of blues and greens would be nice especially if we decide to add that pool next year we keep talking (or dreaming?) about ...


Winston Skyline Sea Mist

Winston Aqua Turquoise

Solarium Tropique Peridot

I so love this antique lantern, but it’s not in my budget this year (it lists for $3,500) ... from The Elemental Garden on 1st Dibs.



A work in progress ...

With such high ceilings, I feel I should make the space more intimate by adding something to the walls (even though I am loving this blank canvas right now). I have a couple of items that may work ...



This garden plaque is simple but elegant.
I might put it above the cafe table.




An ornate iron scrollwork piece matches
the colors of the ceiling fan and would
fit well above the paired seating.


Bodiam Garden Urn in Stone Finish
from the The Well Appointed House

At 22 inches high, this urn could be cool as a cocktail table. I would fill it with moss (we have plenty of that around here) and then cover the top with a piece of round glass just slightly larger than the opening. I think I saw something similar at a design show house but it was filled with shells.


Photo courtesy of vintagesteph

This white vintage birdcage from the curated collection of vintage finds available through vintagesteph would be sweet in the corner with a shade loving plant nestled inside. See more cool items like this at johnandstephblog.blogspot.com


And just so you can appreciate how far this space has come, here is the before photo taken in early spring of this year (this is actually an improvement from when we first moved in and it was full of dirt, weeds and a rickety door into the garage).

Before ...



After ...





View before ...



View after ...



I created a focal point by adding a plant stand plus vintage gate in front of the grapevine arbor. In a former life, the gate was used to secure the eighteen sheep that used to graze this property in their pen. Now it is hard at work holding back the raspberry cane and other weed-like growth!


Chair before ...



Chair after ...



A client of mine gave me this set of four chairs along with the cafe table. In an afternoon, I recovered the ripped vinyl seat cushions with new foam and outdoor fabric in a verdant green striated pattern. Now I use two of them in the space as end tables or spare seating. I could have spray painted the wire frame, but decided a little vintage patina would be a nice contrast to the new fabric.




Design inspired by nature ...

a perennial favorite.






Southern Living at Home Coffee Mug in Provence

A special thank you to my husband who spent a couple of weekends building and painting this room, and to my dad who cleared brush and laid the stone “floor” so that I could enjoy my morning coffee al fresco!