New Traditional Living Room

I had a fun design consult yesterday with a woman who just moved in to a new home and needed some help figuring out her great room.  Huge windows with golf course views, gorgeous open kitchen with marble countertops and blue glass backsplash, and no clue what to do with the floorplan!

We decided to bring her brown sectional up from the basement (where a bigger seating solution is needed).  A long console will sit behind one side of it to divide the living room from the dining area.  Lamps on the console will further create a "wall."  A pair of slipper chairs will create a U-shape seating area with the sectional, and their short height will not impede the view.

Picking up on colors throughout her house (some of my faves, which makes it easy!)  here's what I gave her.

Love it all!  Every time I work on a sort of "new traditional" space, I wonder what I am doing in a modern house.  But the grass is always greener, right?

That second one makes me think of this gorgeous house that Nicole featured the other day.

But back to me.  Do you have a favorite?

Dressing a pretty window

Sometimes--make that often--plans in design evolve.

The longer you live in a house, the more you spot problems that can be solved by design.

Take my client in NJ with the gorgeous traditional house and fabulous taste.  (Yes, she's reading, but this is also true!)

One of the first things we worked on together were window treatments for her kitchen.  We chose ivory raw silk for roman shades to give texture without competing too much with all the gorgeous elements in the room.  And we trimmed them out in blue velvet ribbon to tie in the color of the range and to take it up a notch in formailty.  You can see progress shots here.

But we left this window bare.

So lovely on its own, yes?

Turns out, for functional reasons, a shade is required.  (Light control and privacy: the big two!)  But what to do?  There's always more than one way to go.  

1. Perhaps the most obvious choice: a roman shade made to match the others.  Nice.  But also, perhaps, a missed opportunity.  It would be nice to coordinate with the original treatments but also play up the difference of this one--the arched shape and those amazing leaded diamond panes!

2.  Cafe curtains.  Pretty, breezy, and leaving the window top free to strut its stuff.  Though not sure this is really solving the problem of light control.

3. A matching roman shade set off by a shaped cornice in a print.  The cornice following the line of the arched window just emphasizes its pretty shape.  I'm thinking of bringing back the print from the barstools.  Fab, yes?

Or going solid and trimmed, with a natural/ grass shade underneath.

I know what has my vote, but I have to say, ANY of these strategies really dresses up the window, plays up its shape, and balances the architecture of the flanking cabinets.  We can't go wrong!

What would you choose?

Vignette

I don't believe in "styling" your entire home.  For me, there are simply too many surfaces that have a big job to do (coffee tables to hold up feet and drinks, entry tables laden with keys and mail, bookshelves filled with--gasp!--books), and while I love the pretty look of a surface that has been carefully styled, it's just not always realistic.

There: I said it.

But there ARE opportunities for styling.  The top of the dresser in a little-used guest room is a perfect example.

Statement lamp, layered art (large hung, small propped), a stack of boxes to create another vertical, a bowl to soften the edges, and a little frame covered in bits and pieces for that sculptural quality.

Oh, and my early-morning reflection in the artwork for good measure.

Tell me: to style, or not to style?

Round up: Folding Screens

Do you need a little more inspiration on the folding screens front?
Because I've got some for you.

So versatile!

And here are some of my finds.  Mostly not exactly "budget," but there are a few deals throw in.

Top row: Lamps Plus, Luxury World, Wayfair

Middle row: Wayfair, Bellacor, Henredon

Bottom row: Lamps Plus, 1st Dibs, Luxury World

Top row: Mitchell Gold Bob Williams, Victoria Hagan, The Screen Gallery UK

Second Row: World Market, MGBW, World Market

Third Row: The Screen Gallery UK, Lee Industries, MGBW

Have a great weekend!

Folding Screens

How's that for a catchy title?

I tried all the obvious puns but, well, the straightforward approach was probably best.

I was sourcing folding screens today for a project and looked at a bunch before realizing it would make the most sense to just have a custom upholstered one built.  But before I closed out all those tabs, I thought I would share my finds.

It's a: ROUND UP!

But first, some inspiration.

Homes and Gardens via Apartment Therapy

The Selby via Apartment Therapy

Domino

Martha Stewart

Domino

Lovely.  So, tomorrow: ROUND UP!

Also.  Do you have a visual memory?  I took one look at the green image above (found on a google image search) and went, "oh right, that's when Domino did that story about how to do monochromatic palettes."  And then I saw that last image and went "Shalom Harlow on the cover of Domino's green issue.  Madeline Weinrib textiles."  Curious to see if my memory served, I looked it up.

Boom!  

I have to say, I'm sort of impressed that I got this even when the shot was at a different angle (though maybe the angled shot was inside the magazine).  This issue is more than 6 years old.

I have lately been re-watching that show Felicity, and last night's episode had an annoying swim team friend of Ben's sharing his theory that everyone has their 3 things that they are the best at of anyone.  It's a pretty stupid theory when you think about how many people are in the world, BUT, this remembering of magazine decorating stories could be one of mine.  Useful, I know.  I guess I found my way into the right business.

So, two questions:

1.  Do you have a visual memory?

2.  What is one of your three things?

I guess this post should have been called something like "smokescreens" after all.

But if you actually want to make your own folding screen, do as Martha does.  Or check out the altogether reasonable tutorial from Ms. Jenny Komenda.

Sophisticated Lodge Living

We took a little family trip last week, to visit the Badlands and the Black Hills of South Dakota, a place whose magic I first encountered at the tender age of 11, on a school trip.  It is this kind of place:  for much of the time, I had the lyrics in my head that say "Oh give me a home where the Buffalo roam and the sky is not cloudy all day."

Gorgeous blue skies.  Literal roaming buffalo.  (Or bison, as our 3 year old companion informed me).  Incredible rock formations.  Still and silent lakes.  I generally don't share much in the way of family photos, but, I mean, come on:

In the Black Hills, we stayed in a cabin in Sylvan Lake in Custer National Park (last  two, above), perhaps one of the lovelier places I have been.  In a way, I appreciated the thought that went in to the decor, with ropes lining the open beams in the living room ceiling, sofas upholstered in western-look blankets, and distressed faux-leather bedskirts in the bedrooms.

But I would love to see my lake decor just a bit more sophisticated.

I was thinking something more like this.

I like how the shapes of the lighting and occasional chair sort of reference the use of antlers in design without actually going there.  The West Elm rug is a take on Navajo blankets, in totally current colors.  And I love a pair of gorgeous Native American portraits, so much better than some cheesy Western landscapes but still referencing the place in a meaningful way.

So.  Am I the only one mentally redecorating the lodgings when I travel?

Sneakity Peek

Modern, simple wood pegs and nickel show racks in a front hall.  Floating bookshelves in a living room.

Bit by bit, putting it together. That's what counts!

(Name that tune--anyone?)