This reader has a charming home, with arched doorways, hardwood floors and a chair rail throughout the house. I particularly applaud the bold choice in color. The deep navy blue is at once dramatic and classic. However, our reader is ready for change and I say, let’s bring this house into the light!
Here is the current room with deep navy walls and matching couch.
I think chair rails can be great. They are an easy way to introduce multiple colors onto one wall and also add a hint of architectural detail. I chose to leave the chair rails in place and take advantage of multiple colors and textures. Wallpaper from Hang & Paste is the perfect choice for a chair rail. The pattern isn’t overwhelming because it only covers half of the wall. It also sets a sweet and friendly mood in pale blue combined with Pratt & Lambert paint in Dried Moss. I also de-cluttered the side table by moving the family photos to the wall, in an arrangement from the Design Mom blog.
How about something bright and bold? The couch is such a dominant color in the room, a contrasting yellow wall really makes it a part of the palette. Pratt & Lamber paint in Golden Laughter and Dove White are a great backgdrop for a nautical theme. Accessories include a rustic beach print, an organized photo display, and a bright white lantern.
Lastly, a neutral room with a graphic touch is both modern and relaxed. I adore Pratt and Lambert’s Swiss Coffee (above the chair rail) and Taupe (below). So tasteful and calm! And of course, I can’t resist the wall decals. These Anise flowers from Blik are one of my favorites. For a slightly vintage feminine feel, a grouping of beveled mirrors completes the look.
Light and bright colors can have as much impact as dark and saturated ones. Don’t be afraid to lighten up!
Continue reading about Transforming a Room from Dark to Light
We have two issues to address in this living room. First, is the issue that our reader submitted: how to paint a great room which includes the living area, the dining room and the kitchen. How can you differentiate spaces when each functional area shares so many walls and so much air space? The second issue, which I noticed, is that this room suffers from a serious overdose of brown. Some carefully placed wall color and area rugs can help keep the spaces from blending together too much (and can also break up the monotonous brown!)
Here is the current room. What you can’t see here is that the dining area is next to this seating area, which then blends straight into the kitchen. It’s a quintessential “great room,” but without architectural features, there is little to articulate the functional areas.
In every scenario, I’ve painted the two walls different colors. When you are faced with one huge room, a simple solution is to create an accent wall. Pick any wall or area of the room you want to draw attention too. Check out this teal color, which coordinates nicely with the existing brown. Some golden yellow touches give the color palette a little edge and global accessories timeless. Also note that I added molding to the window and updated the blinds to make it look more substantial. Here’s the updated room recap:
- Benjamin Moore paint in Wedgewood Gray and Aegean Teal
- Andalusia rug from West Elm
- Etched Square pillows from West Elm
- Woven wood shade from the Shade Store
- Cowhide cocktail ottoman from Room and Board
- Rafia bowl made in Uganda from Ten Thousand Villages
- Black and white photograph of Paris from Allposters.com
Next up, some modern blues. I replaced the brown recliner with a more modern chair in a contrasting beige. I also darkened up the window shade. My favorite addition is the art to make an interesting focal point behind the couch. That particular piece is total steal – original art by Seon-Jeong Kim sold on Etsy. Room recap:
- Benjamin Moore paint in Lucerne and Serenata
- Axis chair from Crate and Barrel
- Seaglass Stripe rug from Crate and Barrel
- Jenga pillow
- 2″ wooden blind from the Shade Store
- Original modern art sold on Etsy
- Agave bowl
- Twine floor lamp from CB2
Lastly, an accent wall is excellent place to make use of wallpaper. I find that an all-over wallpaper is too busy for my taste. On a single wall, however, it adds a lot of depth and life to a room. This totally adorable wallpaper comes from Denmark. Room recap:
- Wild Flower wallpaper from Ferm Living
- Benjamin Moore paint in Caliente
- Yasmine rug from Crate and Barrel
- Mona Lisa and George Washington pillows from Atelier Expo Arte sold on Etsy
- Neo bunching cube, Gentry table lamp and Streeter swivel chair from Crate and Barrel
There are a lot of ways to define spaces within in larger room. Don’t be afraid to use more than one color of paint or to experiment with wallpaper and area rugs. A big great can be just that…great!
Continue reading about Putting the “Great” in a Basic Brown Great Room
This living room comes from a reader who is looking to update their living room while keeping the vintage chic vibe. They’ve already chosen the paint colors and are a making a bold (and wise) move – going from pasty pink to a deep chocolate and tan. They write to us looking for some help in tying the vintage blue couch with the bold brown and some more modern updated accessories. I think we have a few fun ideas for vintage eclectic living room in a lovely blue and brown palette.
Here is the original pink living room (soon to be painted deep brown and tan). The carpeting will also be removed to reveal a dark brown hardwood floor.
The owners picked a nice bold accent wall in dark brown. I also love the hardwood floors. To play up the vintage couch, try a patterned curtain combined with some unique accessories like an organic wood table and chartreuse vases. A subtle crocodile rug adds a little more pattern without overwhelming the room and two vintage chairs complement the velvet couch.
Here, instead of heavy drapes, try a flouncy tulip shade. Add some interest with a coffee table, a modern rug and fun vintage upholstered chair. Metal wall art adds another earth element to the wood-heavy room. My favorite accessory is the modern, yet historic pendant lamp. Upgrading your fixtures in a great way to make a room feel instantly more luxurious and expensive.
This last option is an elegant modern retreat, set with dramatically tall plain white curtains and a simple bold rug. Simple neutral chairs give the vintage couch and the houndstooth stool the spotlight. Streamline the fireplace wall with a large modern painting and a fireplace screen. Finally, the floor lamp gives the room a more intimate feeling by lowering the overhead elements.
In all of these options, the key to creating a vintage eclectic look is to create a balanced mix of styles. A few pieces of vintage furniture with classic lines combined with a couple of bold or unique accessories and your room will come alive!
As you might guess, I frequently “Mochi” my own home to help me visualize various decorating issues. I find that making a quick-and-dirty image can really help us make a decision when choosing between a couple of options. Ultimately this saves us a lot of headaches, a few arguments and some merchandise returns. Case in point: our new side tables.
We recently bought a fabulous charcoal gray Metro couch from Room and Board and were looking for the perfect side tables. We knew we wanted something small (to fit the space) and simple (we don’t like fussy). We also knew we wanted symmetry and we wanted to somehow add a pop of color.
We came up with two options.
(1) The Miner side table from CB2 + Breck table lamp in green from Crate and Barrel. Not bad, but perhaps not spectacular. The olive/sage lamp sort of pales in comparison to the saturated rusty orange pillows. Also, the table looks a tad wimpy next to the chunky couch.
(2) The Zest C table from CB2 + Breck table lamp in charcoal. I think this is the clear winner. This image made us instantly realize that bright lime green was an appealing and powerful match to the orange. Plus, the chuncky profile could stand up to the couch.
Here is the complete set, installed in our living room. I think we made the right choice, don’t you?
Do you have any design dilemmas that could benefit from a Mochi quickie?
Sometimes decorating is like losing weight–those last ten pounds (or last 10%) are always the hardest! That’s certainly the case with the living room below. When our reader sent this photo, my first reaction was, “This place looks fabulous!” Notice how well coordinated the furniture, paint color and accessories are. The theme is carried out in full, right down to the smallest detail. By most standards, this living room is in pretty great shape.
However, our reader didn’t quite see it that way. She is struggling with the color palette, and specifically the accent color. While the red provides a nice contrast to the otherwise neutral theme, the red combined with the green gives off too much of a Christmas vibe. I like the red, but I can also see our reader’s point. Let’s see if we can give her some ideas for new and even unexpected accent colors.
Existing palette of sage green, black, white and red.
The current room:
My first inclination is just to shift the red to a more orange-y color. This eliminates the “Christmas,” but keeps the contrast.
Another variation on the orange/earthy scheme is to introduce pattern. Here’s a Moroccan inspired palette with accent pillows from Etsy and Medallion curtains from West Elm. I also think the room could benefit from one larger (and more dramatic) piece of art. In this version, I placed a black and white photo of Morocco.
Our reader was interested in exploring blue accent colors. With the sage green, it’s tough to find just the right shade of blue. Here, I opted for a rather purple-ish dark blue. This includes curtains in lustre sheen/Elderberry and art deco glam pillows. The overall look is very sophisticated.
To brighten up the color palette, here is a royal blue. I wouldn’t immediately think to pair sage green with royal blue, but with the right accessories and artwork, it is possible to tie it together. In this scenario, the Japanese print ties together a range of sea greens, ocean blues and misty atmospheric neutrals. With art like this, you can make it work.
Lastly, when in doubt, keep it in the family. In this case, the green family. Sometimes you can make a pretty and unexpected palette by sticking to a particular hue. In this room, the sage green acts like a beige – in other words it becomes the neutral backdrop to the saturated green. The key, again, is in the accessories. What better accessory to a green palette than some actual live plants? Silk dupioni curtains in Greenhouse add a lush green anchor further matched by graphic pillows.
I hope this gives some new ideas for a lively color pallette with sage green. This room is so close…just that last 10% and it will surely be complete!
One of the biggest obstacles in painting a rental apartment is the landlord! Quite often, you are not allowed to paint or modify the apartment in any seemingly permanent or way. One of my friends, however, actually got permission to paint her spacious studio apartment. The one condition: the paint color must be light enough that it can be covered with one coat of white paint.
Our challenge is to find a way to add some character to this one room apartment using pastels, whites, neutrals or any accessory that is non-permanent. There is a lot you can do with light colors and the right wall hangings.
First, take a look at a panorama of the entire room. Notice the livingroom to to the right, with the dining room toward the back. I like that the living area and bed area each have their own wall. This gives nice separation to the living spaces and an opportunity to create further definition by painting different colors on the walls.
Here is a photo of just the living area. The “bedroom” wall is behind the chair and bookshelf.
Here is a warm color scheme to compliment the neutral green couch and various warm wood colors. I think of this as a muted orange sherbert and lemon sorbet. The pastels are slightly grayed/muted to avoid looking too much like a baby’s room. I topped it off with some posters from The Poster List, which happens to carry some of the coolest and most well designed posters I’ve seen in a while!
Here is a cool version using blues and grays. Sky blue is always a great option for a light color-it’s friendly and happy and works well in the lightest of shades. In all of these scenarios, the living room wall is painted a different color from the bedroom/dining wall. With such light colors, I think a multi-color palette could work really well without being overwhelming.
One alternative to posters and wall hangings is to paint a pattern onto the wall itself. Look how just two diagonal stripes add movement and drama in a room with no other wall hangings. Stripes like this are easy to make using blue painter’s tape. You can even create this “free form” without having to make the stripes level or even.
Fabric is another good way to add not only color, but also pattern. For a truly non-permanent fabric hanging, use 3M Command hooks to hang the fabric from clips or grommets. These hooks are great for rentals because they are strong AND can be removed without ruining the wall. This bold Marimekko fabric adds a lot of visual interest. With the back wall painted a complimentary neutral, the entire living area comes alive!
Continue reading about Personalizing a Rental Studio with Color
Here is a nice simple living room with neutral furniture and all of the bones for what could be a great living room. This reader wrote in asking for some color suggestions that would match the couch and for updates to the accessories. For this room, I decided it would be fun to seek some outside inspiration. One of my favorite blogs for interior images is Desire to Inspire. If you are stumped for colors or styles, I highly recommend cruising this blog. You are sure to find a handful of images that will help guide your color choices.
So, here it goes!
The living room as it stands now:
Earthy Inspiration
The first inspiration: earthy. In this room, the browns and the artwork really set the mood. This translated into beige walls, large art above the sofa, plus some natural Flor tiles and the wooden Nelson bench from Room and Board.
Modern Inspiration
Even when your furniture isn’t exactly modern, you can still pull off a modern look. It’s all about bold moves with paint and the right accessories. A geometric paint scheme creates a focal point in gray and red. The zebra rug, though modern, is also classic safari and ties the mod wall with the not-so-mod furniture. With some black pillows and metal tables, I think modern can work!
Asian safari inspiration
Lastly, inspiration from a richly colored room that I think of as “asian safari.” This room has deep jewel tones and lots of lush accessories. In our reader’s living room a deep teal wall and maroon persian rug really set the mood. Add an eclectic mix of wall art and you have your own asian safari retreat!
Our reader is just putting the finishing touches on her brand new home. The entire home is a blank slate and this homeowner wanted some ideas to add a little style, preserve a feeling of lightness and also compliment the beautiful dark floors. This living room with also include a baby grand piano, which can be a beautiful focal point in any decor (in addition to sounding great!)
My initial idea for this room is to paint it pale yellow. Pale yellow is a classic and rarely a disappointment. In this room, the yellow both preserves lightness and adds a cheery warmth. It also brings out the red tones of the floor. I’ve added some modern furnishing, which are clean and un-fussy in a room that will be dominated by a piano. The modern classic furniture includes: Design Within Reach Theater Sofa, Noguchi coffee table, and Tripod lamp. To complete the modern feel-geometric textlies from the Shade Store and a Rothko print in a bold primary pallette. I quite enjoy this yellow!
For a completely different feeling, check out the pale blue. The room retains the same lightness, but feels much more cool, calm and collected. This is great color to relax the energy and encourage a more quiet mood. Matching blue silk curtains keep the look streamlined and a Picasso print keeps it modern.
Looking for something more dramtic and classic? Instead of wallpaper, try a subtle beige-on-beige stripe. Vertical stripes are a true home decor classic, but in the wide beige they don’t feel prissy. I added a little drama with two sweeping silk curtians hung to puddle and draw attention to the wood floor. With the grand piano, the curtains and stripes are very operatic and remind me of the theater. How divine!
Lastly, a little casual modern in a friendly light green (with a hint of yellow). Choosing the right shade of green can be tricky. Too much yellow looks sickly, too much blue looks like a hospital waiting room. I recommend using multiple shades of yellow to minimize the problems. Here, painted a desaturated yellow-green on the walls and paired with with an unexpected ceiling in a dark gray-green. The bright green leaves of the plant round out a green trio. Some bright white orbs and brown window panels complete the modern earthy look.
Last month I attended the Apartment Therapy Offline Design Meetup. The theme of the meetup was group design therapy and together we helped fellow New Yorkers find a cure to their apartment woes. You can read all about one apartment here. It was so much fun to brainstorm as a group and I got lots of ideas for my own apartment. Mostly, I was impressed by how friendly and open-minded these design enthusiasts and Apartment Therapy readers are.
One reader asked me for some help visualizing her ideas and the ideas from the design meetup. She and her husband are renovating their apartment to accommodate both a home office for two people and a new baby! Below, are some visualizations, which hopefully help them narrow down their options.
Here is their existing apartment:
The first thing you’ll notice below is the floor-to-ceiling built-in home office where the exposed brick used to be. Their plan was to turn that corner into the office. I tried this built-in as a suggestion, which included shelves and some nice lighting. With this in place, I added some earthy accents which include walls in olive green and celery. Next, I threw down a complimentary rug from Flor in the Fret Knot pattern. Flor rugs are really practical (especially for kids!) as you can clean or replace individual tiles and the rubber backing makes them slip resistant.
As for furniture, there are some pieces with clean lines, but a welcoming spirit including the Quinn chair and Reese couch from Room and Board. I always love to finish off a room with some hand made accessories from Etsy. This chunky and colorful bowl from finishes off the look.
Keeping the same base, here is blue version of the living room. I darkened the cabinets of the home office, added a blue wall and brought in some darker woods to compliment. To keep the room from getting too dark, however, notice the light cream Delta chair with the white checkerboard Flor rug. I love how this rug makes the room look so fresh! Lastly, this interesting Petal bowl brings the blues into the dining area.
I love this bold palette of orange-yellow, black and white. The orange wall really pops and give some fun personality to the room. The wall is particularly striking with the geometric Flor rug. In this scheme it’s best to keep furniture and other accessories to a minimum or the small space will be overwhelming. A simple black chair, white cabinets and a grey kitchen keep the focus on the rug and wall. And of course, I couldn’t resist these adorable bowls.
Lastly, a soothing combination of warm gray and jewel-tone teal. Here, the color is actually on the cabinet doors and the main wall recedes as a backdrop. Instead of a huge rug, there is a plush brown ottoman, which can serve as a footrest, a table, extra seating or even a play object for kids. Ottomans are great multi-taskers and a good option for flexible multi-use spaces. I did add a small mat at the front door for wiping your feet and finished the room with a lovely original watercolor.
This apartment has great potential as functional space packed with uses and stylish space for a young family to call home. We wish them best of luck with their renovations and new additions!
Continue reading about A Splash of Color and a New Home Office
This weekend we fled the big city for the fresh air and lovely views of the Hudson Valley. We aren’t lucky enough to own a country house (or have friends who do), so we opted for the next best thing: a bed and breakfast. What luck we had! We found the most charming and down to earth spot in New Paltz, complete with a heated pool, hot tub and koi pond. Our innkeepers at Fox Hill bed and breakfast, Jerry and Jerri, were just lovely and made our brief stay relaxing and memorable.
I found myself completely charmed by their simple home, tastefully adorned with classic antiques like old Singer sewing machine tables and stately wooden bureaus. I don’t usually go for turn of the century antiques, country accents or floral prints, but something about Fox Hill just felt so perfect. Here are a few of my favorite vignettes.
The house was covered in wallpaper in a mix of classic prints. I can imagine doing a small bathroom with a dainty floral or mini pattern. Even a small closet with wallpaper would make for a sweet and unexpected surprise.
Even the ceiling had a pattern!
The details of the decor were so refreshing and made me want to come home and add some girly details to my own house. How sweet is the bow on the lamp?
Well, if you are looking for a weekend getaway in the New York City area, I highly recommend Fox Hill. Definitely hit the hot tub at night and say hi to Jerry and Jerri! For those of us who can’t get away, we can be inspired by a few pretty details that make this bed and breakfast so welcoming.
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