Mixed metals and new tables

I love to mix fun things in with unfun things. Who doesn't, right?

Well, I had the occasion to brave summertime 95 traffic, albeit on a Monday morning, to take my daughter to her college orientation and then make the roundtrip again on Tuesday.

A quick stop at the nearest coffee shop on Monday had me peering into the window of Random Harvest. I knew the Old Town Alexandria location but this section of Arlington, while unfamiliar, is now a favorite.They were not yet open at that hour but I knew my Tuesday trip might just be timed right for a visit. The visit proved worthy. It is a lovely mix of old and new and quite affordable for a place of that quality, I thought.

Most of my furniture is vintage.

 

It's funny how changes happen to a house and it's decor. Things got shuffled about for painting this room and adjacent ones and I discovered things I wanted in different places. I needed a table next to this chair, which is my perch for the rare occasions I watch TV. We tried a few we already have and I got a feel for the correct size. I was positive I would find something online or at Homegoods and my impatience almost won. Mr. Designdumonde had the winning words with , "I don't care what kind of great deal it is, I don't want any furniture that we don't love and intend to keep." Wise indeed.

Nesting tables- Random Harvest

This fantastic set of metal and stone tables was indeed a deal at $295 for the pair but one I will not tire of anytime soon and I feel comfortable that they could move to other rooms in my house..or next house as the case may be. 

As I photographed these I also noticed how much I loved the casual feel mixed metals can lend to a space. 

Table  from CB2

 The polished chrome of this table and the polished steel of my original vintage Brno chairs mixed with the brass accessories and the legs of my mid-century console really keep the room interesting to me.

 

 

 I also love the high-low mix and it happens to be the only room we allow toys in. 

Toys? What toys? It was a great laugh that I was able to photograph this with minimal tidying and still keep the pink Lego box out of the shot.

 

 

If you are local check out Random Harvest at one of their 4 locations and on Facebook

What is your "safe" color

A "safe" color is the color that you end up with in a the case of indecision. When you love the red chair but worry where to put it and you get the oatmeal fabric instead.

In looking around my own house I realized that my "safe" color is black. I have caught myself thinking, "Well, I can always move it to another room if it's black."

I have painted furniture black, chosen black lampshades and fabrics, and moved that black chair from room to room.

So tell me, what is your "safe" color?

A colorful update

I suppose this post should be titled "Happy Mother's Day to me" or "The family room isn't ready". As many things go in improving or decorating your home, one thing had to happen before the original project can be completed. The color neutralizing in my family room led to shopping which led to brightening my living room and not finishing the family room.

Here is a partial before, so you get the idea.

Totally tired of it!

So I removed the vibrant pieces from the family room and went pillow shopping for some comfy pale gray pillows for the sofa. I only bought one and then raided my son's room for more. I figured It would make a good blog post with before and afters. Well...it's not finished and I had colorful things that make me happy that needed a home.

A conversation later that day.
Me: "Want to know what I would like for Mother's day?"

Mr. Designdumonde: "Yes! And I want you to shop for it and wrap it"

Me: "OK!!!!!"

My pillow shopping had led me past these cunning little stools at Target.

 

 I wanted two but two just did not work in my living room. In fact, pink did not work in my living room even though the walls are the palest pink!! Horrors!

More shopping happened and the bombe chest and desk traded places.

I made sure there was a bit of vibrant pink and orange sprinkled about the room. The foundation is still ivory fabrics with dark woods and though predictable, I am really happy with it.

Philadelphia's Main Line art show

March appears to be my traveling month. First Charleston, then Charlotte this week and Malvern, in the Philadelphia area on the 19th.

I am having a trunk show with over 30 pieces of art at The Blue Octagon

If you are not familiar, I urge you to take a look at the website.  

Krissa, the designer behind The Blue Octagon, has stocked this shop with all of the "to die for" pieces on my list.

Her shop is worth a follow on Facebook or Instagram just for the eye candy.

4 ways to choose a color scheme

I think many people get stymied on choosing color schemes for their houses.
 The two easiest ways involve using the color wheel and choosing either complementary or analogous colors.When you search either term on Pinterest a vast collection of  "over-produced" rooms appear (thank you LPC for that delightful term).

I am also including the split-complementary method that is a bit more sophisticated and my color plus neutral method.

To avoid the "over-produced", it is advisable to add a healthy dose of neutrals so that the colors do not scream and to tint or tone the pure hue with white or gray.

Complementary colors are opposite on the color wheel but that does not mean that red and green won't look Christmas-y. To use this method you need to tone the colors with added gray or tint with white. Think light blue paired with orange. Notice the amount of white added alongside the color.

Analogous colors are next to one another on the wheel and the same toning or tinting are helpful.

I personally gravitate towards analogous color schemes in very pale or very dark tones. The mid-toned rooms are tempting to me though.

What on earth does a person do if they love both warm and cool shades but nothing in the combination of opposites is appealing?

A split complementary scheme is one that the colors on either side of the complimentary are used.

Here the coral is a tint (white added) of red-orange paired with tints of yellow and green.

I must add that I do none of these most of the time. I think about what I have to use in the room, what direction I want the room to take, and what I can afford to buy to make it all come together. 

This generally involves a dominant color paired with a combination of neutrals and colorful accents.

In my formal living room I used the ivory upholstered pieces that I had and chose a dusty, very pale coral on the walls. The art and accessories are varied colors in jewel tones and a bit of black that stands out.

I used this method in my son's room and chose a navy wall and charcoal, brown and grays with a colorful gallery wall. It is quite a lot but 99% of the items are a variation of blue, gray or brown which keeps the look cohesive but interesting.

Which method do you prefer?

How to banish a case of the browns

I was chatting with a neighbor last week who mentioned having lots of wood in different tones and not being able to pull together all of that brown. Its easy I told her. I should mention that I have nothing against brown and its not a poor choice. It's just all too easy to end up with nothing but brown.

First, why do so many people end up with so much brown and beige in their homes when Americans, according to House Beautiful, choose blue as their favorite color? When deciding on furniture and wall color many people think, "I love blue (or another color) but I don't want a blue room" and they choose the neutral because "it goes with everything". Brown leather furniture is popular for its durability for people with kids and pets and, well, why not buy leather...it's a classic. Pretty soon they end up with a bowl of raisin bran colored everything and wonder how it got that way when they made safe, classic, standard choices.

I will show you two ways to banish a total case of the browns. The first, admittedly has a lot of blue, but it is a bit more budget friendly and other colors can be substituted. Both looks can be done incrementally.

I left the curtains, sofa, and wall color the same in this view because those are often the most expensive or time consuming to change. I think buying large pricey furniture in neutrals is a good idea and color should be used on mostly less expensive items so that changes in decor are easier to incorporate without redoing everything.

In this first view the imaginary person who loves blue bought the blue chair she wanted. The look is lightened with various metals and glass and the blue is repeated in pillows, poufs, and prints.

The blue chair is very affordable from Lampsplus.com

The mirror, poufs and sideboard are from Wisteria.com

The coffee table and side table are from Target.com

The prints are from The Pink Pagoda.

I took the idea a little farther and added a few more expensive items in the second version.

I kept the sofa, curtains and that new blue chair but changed the wall color to a pale, cool gray.

I added a petite antique dresser. Yes, its more brown but its a rich, aged brown and a classic style.

The white swivel chairs are from HDbuttercup.com and are high quality neutral pieces that lighten the overall look. I used more metallic finishes with the silver garden seats from Wisteria.com and the upholstered bench is from Deringhall.com.

The artwork is available on Etsy.com and is by Elena Petrova. I am crushing on her paintings and they are very affordable.

The bottom line is that adding bling with metals and some glass or light, airy items helps with the heavy, browns. It is also important to understand that using a large item in a non-neutral does not mean that you have to commit to a an entire color scheme based on that color. Both of these looks could easily have incorporated greens, pinks, or lighter blues.

What is interior design?

OK, I am going to stick my neck out here with my opinion. I have two photos of living rooms. The first is a room that most people I know (in person not blogland) would call a beautifully designed room. At the risk of sounding elitist, I think it sucks. It has a little matchy, a little trendy, its all shiny and new and seems devoid of personality to me.

The next photo is something that I feel is a more inviting, "real" room. 

Home of Kate and Andy Spade

Not everyone can be Kate and Andy Spade and have architecture like this and a top-notch art collection but they can layer books and interesting furniture. It is so much more inviting to see mismatched lamps and objects that actually have a story to the homeowner beyond the trip to Homegoods.

What do you think? Am I a snob? Out of line?

Decisions, decisions

Do you ever stop yourself from buying something you love thinking that its use is too limited?

I almost did that last Spring while redoing my daughter's room.

painting/chair/planter/pillow /pouf/desk

I walked away from this fab mirror that was a mere $50. All I could think was, "I don't need a mirror" and "What if she hates it? Then I am stuck."

Silly me. I saw that mirror in vignettes on Pinterest and it reminded me that I won't necessarily always be in this house and they are growing up and leaving so I will other places to use the mirror when circumstances change. Luckily, my short-sightedness did not hurt. The mirror was still at the store a few days later.

I put together this board to see how I might use it in an entryway or little office nook. Can we just talk about that pouf? It was love at first sight. I was thinking I should just buy it or two then I saw the price. Yikes!

Have you ever walked away from a purchase that you are kicking yourself over?

Design delight

Several weeks ago I was aimlessly scrolling through Facebook and saw the link to Traci Zeller's blog post on a dining room that she recently completed. Imagine my surprise and delight to see a painting that was commissioned directly by her client last year.

The client used Traci's Double Day Design service that is more personal than e-design and more affordable than full service design. I had no idea my artwork would end up in such a delightful room.

See the whole room HERE

Traci Zeller Design  Dustin Peck Photography

ORC-Whew! Its done!

As always, many thanks to Linda of Calling it Home for dreaming this baby up.

Are you all exhausted too?
If you need to catchup here are the previous weeks.
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
 Week 5

Let's take a look at my plan for my 17 year-old daughter's room and the results.

I had the bed, curtains and loveseat beforehand.
The girl likes chevron so I indulged.

I ordered a Lucite chair (from a company I won't recommend) and the blue and white chevron rug was a last minute Homegoods find.

The accessories in the room were the most fun for me. We both love elephants and the brass one was a thrifting score.

I found this vintage magazine rack at a local thrift and hit it with some gold spray paint to tie it in with some other accessories and hold all of my old her records.

I actually had the table in my basement. It was a side-of-the-road broken find that I repaired and lovingly refinished years ago. I took a deep breath and just started painting it white before I could reconsider.

I use my children's rooms as art hanging spots for my paintings until they sell so we can enjoy the paintings for a while.

That painting is from my new series and my daughter likes things to be color coordinated  and I think this works with her color scheme without totally matching.

The lamp on her nightstand was thrifted and I wrapped nearly all of the books in fun wrapping paper.

The pillows and throw on the loveseat make me want to steal them.

I found these blue and white porcelain balls at a discount store and I may have to buy some for myself.

 I hung her watercolors that are for sale in her Etsy shop with bulldog clips and they serve as inspiration as she works.

A print from The Pink Pagoda and a small abstract of mine work nicely together.

The rainbow was painted by her little sister and hangs with my favorite of all of her elephant paintings. I might just have to snap that up myself.

I learned a lot from this ORC. The main thing is that I never want to redo a a room with a resident slob. Every photo you have seen involved me moving clutter and clothes out of my way and putting things back to the way they were just a few hours earlier.
 We love the Parsons desk and ghost chair andI am really happy with the John Robshaw pillowcover I ordered and my recovered storage cubes.

Are going to spend the next few hours perusing all of the other fabulous ORC linker's rooms, like me?

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