White Hydrangea and Silver

I've been changing up my living room lately and took some photos of these white hydrangea and silver boxes.  During the spring, I deliberated over whether or not to paint the interior of the house white and even did a post about not painting and leaving the walls the same taupe/buff color I'd had for almost ten year. 

 In the end, white won me over.  I took a few days off from work this summer and painted with gusto, finishing the downstairs in about three days.  And I'm glad I did.  As you might expect, the soft white really brightened the rooms. Although you can't see the entire mirror here, it's a consignment store find that was an ugly orangey-pine color that I gold leafed and finished with an antique glaze.  The only problem was that I had to restrain myself from gold leafing five other things in the house.  A gold leaf little goes a long way.

 

Elegant Simplicity

The October 2010 issue of Traditional Home Magazine arrived in my mailbox this week and I eagerly flipped through it to see what was in store.  I was immediately impressed by the feature on  Washington D.C. designer Paul Corrie.  His living room, shown below, strikes the perfect balance of combining contemporary furnishings with antiques--something I am drawn to more and more these days.  No trends here, no clutter, no particular look; just elegant simplicity.   You can barely see it in this photo, but the flat screen television is neatly mounted on the wall above an antique Swedish cabinet.

Paul Corrie Interiors, LLC, Traditional Home Magazine, October 2010, Photo by Gordon Beall

And by the way, this room makes me want to ditch the ho-hum matching lamps and end tables on either side of my sofa (are they even referred to as "end tables" anymore?).

I won't spoil the fun by posting the additional photos from the magazine. You can see them for yourself by visiting Traditional Home Magazine  here and also at Paul Corrie's website here.  Michele of My Notting Hill also did two posts about Paul Corrie's interiors, which you can find here.

I Had It All Figured Out

Charles Spada Interiors, via designtrade.net, Eric Roth Photography

So, I had a plan for redecorating my bedroom (see previous posts if interested) and then I find this image and realize I may have to start over.  Why is it so hard to make decisions about decorating my own house?

 On one hand, I am drawn to antique furniture, time worn charm, and gilt finishes.  On the other hand, I admire rooms which combine antiques with contemporary furnishings and the designers who skillfully blend pieces from different eras to create perfect harmony.  The contrast of antiques next to contemporary pieces, like the chair and chest above, always surprises me and captures my attention, inviting me to look, study, and wonder. 

There's a complexity to rooms like these unlike those completely furnished with pieces from the same era.  I think the bottom line is that I like my life to be simple and predictable, but I favor rooms that are decorated to highlight contrast and complexity.

That's not too much to ask, is it?

Overboard for a Headboard

If you saw my last post, you know that I'm considering revamping my bedroom and in particular, my headboard.  Lately, I'm intrigued by anything gilded (see most recent post) and was also inspired by this pretty bedroom of antiques dealer Kay O'Toole.

Veranda Magazine, March 2010, Interior Design by Kay O'Toole, photo by Tria Giovan

The room is awash in creamy tones and a delicately patterned white Fortuny fabric adorns not only the headboard, but also the coverlet and the drapes.   If you know me from reading my blog, you will know that there will be no Fortuny in my bedroom (not even a pillow for now, I'm afraid).

But I like a challenge when it comes to decorating and I'm mulling over a few ideas for the room.  I would like to try gold-leafing (with an antique finish) an architectural element (above) to hang over the headboard.  It is quite large though; almost as wide as a queen-sized headboard.  And, I'm concerned about a possible tackiness factor.  There is the potential for a 1970s Las Vegas hotel room look here that would, to put it mildly, ruin the whole thing and embarrass me to no end.

My headboard currently sports a peach linen damask fabric.  I will definitely reupholster it, but I'm not sure if a solid white or linen colored fabric would be best or if this large scale damask print fabric in "Oyster" might work.  I received the fabric sample in the mail this week and it is actually lighter than shown here and a little more ivory in color too.

Or, I could use this fabric in the same pattern which is sightly darker in "Stone".  My concern is that this fabric may compete with the architectural element, which is already very ornate. So, I could keep shopping around for different fabrics without buying any, which I'm very good at these days.

It seems best to keep the bedside lighting simple if I use the gold-leafed piece described above, so these swing arm lamps from Circa Lighting might be a good choice.  The bedside tables will be simple one-drawer nightstands which I already have, but will paint to complement the rest of the room.  Since these lamps cast light downward, I'm not sure if they'll reflect enough light off the headboard to get the effect I want.  The idea though is to keep the bedside lighting simple since there will be enough going on with the piece above the upholstered headboard.

So, we'll see what happens with these choices.  At least this gives me something to think about during my commute and is more interesting than checking email on the Blackberry. 

The Crowning Touch

My bedroom could use an overhaul and I'm drawn to using some kind of carved, gilded headboard.  I have a plain, upholstered headboard with a peach damask linen fabric and the peach is passé these days.  Actually, the peach fabric was probably passé when I bought it, but that was before I discovered design blogs.

Nate Berkus designed this room.  Unfortunately, I do  not know what publication this is from or the photographer's name.  Mr. Berkus' website is being renovated, so I could not find any information there.  Please let me know if you have details about this photo and I'll update the post. 

Of course, I cannot afford an antique, carved, gilded headboard like the one above or this:

1stdibs

The price for this is not shown on 1stdibs, so it's likely an "if you have to ask you can't afford it" item.

Here's another headboard identical to the one above.  They are both Italian, apparently from the 1930s.  I wonder if there was an Italian version of Crate & Barrel back then where everyone could go to buy the same thing.  The bottom half is a pretty blue-green-gray color.

1stdibs

  This headboard is more substantial than the others.  It's also Italian (I know you're not surprised).  This is beautiful, but even if I wanted to buy it, it's too over-the-top for my room.  Surprisingly, the price is not over-the-top for an antique.

1stdibs

My taste is more simple--think jeans with flats---so I'm not sure these headboards are really "me", with the exception of the Nate Berkus room, which I would be happy to have as my own.  But the room could use a "wow" or two.  I've been thinking about the concept and could make my own headboard with some supplies I've found, but I'm concerned that it will look too faux, too Disney-Italian. So, I'll continue to ponder and maybe one of these days I'll take the plunge and make my own. If I do, photos will follow for sure.

Early Riser

Country Living

If you are sometimes slow to start your day (like me), would you be more enthusiastic if this was your bathroom? 

It would be a well deserved reward for waking up early five mornings a week.

To see more of this charming house, visit Country Living (link under photo).  Home of Douglas Stocks, president of the Canadian Antique Dealers Association (at time of publication). Susan Burns interior design. Photography by Robin Stubbert.