Install of the Day!

Hello . . .

On Thursday as well, Mekenzie and I hit Barb Peterson's home.  I have been wanting to shoot her dining room recently installed and we had just enough time that afternoon.

Barb's office which we complete last year (see here) started a new color palette throughout the first floor and should be bleeding onto the back porch and family room soon.  This dining room, adjacent the office, created such a cohesive color palette and has all the whimsy and life Barb herself radiates!

The wall paper was the first and biggest element in the room I pulled in.  This Osborne and Little pattern carries the colors across the hall and add so much life to this space.  Available at Lucy and Company in other colors as well !

A new chandelier, mirror, table and chairs, sideboard and lighting completed the look.

I love the mix of all our finishes, gold, silver, zinc distressed wood, painted wood and sleek walnut stained wood.  Take a closer look at the zinc !

And I am especially obsessing over my "pot head."

Four off-white leather side chairs and two tall upholstered head chairs break up the look of a set.  Maggie found the perfect teal graphic fabric for the back of these gorgeous chairs !

This Vanguard sideboard has made two appearance this week !   Thais Schmitz already owned it and I had chosen it way back for Barb - great minds... it's such a pretty piece !!

The lamps mixed both the gold and the zinc tones and didn't block the killer mirror - pay attention to sizes!

all photos by Mekenzie France

Fun and bright !  Anxious now to head into the back of the house.

Thanks Barb !!

Install of the Day !

Hey.

The Powder Room.  Go nuts, it's your perfect opportunity.  Afraid of wall paper (why?!) - it a small enough space so the commitment isn't huge.  When we installed Mary Frances Parker's killer dining room (here) we also installed her Powder Room down the hall.  Such a nice tie back.  She loves saturation and pattern and this paper by Matthew Williamson did the trick.  Busy, rich in color and whimsical, just like her home.  I feel it's quite sophisticated.  Take a look !

A few things about this space . . .  we worked around these simple sconces and - well, interesting sink.  Fans we were not, but didn't want to ripe it all out, so I was challenged to make it look better.  We both fell in love with the paper, and now it's what you see, not the weird sink.

I searched for a mirror that was both oval, "organic" in lines, silver . . but distressed and inexpensive.  I found this piece, but the finish was not my favorite.  Out came the paint brush.  We painted it kelly green first, then overlaid a silver leaf for a more antique finish.  

Window, one small one.  With the wall paper being our complete budget, I was driven to do something cool, yet free, yes free !  I found, at my studio, this left over custom paper.  Love, love the texture !  With privacy not being a big concern I simply cut it, rolled it at the top to have the feel of a roman shade and staple gunned it on the molding !  Voila, done.

The colors of our dining room now make another appearance across the hall and it's company ready !

Matthew Williamson's paper is the showstopper.  Available in several color ways, it's fun and light.

His fabrics are rich with a Moroccan and Indian vibe.

He's coming out with a new collection in the fall, Nature inspired as well.  

Install of the Day !

Hey . .

When you are asked to help with the first floor of a home, room by room it only gets better and better (if you have a client that was happy with the very first thing you did and allows you to then pretty much do what you want).  Having completed the family room, breakfast room, powder room and my favorite dining room thus far - working on the front music room is like the icing on the cake.

This space, on the front of the house opposite the dining room, could serve several purposes.  A lounge, a study, another living space, it was built with wood paneling and large wood beams overhead.  All the wood was lightly stained a warm honey color, not my favorite and not the look I was going for in this home.   I convinced my client to paint it all white with black accent beams.  A dramatic change.   I pulled my colors from the dining room of navy blue splendor, but focused that color on the new carpet, then pulled the some of the colors from the other parts of the house in the new hand painted grass cloth, accent chair, art, accessories and amazing new window treatments.

Take a look at how this new music room and the nearby dining room now compliment each other.

This space, we decided needed to be bright, cheery and loaded with unique pieces with pattern and texture.  I started with these gorgeous window treatments.  The colors alone pull ALL the colors we have used in the home together which was perfect.  The win win was the pattern.  The floral was not too traditional, but more free spirited and artistic which I loved !

Another funny part about this design was the chair.  It was a piece my client had purchased prior and while loving the comfort and style, the color had never turned out quite as she expected.  With these curtains and new area rug it's now found the perfect home.

The stained paneling is gone and the gloss white allows all the colors to pop.  I really wanted to paint the beams and doors black to add a little weight.  Visually with the black piano it seemed to me a strong accent to pull it all together.

It's a lot of pattern on pattern but with the different scale as a whole it's pulled together.

 I love the new Lucite hardware I am using now !

This curved shelf is another favorite pieces of mine.  It creates such an enveloping corner and when accessorized with simple pieces in the right size it provides just the perfect backdrop.

Now when you walk through the first floor the flow it's very cohesive, yet each space has it's own individual personality.

Let me take you through a walk through . . . 

All the colors from downstairs even tie back perfectly with the kids rooms upstairs - the very first thing I worked on a few years ago.  

It has been such a labor of love working on this home and getting to know such an amazing, fun and spirited client.  As we move from room to room it just keeps getting better and better.  We are creating such an amazing overall space and I am so thankful to continue the process !!!

Love xox

Spotlight: Matthew Williamson . . .

Hey . .

Osborne & Little has collaborated with fashion designer Matthew Williamson, in this year's Fall introductions.   Unfamiliar?  He is a world-renowned print master.  His attention to detail and kaleidoscopic color is his signature.  A bohemian spirit with a sense of glamour. . (I am paraphrasing here, as I can't say it any better !)   I totally agree, and have loved his influence of global touches over the years.  He is celebrating his 15 years in the business and has just launched a new line of fabrics and wall coverings.

 Editor and Chief of Vogue, Anna Wintour once said...

"Matthew Williamson has such joyful every to the London fashion scene with his wonderful dragonflies, bright bubbly prints and unabashedly pretty clothes.  He's always been so clear about who he is - a designer who understands lifestyle as well as style, a follower in the footsteps of Celia Birtwell and Zandra Rhodes - and who his young, beautiful customer yearns to be.  It's been a real treat to watch his colorful career unfold."

When I received my new samples, I began immediately thinking how I could incorporate a paper or two.  Not for the faint of heart, not for the color fearful.  His papers are bold, embellished and saturated.   Take a look at his new introductions with Osborne and Little as well as his new Fall Collection for 2013, all intertwined . . . fashion and interiors, one leading the other, one inspiring the many . . .

 I love the pop of blues, mixed with neutral greys when working on interiors.  From his collection, this is a perfect example of where I would find color inspiration . . .

. . .  and even a little softer . . .  I love this too.

all of Matthew Williamson's papers and fabrics are available at

www.lucyandcompany.com

New Arrivals . . . Glitz, Shimmer and A Touch of Grape.

Hi There . . 

I received a few new books last week.  I always love that.  Osborne and Little, Zoffany, Harlequin and Romo.  Last month was so busy with installs and travels,  I missed seeing my reps with these new introductions, but alas, they know me well and sent along the books they knew I'd love and they nailed it.  Some great new textiles and wall papers, rich in color, pattern and dimension, some with a little glimmer.  Thought I'd show you a few that jumped out at me.  I am embracing the grapes and golds these days (so much so that I am in the works on a showroom re-design . . . stay tuned for more info on that - as we will be having a big showroom sale to move out some older pieces to make room for the new !!)

Take a look at a few of the papers and fabrics that caught my eye . . . with Mekenzie in the studio that day, she took some great pics that really show them off  . . . I am getting inspired !