Neutral Meet Neutral

Hi !

In any monochromatic color scheme I feel it's important to mix in a ton of texture whether it be fabrics, rugs, accessories or art.  The goal is to have a multi-layer feel, warm and tactile.  With an upcoming project I pulled many of my favorites.

How gorgeous are these !

I have the pleasure of working with Elizabeth White, one of Charlotte's Twine & Twig owners.  Her place (by architect Ruard Veltman) is one of the best examples of this look !  She has such great taste and while working on the girl's rooms (stay tuned!) just wandering around her fabulous home was inspirational !

Another Veltman beauty - clean and white with textured ceiling and walls... 

Pretty kitchen as well !

above photos by Dustin Peck

Neutral on Neutral works when you incorporate many different textures !  I pulled a lot of my favorites from my Pinterest files (here).  The key - wood in every one. 

Happy eye-candy day !

Install of the Day !

Hi !

When a client wants her entire house white, I say go for it.  I love white, the important thing is to incorporate shades of white.  Adding touches of cream, latte, light taupe, eggshell and a little grey help as well.  Texture is key, and with this install I tried to incorporate many.  Shag rugs, bamboo blinds, burlap trims, rock fireplace, cement lamps, distressed wood, faux fur, beads - you name it I wanted to bring it in.   All in the same color palette but tactile for sure.

Her living space had the key ingredients, two sofas, two chairs, coffee table.  I was asked to help style this up.  Enter the two new chests flanking the fireplace.  I love these and it brought back the pine of the coffee table but with a great white pattern on front  Topped with cement lamps and large white resin mirrors.  Also enter the bamboo blinds in a light cream and new "big girl" curtains.

Just off this space is a covered outdoor space.  A new concrete dining table and chairs, plants and a little stying did the trick.

But this is my favorite space of all... clean slate here and just off the kitchen.  We wanted to create a spot a little more casual, kid friendly and open to sit and play.  The sofa was custom made in a sofa, yes white, Sunbrella fabric!  So kid friendly. 

We dropped two "must have" beaded pendants and added more blinds in here for texture.

The coffee table is concrete, love the rock shape over top a flat weave rug.

Created a grouping over a new, huge pine storage piece.  Groupings, and how you create them take a little practice.  I love to use big things and layer them.  In this space I added original art (by Keith Keim  - here) mixed with an old mirror and stacked wood frames (to fill with large photos of her kids).  A vase or two with something fresh green and an amazing sculpture.  I'm not a fan of a zillion picture frames, they just look cluttered and get dusty.  I'm a bigger fan of "coffee table" family photo books.

This is such a pretty little space.

Last but not least, we added a little grass cloth to the dining room and filtered in a, you guessed it, white dome chair in the foyer !

photos by mekenzie loli

I've Always Wanted a Cement Counter Top

Hi There !

Yep, finally got my cement counter tops.  It was my splurge in the Brevard House.  Back in October I found a property in Sherwood Forest just down the road from downtown Brevard in the Blue Ridge Mountains.  Together with Tuan Le, a friend and design collaborator, we purchased this diamond in the rough knowing it needed a total overhaul !  We just completed it and I am thrilled with all the details. . . (see earlier post)

But for a moment I want to talk about these counter tops !  I was determined to have them.  In comes Eli Orling of Orling Interiors.  He was highly recommended to me by Mudwerks here in Charlotte.  The two trained together and with Eli being in Asheville, the logistics were much better !  He's quite the artist and watching the process was amazing.  It was nothing like I though.  You don't just pour a big ole slab and stick it on top of our counters that's for sure !  Each application is unique and uses the finest quality of plaster and cement all hand-troweled.  Durable and sustainable alternative.  I adore these counters !

all images above by mekenzie loli

So, into concrete counters? . . . take a look at a few other images pulled from my pinterest files to give you a visual and maybe inspire you on your next kitchen or bathroom project.

You have to splurge once in a while.

Check out Eli's site - he's amazing and the nicest of guys !!!

Orling Interiors