Audrey R.'s ideas
This powder room remodel is small but there is a lot to love. The wallpaper! Whimsical Cole & Sons Seattle-appropriate flying machine & nautical themed, the metalic tones tie in nicely with the antique Victorian gilt framed mirror. (I used to restore and sell gilded mirrors, frames and furniture, so I am still in love with them.) Brass fixtures on the sink and low key lights are appropriate. I wish I could see the rest of the house!
THIS is my favorite room / house so far!!! Please scroll through and look at all of the photos of it - you'll be glad that you did! Being an art historian and a native Chicagoan, I don't even know where to start with all of the positives here. Firstly, it is very easy to go overboard / wrong with gilt furniture, but I feel that it is done very well in this room, striking just the right balance of "chic-kitsch." I adore mixing design and period styles, and once again admire the way the designer of this room accomplished it here. The recent black/grey wall fad is awesome! As a Victorian jewlery specialist I am all about it, but it's something one needs to be careful with. (Does your room get enough natural light? What undertones are you adding to that black or grey? What other colors are you using?) I think that the black walls, combined with the gilded furniture, the vintage prints, objets d'art and brightly patterned Asian rug really serve to visually ground this room in a comforting, somewhat masculine way. I even love the sable paintbrushes on the table and the amber hued liquor bottles. I can imagine curling up with a good book and a cup of coffee while a snow ...
This is a perfect example of the kind of thing I love! Sunken living rooms, huge low stone walls, awkward fire places.... All features that people often have no idea what to do with and often just get rid of. I love how this designer has used mixed Midcentury furniture and brightly colored decorative items to add balanced pops of color in what would otherwise be a monochromatic space. By keeping the furniture small and mixing it up with some contemporary pieces (the rug, the blue "chimney" / art sculpture) the designer has allowed for the room to have a lived-in, genuinely "modern," rather than museum-esque feel.
I love the way color is used and balanced in this room. The blues, greens, and yellows echo those in the sofa, pillows and chandelier. The strategic way that the prints are grouped to complement the shape of the stairway and slope of the ceiling is subtle and complements the clean Midcentury lines of this home. Finally, it seems from the photo that some of the pieces are authentic Midcentury Modern circa 1960, which is great!
I would love to be able to claim to have chosen that upholstery! The chairs are top notch and the family photos on the table add a nice personal touch, grounding the soaring ceiling. I love how the vertical yellow stems compliment the blue of the chairs. Orange, red, pink, almost any bright color will pop against this backdrop!
Q