Coastal South Carolina Charm is the name of this color scheme. Chosen with my direction, but completely by my newly retired clients, these tones are fresh and young and lively, yet still traditionally “southern”. I love it.
Corals, tangerines, leaf greens, sage, butter, cream, pure white.
Wood tones are rich but not formal. Some black painted woods ground the clear tones of the upholstery.
The June/July 2008 issue of Domino Magazine has an article entitled “One Love, Two Homes”. Matt Albiani, a photographer living in New York and summering in Long Island, has the preppy look down pat.
You can check out his Manhattan apartment on a video tour.
Now for the summer place, WOW. Preppy on steroids. The article describes it as:
“Each summer, Albiani hauls out a few pieces from the city to intermingle with the landlord’s existing furniture, and at each season’s end a few of those items linger. The result is a two-part seafaring yarn, one the salt of the earth, the other just a bit refined.”
Preppy Decor is not monograms and pink and green.
Preppy Decor speaks, more than any other decorating style, about a lifestyle. Waspy, established, successful and members of the country club—what kind of homes would these people have?
I will try to paint a verbal picture.
Who is the quintessential maven of Preppy? Martha Stewart.
Our best friends, Tom and Robin, are related to the people who own this boat. I only got a distant glimpse at this perfectly restored Chris Craft on Saturday. But it was enough to cause me to seriously swoon. This boat was stunning, all the way down to the flag at the back.
Chris Craft mahogany boats are the pinnacle of American Style. It is almost cliche to mention JFK and Chris Craft, but it DOES bring an immediate image. High society, yet still outdoorsy and tan. Spend a few minutes on their gallery page, and you will see how they still sell the image.
This is a style still sold to us by Nautica Home, and even by Pottery Barn. Nautical themes are key to a preppy style.
I have to spend a moment of blog time acting like a proud momma. My youngest daughter was born 11 years ago today. This is a photo of her from Saturday.
Here is my older daughter, turned 15 two weeks ago. They look so strong and healthy sailing. It is easy to see why this style is so appealing.
Cambria Bar Stool from American Drew, Basque Barstools from Crate & Barrel, Tidewater Bar Stool from Long Cove by Lexington, Crossback Counter Stool from Ethan Allen, Maison de Provence Bar Stool from Hekman, Tapestry Bar Stool from Harden, Milling Road Bar Stool from Baker, Grand Barton Barstool from Drexel Heritage, Bar Stool from Henredon
I had another decorating emergency yesterday. I know! Two in as many days!
I use Mike Moss of House Beautiful as my primary painter. His men are meticulous, polite and hardworking. Mike called me yesterday with a phone number. He told me to call Tyler and Erica right now because in his 11 years of owning a paint company he had never seen anyone who needed me as much as they did.
One brief phone call later, I assured Tyler I would come out that evening to see what the fuss was about. See for yourself:
These two newlyweds have excellent taste and wonderful furniture. They are fun and friendly, intelligent people. Erica said they just got carried away by the little pots of sample paints. With so many choices, she said things got out of control. My photos only show about a third of their sample squares.
Guess what? I only chose one of their colors. The other 6 or 7 tones came from my cases of sample cards. Truthfully, I have seen this before, but not this extreme. These little paint pots are popular, but more often than not I have seen them cause paralysis by analysis. It is just too hard for most people to imagine what the entire space is going to look like. A tiny little square surrounded and influenced by the colors around it is just not a good way to make a choice.
A shameless plug : Don’t waste your money. Call me instead.
It was a crazy busy day yesterday. Midnight Monday a frantic email from a long time client came with a demand to “come now”. What? I was in my pajamas!
As it turned out, NOW actually meant the next morning, so I blew off a Chamber of Commerce meeting to make a mad dash in a thunderstorm to Home Depot Expo to choose river rock for a new shower. Now in all fairness to my client, Susan, her contractor was unexpectedly free and could start on her project immediately. No harm done, I can choose under pressure. (And choose we did: pale river rock with taupe grout on two walls, a seamless glass shower on the other two, tied together with Sand Dune paint. Marvelous.)
Then it was off to a lunch meeting with another wonderful long time client who is beginning new construction. We discussed the overall “Look”.
A quick visit to my client with a clothing store who is expanding. She was too busy.
Finally, 5 hours were spent at Direct Buy with my client, Mary, who is putting an addition onto her home.
Direct Buy was really interesting. The concept is this, you pay a rather hefty fee, which gives you the privilege of browsing their many catalogues of merchandise offered close to wholesale. The Woodbridge store, one of 5 franchises in DC, was very pleasant. We had a lot of space to spread out and browse binders of manufacturers. We chose flooring from Shaw because of the samples in the showroom. With the furniture, Mary had to trust my recommendation. There was little to actually sit in, but the upholstery swatches were large.
Direct Buy might interest you if: 1) you were planning on spending enough to hit the break even point. It can cost from $1,500 to $5,000 to join. Or 2) you don’t mind buying sight unseen. Most items are only illustrated by tiny catalogue photos. 3) You plan to do your own research. The young women working were polite and helpful when asked, but certainly could not have a level of expertise on many items.
In Mary’s case, the membership works. I imagine we saved at least 10K.
One white? No way! A popular paint company sells 140 different shades of white!
And to be perfectly honest, very rarely do white walls work. The stark contrast of a pure white background appears displeasing, not neutral. Try beiges, creams and taupes if you wary of color. Even in the darkest tones, these colors create a gentle background.
Where does white work? On the trim. In my option, a warm white like Benjamin Moore’s Cloud White OC- 130 makes doors, windows and base boards look fresh and clean. Great care should be used when painting trim in creamy tones because this can translate on wood as appearing dirty.
I finally have had a moment to read my Domino Magazine from June/July. Disgust kept me from getting past page 18.
Printed here is Deborah Needleman’s editorial where she gushes on about how great her parties are. Well, trust me, if I were invited (yeah, like that is going to happen) I would have left by dinner.
Check out the photo.
The guests are smoking while the food is being eaten. And the caption says, and I kid you not,
Kicking back, Interior Designer Kathryn M. Ireland (p. 78) loves meals where the children can mix with adults.
I am certainly no saint, but please, smoking at the table with children? In an editorial page?? They couldn’t find another picture? Or are we to think this is cool?
Nautical Rope Pillows from Williams Sonoma Home, Nautical Flags Table Lamp from Shades of Light, Chesapeake Novelty Navy on White Fabric by Ralph Lauren from Calico Corners, Buccaneer Wall Clock from Z Gallerie, Regatta Large Tote from Dooney & Bourke, Rope Side Table from Newport Nautical Décor, Bright Beach Nejah Floor Rug from Rugs Direct, Rider Town Cup 1903 Boat Print from Crate & Barrel