I gave Bette three choices for her guest bath. The wall color and new shower curtain will be determined after we choose these permanent items. 
Light 1 Mirror 1 Vanity 1 Light 2 Mirror 2 Vanity 2 Light 3 Mirror 3 Vanity 3
Category Archives: Rooms
Updating the Master
Filed under Bathrooms, Bedrooms, Current Projects, Rooms
Bette asked me to help her update her Master Bedroom and Bath. She wants to keep her custom bedding, drapes and furniture. I suggested continuing the deep brown, wide plank hardwood we put in the public spaces of her home two years ago into the bedrooms, and she agreed it was a good idea.
Just a few changes will make a big difference.
Counter Choices Rug Rug Mirror Fabric for Roman Shade Bench Wallpaper
Way Back
Filed under Bathrooms, Kitchens, Rooms, Uncategorized
I don’t know why I have an urge to post these photos. They are so old that all of them but one were taken with a camera with film. They were scanned so long ago the quality is horrible. They are so ancient they predate ubiquitous stainless steel and granite, in fact.
I created all these mosaics. I remember at the time thinking the red tiles were so cutting edge. I used to spend hours milling around showrooms. So much so some of the employees began giving me broken tiles that were brightly colored or patterned.
I remember the first time I saw glass tile. I was blown away. I still am. Just wait till you see what I’m putting in the Rooftop bar….
You can't see it from the poor quality, but some of these tiles had navy flowers on them. The rest were solid in ice blue, pale butter yellow and emerald green.
This mosaic features at least 20 different tiles in earth tones. There are even a few with a mettalic finish, which was really funky at the time.
Not a backsplash. This fireplace was in my old townhouse. It had been horrible builder grade brick. Most of the tiles had been recycled from another project.
Above a bathroom sink. Some of the tiles were periwinkle with a slight squiggly design.
This was my first. My friend saw how to do it on tv and called me to watch it. A few hours later I was done. I remember her freaking out that I would do something so quickly.
This one was done with the same colors in the same proportion to a huge piece of art in the sitting area opposite. I think the painting was of poppies, but I honestly don't remember.
Way Beyond Beige
Filed under Bathrooms, Color, Design Principles, Rooms, Trend Spotting
There must be a lot of pink bathrooms still hanging around. A 10 second Flickr search hit almost 3,000 and that was specifically typing only “pink toilet”.
Pink, blue and green porcelain was enormously popular in the 50s and 60s. It’s pretty shocking how many still remain and are in mint (lol) condition.
Brightly coloring the place you poop seems like the oddest trend. I wonder how it gained such popularity. It is so amazing that America bought this trend with such exuberance. Especially in light of today, where homeowners are paralyzed with fear even considering any home addition that isn’t beige. This is not hyperbole, folks. My clients LITERALLY clutch their hearts when I suggest carpet that is not tan, or tile that isn’t vanilla.
Pink toilets are frightening. I understand that. But so are plain, boring houses devoid of personality. There are millions of other options out there. Try one. No need to fear, because unlike the durable and well constructed toilet of the 50s, today’s products need to be replaced in 10 years anyway.
Well whatayaknow. In researching this post I found a whole website dedicated to pink bathrooms!
Happy Darwin Day
Filed under Friday Collage, Office, Rooms
Happy Birthday, Charles! If the President won’t proclaim today in your honor, than I will. I designed an office any Esteemed Educator would enjoy. Be it a he or a she, this professor would need to have published a best seller to afford the $170K copy of Darwin’s book, and the $14K armoire to keep it from getting dusty.
Houndstooth Wallpaper Desk Armoire Sofa Bookcases Rug Chair Lamp Side Table Bookbag Origin of Species
Choosing Furniture
Filed under Color, Design Principles, Living Rooms, Rooms
To continue yesterdays post, the second thing to bring home from the furniture store-besides measurements– is the fabric samples. It is vitally important to view fabrics in the place where they will eventually live. Just as it is difficult to judge size in the massiveness of the shop, it is also difficult to accurately assess the color.
The light in your home is different from the florescent glare of a showroom. Color is influenced by what surrounds it. Samples should be viewed near the flooring, paint and other objects in the room. I have seen furniture that appeared blue in the showroom look green in the home.
Step back and view the sample. Has your impression of the color changed? This can happen with tight, small patterns. For instance, a fabric with a background of yellow and a pattern of small red checks can appear orange from a distance.
In the photo above, the neutral swatch on the bottom right appears beige. It’s actually a weave of green and coral.
Where Even Professionals Can Fail
Filed under Living Rooms, Other Dilemmas, Rooms
Nothing can strike fear in the hearts of homeowners like the need to purchase new furniture. Analysis Paralysis often results, and so many of my clients live with furniture they HATE for years before venturing into the Land of Confusion.
The easiest cure is to hire a decorator, of course. 
And a good one at that—I personally know a decorator who purchased a sofa for her Living Room that was too big. Because it is impossible to judge the size and visual weight of an object in the showroom. Furniture stores are huge. Your perspective is off as soon as you walk in the door. My advice? Don’t even think about making a purchase before you take the dimensions back home.
My recommendation is to get some painters tape and mark off on the floor the area of the item you are considering.
There is more to study than the footprint. Add items inside the marked area so that you can visualize the space in three dimensions. (If a sofa is in question, two Dining Chairs can be placed at either end of the tape marks.) Is there enough room to pass by? What about the height? Will something be blocked by the piece visually, like a window or door? Does the piece just feel too small or large for the scale of the room?
Drawing a floorplan is always a good idea, but if you are a woman, don’t rely on just that. Was this the problem with my decorator friend? It is no secret that I am less “traditionally feminine” in a lot of ways than my colleagues. I’m not afraid to admit it.
Suzy’s Dilemma
Filed under Color, Design Principles, Individualized Advice, Kitchens, Rooms
I received a series of emails from Suzy in Maryland yesterday. I will copy the first here:
Denise –
I came across your website looking for ideas for my kitchen/family room.
We are in the process of redoing the kitchen. The layout of the area is very open and includes the kitchen, a nook for the table, the family room (with a reddish brick fireplace – brick to the ceiling) and a hallway area that connects the kitchen to the ½ bath and foyer. This hallway area isn’t really a hallway, it is more an extension of the kitchen. The family room is one step down. The family room has a vaulted ceiling on the fireplace side.
The whole area is southern exposure with lots of windows and tons of light. The family also has 2 skylights.
The space before had very little color. White walls with a stenciled design around the top. Cream sofas with small colored pin stripes. Cream tile floor in the kitchen, light oak cabinets…you get the picture. BLAH.
My goal was to add lots of color.
The new kitchen cabinets are a medium-maple shade. The counters are “verde butterfly” granite – a grey/green/blue with black, gold, cream and specs of deep red. The deep red you really only can see when the light hits it right. The floor will be a 13 x 13 porcelain tile – colors vary from deep grey to light grey and various shades of beige (i.e. LOTS of variation in the tiles). The backsplash will be fully tiled with a natural stone tile that is creamy colored.
Now I am trying to decide what to paint the walls. I have already added a lot of color just with the cabinets, granite and floor. So perhaps I no longer need to worry about putting lots of color on the walls. I don’t know whether to paint each distinct area its own color – (1) nook (2) kitchen/hall (3) family room, or if 3 colors is too many, given all the color in the new kitchen.
The colors I am drawn to are earthy reds, greens, tans/browns and golds. Although the granite has a lot of grey/blue in it, I really do not want grey or blue on the walls.
I would like a bold color in the nook – 3 sides of the nook are all windows (the 4th side being open to the kitchen)…I was thinking of something in the deep red family. But then I am lost as to what to put in the family room (which has LOTS of wall space) and the “hallway”.
Any advice or ideas? I can send pictures of the space if that helps.
Thanks-
Suzy in Maryland
Ok, deep breath. This is not as hard as it seems. First off, I want to congratulate you on your Kitchen remodel. You have made some wonderful choices. I am especially delighted in the backsplash. Using a darker tile as a border and then rotating the creamier remainder will be unusual and interesting. And your choice for a variegated tile floor will be very dynamic.
Your biggest challenge is finding a way to blend the older but still pristine wallpaper with your more current choices. Since the Dining Room wallpaper is so visible from many angles in the Kitchen, it would be a mistake to just ignore it. The good news is the teal tone below the chair rail, though dated, coordinates well with the new granite. The bad news is….the very 90’s burgundy in the stripes make using red virtually impossible. Today’s reds are very “earthen”. In other words, they have a lot of orange in them. Plus, you already have a lot of tones of red: in the brick fireplace, in the cabinets and, of course, in the wall paper.
My solution would be to paint the Eat-in Nook, which butts to the exigent wallpaper, Waterbury Green. (HC-136 from Benjamin Moore). This tone is bluer than the sage green choices you already tried, but it will act as a perfect connector to from the old to the new. Plus, it is really beautiful. I believe it will draw some color out of the granite and will harmonize perfectly with the orange undertone in the cabinet and the teal in the wallpaper.
The Kitchen proper, and the hallway containing the Mudroom and Half Bath should be a soft but strong gold. Try Henderson Buff (Benjamin Moore HC-15). A soft gold that is not too yellow or bright will set a perfect note that allows the cabinets to sing. The cabinets should steal the show here, not the wall color. (Ok, enough with the theatre metaphors.) You should also sample Summerdale Gold (Benjamin Moore HC-17) since there is a lot of light entering the room. Repaint all the trim and doors and ceilings white. My favorite is Cloud White OC-130.
Now for the finale. Oh no, I said I was done with the metaphors…I want you to paint the Family Room a deep rich brown. Don’t be scared! This will be stunning. You have all the elements to make it work— A tall vault in the ceiling, skylights, and a pair of glass doors. Use Middlebury Brown (HC-68, also Ben Moore). This brown has enough red it in to make it lively, and will bridge the three colors of tile and the accent stain in the ridges on the cabinets with the reds in the brick on the fireplace. If facing the fireplace, paint the wall to the right brown all the way to where it ends on the short wall to the left of the refrigerator. All sides of this short wall will be gold. You can decide which of the three colors you would like on the half wall on the back of the second island.
Bold reds aren’t forever gone. They can be added back in on furnishings and in accessories. I would love to see a huge piece of art on the long Family Room wall with brighter, bolder tones of all the colors we used.
Thanks for writing, Suzy! Remember to send pictures of the “After”!
Eggplant or Aubergine?
Filed under Current Projects, Living Rooms, Rooms
We are snowed in. And may be for days. Another 4 to 6 inches is coming on Tuesday!! What in the world did people do before they had the world in front of them on their computer screens? The internet is the reason I am (semi) sane right now. There is so much to learn out there in cyberspace. Today, for instance, I found out that Aubergine is the British phrase for Eggplant.
So in honor of my newly found knowledge, here is a room I designed for a client that is crazy about purple.
Sofa Chair Rug Ottoman Endtable Drapery Panels Lamp Pillow Pillows
One Room Two Options
Filed under Accessorizing, Color, Current Projects, Design Principles, Living Rooms, Rooms
Cinde and I have worked together for many years. She originally hired me immediately upon our meeting at a Chamber of Commerce function. Only a few days prior, she had closed on a beach house still under construction and she had some pressing decisions to make regarding the cabinets and counters. So our meeting was fortuitous. Since then, we have done many projects together.
Her family room is the latest. We chose the paint colors at least a year ago. A deep sage covers three walls, and the far, fireplace wall is a russet.
I gave her these two options.
Option 1: Sofa Chair Rug Drapery Panel Media Stand Coffee Table Console Pillow Vases
Option 2: Sectional Chair Rug Ottoman Side Table Media Center Pillow Pillows Vases