Tag Archives: william sonoma home

Brown- dark chocolate, dirt, coca-cola, teddy bear, milk chocolate, mink, otter, bronze, caramel, toffee, mushroom, elephant, fig, and bourbon.

Brown is courageous, rich, steady, understated, sensuous, warm, and masculine. Used a the base color of a room the possibilities are endless. I love a deep, velvety, dark chocolate mixed with McClosky’s glazing compound to give it a liquid-like look. I prefer to use this color on walls in a room that is all ready dark. It feels like you have found a secret nook where you can spend hours reading, writing, watching movies, or napping. Brown works as a neutral and you can bring any color in for a pop. Paired with white moldings the rooms has a crisp tailored feel and art work really floats on the wall. The lacquered finish allows light to play off it in the most beautiful way. A deep chocolate is another wonderful way to ground a room ( and hide stains!).

I love this deep caramel and chocolate brown room. The painted white faux moldings give the oil painting a nice dose of modernity.

This image is from Elle Decor 2006. Notice how the deep chocolate walls receed and the carpet, daybed, mantle, art, and drapes become the focal point of the room.

Both rooms above are by Markham Roberts. The dark wood paneling creates a serious atmosphere and the fabrics he adds lighten the mood. I love the pop of turquoise in the lamps seen in the top room.

Jeffrey Bilhuber gave this dining room high gloss deep brown/ burgundy walls and kept everything else light with pale blue leather dining chairs and a sisal rug.

Brown is used as the accent in this room in Veranda. I love the chocolate brown valances and drapes that surround the bed and club chairs. This room has a clean quiet masculine feel. The white walls, ceiling, and sheets keep the room feeling light.

A fabulous room by Christina Murphy. The dark brown walls and bookshelves make the space feel bigger than it is. She keeps it modern with a geometric print wall to wall carpet, an orange sofa, and geometric fabric on the club chairs and throw pillows.

Below are a my picks for paint colors, wall coverings, fabrics, and accessories:

Best Brown Paints as seen in House Beautiful:

Background color is Benjamin Moore Bittersweet Chocolate – a personal favorite

1. Farrow and Ball London Stone- a nice taupey brown for those of you who prefer lighter browns.

2. Farrow and Ball Buff

3. Pratt and Lambert Autumn Dusk

4. benjamin Moore Appalachian Brown

5. Benjamin Moore Middlebury Brown

6. Benjamin Moore Tudor Brown – a reddish aubergine brown- very warm.

7. Benjamin Moore Mink – another personal fave

8. Benjamin Moore Night Horizon

Brown wall coverings:

When painting or papering a wall with a dark brown it is important to have some gloss or texture. The two selections above have texture and a bit of sparkle. This will keep your room feeling inviting rather than a dark pit.

1. Phillip Jeffries – Glam Grass in Mink- The sparkling silver strands running through this are amazing. When the light catches it a slight sparkle is cast off. Very chic.

2. Farrow and Ball- Dragged Paper DR1283. This is a stried paper which peps up the otherwise classic brown. While it feels flat the strie gives it the appearance of texture.

Note: Using a chocolate wool, felt, or velvet as wall upholstery is another great way to envelope a room in a textural chocolate.

1. Lee Jofa – 2009145_8

2. Lulu DK Chant brown w/ cream – also available in wallpaper through Donghia

3. F. Schumacher 52321844 by Celerie Kemble

4. Lee Jofa – 2430-GWF_68

5. Lee Jofa – SC10050_616

6. Martyn Lawrence Bullard Bodrum in dark brown

7. Lulu DK Peru caramel – through Donghia

8. Lee Jofa – 2009138_68

9. Lee Jofa – AM-Dora_3

10. Lee Jofa- GWF-2643_24

11. Lee Jofa – GWF-2635_165

1. Carter club chair in bitter chocolate colored mohair through William Sonoma Home

http://www.wshome.com/products/p9359/index.cfm?pkey=xsrd0m1%7C24%7C%7C%7C1%7C%7C%7C%7C%7C%7C%7Ccarter&cm%5Fsrc=SCH

2. Dodi silk throw pillow in brown through Madeline Weinrib

http://madelineweinrib.com/mw/ikat/Dodi-Brown.html

3. Leather Abbott sofa through Jayson Home- on sale!

http://www.jaysonhomeandgarden.com/product.php?productid=2866

4. Moses wool rug in brown through The Rug Company

http://www.therugcompany.info/contemporary-collection/suzanne-sharp/moses-brown.htm

5. Leather Conrad sofa through Jayson Home – on sale!

http://www.jaysonhomeandgarden.com/product.php?productid=4018

6. Dorea table linens through Leontine Linens

http://www.leontinelinens.com/index.php/table/product/dorea2/

xo,

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Autumn Hues – Yellow

September 23, 2010

sara

Antiques Art Books Fabric Homes Inspiration Interior Design Real Estate Shopping No Comments

Yellow- Saffron, butter, dandelion, daffodil, gold, corn, buttercup, sunshine, canary, citrine, grapefruit, maize, taxi cab. Yellow conjurs up a positive sunny feeling. I have come to love yellow more and more and tend to mix traditional with modern for a youthful feel. As I stated in a previous post regarding yellow two of the most celebrated rooms in 20th century interior design had bold lacquered yellow walls: Nancy Lancaster’s legendary London sitting room/office (shown below) and Babe and Bill Paley’s Fifth Avenue drawing room, decorated by Albert Hadley and Sister Parish. Let’s dive into some fabulously chic autumn yellow rooms.

The traditional approach:

We will start of with Nancy Lancaster’s famed yellow drawing room above. This room was done by John Fowler in 1957 and would be just as stunning if done today. Fowler applied numerous layers of glaze over a butter yellow paint.

Andrew Virtue drew his inspiration from Nancy Lancaster’s yellow room and created his own writing room ( on a smaller scale) at the Greystone Estate show house. This deep vibrant yellow works so well with burnt crsipy browns, greens, and plums.

A sitting room designed by yours truly. When the sun sets in the afternoon the pale gold walls glisten ( custom paint color by Rollinson Hues). A soft pale yellow is a great neutral backdrop for most colors. We wanted to enhance the sunset so the reds, corals, pinks, oranges, and golds were introduced. The simple sisal rug keeps the room grounded and approachable while the scattered throw rugs add warmth underfoot.

One of my favorite rooms in a house by Architect Gil Schafer. They used a slightly bolder yellow than I did and kept the furniture simply upholstered. The antiques steal the show ( all brown wood always looks great against yellow). Beautiful! On a side note, Veranda and their new editor in chief Dara Caponigro selected and recently announced the winners of their second annual Art of Design Awards. Honoring design industry trailblazers whose work is both “innovative and timeless”. Gil Schafer won the award in the architecture category. Congrats!

The bedroom above by Jeffrey Bilhuber introduces a strong yellow as drapes for the bed. How lovely to be cocooned in a yellow tent! I love the pale lilac paired with it.

Christopher Spitzmiller’s apartment is shown above as seen in Elle Decor. Yellows, browns, and teal blues keep the room fresh and modern.

One final Bilhuber creation. The slightly more modern tufting on the chairs (loosely tufted rather than deep) and the yellow sign in this room off of the dark wood walls.

The modern approach:

Tone on tone yellows paired with black and white by Jamie Drake make for an exciting bedroom. I love that the base of this bed is upholstered in zebra. Very chic.

Kelly Wearstler created this yellow and black library for the Viceroy Hotel in Santa Monica. Again we see tone on tone yellow paired with black, white, and mirror. The bookshelves turned on diagonal and books stacked in opposite directions adds whimsy and a focal point when you walk into the room.

Another room done by your truly. We needed to bring some life to this manhattan loft space. With pale seafoam on the walls and grey suede sofa we brought in a strong yellow Oushak carpet and pops of yellow ( throw pillows and accessories) for life.

This room could be filed under pink, red, or orange. I love the high gloss pink fireplace and I die over the silk ikat upholstered walls. The yellow linen roman shades with crisp brown ribbon tape inset keep the room feeling clean rather than chaotic.

Yellow paint picks:

1. Donald Kaufman Collection #30

2. Ralph Lauren Goldfinch

3. Benjamin Moore Showtime

4. Farrow and Ball Babouche

Traditional yellow wallcovering picks:

1. Farrow and Ball BP 1928

2. Farrow and Ball BP 1632

3. Farrow and Ball BP 572

Traditional yellow fabrics:

1. Lee Jofa Oak Leaves in yellow BFC 3514-14

2. F. Schumacher Seneca Cotton Stripe 62982

3. Lee Jofa Hisari ikat in plum 2008136_909

4. Quadrille Simba beige on gold

Traditional yellow accessories:

1. Antique spool stool with Robert Kime fabric through John Rosselli Antiques

2. Antique Samarkand rug through Doris Leslie Blau

http://www.1stdibs.com/furniture_item_detail.php?id=448340

3. Christopher Spitzmiller Happy lamps in Butter with 23k gold water gilt base

http://christopherspitzmiller.com/lampdetail.asp?LAMPID=112

4. William Sonoma Home cashmere yellow throw in lemon drop

http://www.wshome.com/products/p126/index.cfm?pkey=ccashmere%2Dfaux%2Dfur%2Dthrow

5. Sharyn Blond table linens in Jardin pattern

http://sharynblondlinens.com/hand_table.html#2

6. Bee Line Home throw pillows through John Rosselli Antiques NYC

Modern yellow wallcovering picks:

1. China Seas Balinese Batik in inca/ gold

2. F. Schumacher Imperial Trellis in citrine

3. Manuel Canovas Trellis in citrine

4. Cole and Son palm leaves in yellow

Modern yellow fabric picks:

1. Lee Jofa Tulip in white/ yellow GWF-2622-140

2. F. Schumacher Katsugi in gold and mushroom 2620934

3. Lee Jofa Facet in Saffrom SC10049-1612

4. Ruby Green Mary in yellow

5. Ruby Green Marilyn

Modern yellow accessories picks:

1. Lippa armchair in yellow through Tonic Home:

http://www.tonichome.com/catalog.php?item=1511

2. Yellow geometric pillow through Pieces Inc.

http://piecesinc.com/yellow-geometric-pillow

3. Pink Jacket on Yellow 50″ x 50″ gloss on aluminum by Natasha Law through Voltz Clarke Gallery

http://voltzclarke.com/law/1.html

4. Yellow garden stool through Tonic Home

http://www.tonichome.com/catalog.php?item=1419

5. Jonathan Adler Carnaby Lamp:

http://www.jonathanadler.com/Carnaby-Hollywood-Lamp/?cat=0&initial=

6. West Elm Parsons desk in tumeric:

http://www.westelm.com/products/parsons-desk-with-drawers-f099/?pkey=e%7Cyellow%7C9%7Cbest%7C0%7C1%7C24%7C%7C6&sku=1653740&cm_src=PRODUCTSEARCH||NoFacet-_-NoFacet-_-Common%20Top%20Wide%20Rule%20What’s%20New

7. Yellow vases set of 6

http://www.mermaidhut.com/Prod-18-1-2604-30/Yellow_Vases_Assorted_Set_of_Six.htm

8. The Rug Company Sellarsbrook rug by Suzanne Sharpe ( The Rug Company also won in it’s category for the Second Annual Art of Design Awards by Veranda.

http://www.therugcompany.info/contemporary-collection/suzanne-sharp/sellarsbrook-yellow.htm

9. Vanderhurd Kafir throw pillow colorway 4

http://www.vanderhurd.com/hand_crafted.php?t=cushions&p=1&id=358

xo,

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Summer Lovin’: Fabrics, Throw pillows, Carpets, and Linens

June 22, 2010

sara

Fabric Homes Inspiration Interior Design Shopping 1 Comment

To me, summer is all about casual vibrant living. Weather that includes an exotic destination vacation, your weekend beach house, and just sipping lemonade in your backyard with friends. You can redo an entire room or beachy splashes of color or just change the throw pillows on your sofa. See below for ideas to get your creative juices flowing.

Fabrics and Throw Pillows:

Quadrille: What is there not to love about Quadrille. You see their prints in magazines all the time and there is good reason! Chic and timeless with vibrant colors.

Potalla print shown above in both images as well as below

Saya Gata shown above and in image above

Ferns shown above and in image above

Cap Ferrat

Soho

Petite Zig Zag

http://quadrillefabrics.com/collections_alan.html

Aleta On Line Store:

http://aletaonline.infodine.com/index.php

Kathryn Ireland On Line Store: Her fabrics are divine and you can now purchase throw pillows:

http://kathrynirelandstore.bigcartel.com/category/kathryn-ireland-pillows

Rubie Green: Eco chic, Rubie Green’s fabric line and fun and you can sleep soundly knowing you have done your part for the environment.

http://rubiegreen.com/fabrics.html

Les Indiennes: Mary Mulachy developed linens that are fresh, simple, authentically indian, yet pleasing to the western eye.

These pillows are the perfect companions for a white chino slip covered sofa and a thickly woven jute rug.

http://www.lesindiennesshop.com/index.aspx

Carolina Irving: The vibrant colors printed on beautiful linen never fail to brighten my mood. I cannot choose a favorite.

http://carolinairvingtextiles.com/Fabric.html

Katie Ridder:

How much fun to make drapes in your summer house guest bedroom out of Katie Ridders fabrics.

Parlor Textiles: We are loving Anglea Clinton’s textiles! The patterns are beautiful and reflect her modern sensibility.

http://www.parlortextiles.com/index.html

Madeline Weinrib pillows- the perfect solution for a white sofa. Weather you choose a silk ikat, a block print, or an embroidered suzani you cannot go wrong. She also makes large floor pillows.

http://madelineweinrib.com/mw/ikat/index.html

Carpets:

Wisteria:

http://www.wisteria.com/Graphic-Flat-Weave-Rug-Blue/productinfo/W4045/

http://www.wisteria.com/Apple-Green-Striped-Dhurrie/productinfo/W4042/

William Sonoma Home:

http://www.wshome.com/products/p1195/index.cfm?pkey=crugs%2Dcrewels%2Dneedlepoints

** On sale!

http://www.wshome.com/products/p1196/index.cfm?pkey=crugs%2Dcrewels%2Dneedlepoints

** On Sale!

Madeline Weinrib carpets are a fun and inexpensive way to pack a punch.

http://madelineweinrib.com/carpetindex.html

Dash and Albert: We use these rugs all the time. The cotton weaves and indoor/ outdoor are ou favorite. You cannot beat the price point and they are very durable.

http://www.dashandalbert.com/

Furniture With Texture:

Opt for a textured bed or chair to bring the beach inside:

http://www.wshome.com/products/p1204/index.cfm?pkey=gthmbas

http://www.wshome.com/products/p1211/index.cfm?pkey=gthmbas

** we just used two of these in a show house- beautiful in person…and they are on sale now!

Ralph Lauren:

http://www.ralphlaurenhome.com/products/Furniture/?haid=5

Shabby Chic: This brand is known for their laid back, deliciously squishy slip covered furniture.

http://www.mycremebrulee.com/furniture_page1_files/Beecroft_Sofa.html

Bed Linens:

Leontine Linens:

Classic New England prepster

Beautiful and understated celadon applique

Perfect for your little pirate!

http://www.leontinelinens.com/index.php/bed/

If custom linens are not in the beach house budget…

We love prints and the linens below can be the focal point of a bedroom.

Paint the walls a soft hydrangea lilac and white wooden shutters and you have a tranquil seaside retreat.

http://www.wshome.com/products/p9100/index.cfm?pkey=csheets%2Dbed%2Dsheet%2Dsets

Pair this coral with soft yellow or pale blue walls.

Hang a grasscloth on the walls and ceilings and paint the moldings a crisp white.

http://www.luludkmatouk.com/patterns/index.html

OR…. Keep it classic with rope embroidered bedding. Choose a spicy fabric for your drapes and a grasscloth on the walls.

http://www.wshome.com/products/p4001/index.cfm?pkey=csheets%2Dbed%2Dsheet%2Dsets

The Table:

We love a classic greek key pattern and Pomegranate Inc. has nailed it:

Below is one of their embroidered place mats:

Their chunky straw place mat with a shell is a nice touch:

http://www.pomegranateinc.com/store.htm

Les Indiennes:

You can use as a table cloth or a spread on the beach for a picnic.

http://www.lesindiennesshop.com/index.aspx

Roberta Roller Rabbit: Fun prints on cotton- a great gift for your hostess:

http://store01.prostores.com/servlet/robertarollerrabbit/the-Home/Categories

Ralph Lauren: Classic all american summer.

http://www.ralphlauren.com/family/index.jsp?categoryId=4006050&cp=1760785&ab=int_060210_HOMELP_LAPLAGE_SHOPNOW

xo,

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