Showing posts with label mirrors. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mirrors. Show all posts

Friday, January 13, 2012

A Gorgeous Living Room as Easy as 1-2-3!

We all look through design magazines to pull inspiration for our own homes.  Whether you are looking for an inspirational color palette or a furniture layout, inspirational images are a fabulous way to keep you on track while designing your own spaces.  Living room spaces can be one of the most daunting rooms to design in your home.  The typically large space beckons to be filled with all sorts of elements, but where do you start?  That is where inspirational images will guide you on your design path.  For instance, the image below is an understated, elegant living room.  I took this image, and utilized my easiest resource, The Great House Store website, to pull together furnishings that are not identical to the inspirational image, but will still give the same appearance.  You can take the same idea of pulling an image you want to recreate in your home, and drive to or surf the web for the most convenient home furnishings location.  With your image in hand, you will easily know the shapes, colors, and textures you are looking for.  This process cuts out a lot of wasted time you would be spending mindlessly wandering through a store not knowing what you want.




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I began by selecting the large seating pieces- sofa, occasional chair, wing back chairs.  The next step was selecting the tables- cocktail table, side table. Finally, I chose my accessories- mirror and candelabra.  Easy as 1-2-3.  Always begin with your largest pieces first.  They will be the most visually noticed because they take up the most floor surface area.  Keep this fact in mind if you are selecting large pieces of furniture with patterned upholstery.  Be advised, you may get tired of a large pattern and prefer having large neutral pieces with accents of pattern in the form of pillows and throws.




Step 1...


Click to Enlarge- Genivieve Sofa, LI-S10-21-61


Click to Enlarge- Sutter Salon Chair, CH97


Click to Enlarge- Leon Club Chair, CFH186 E255 A003/JUTE


Step 2...


Click to Enlarge- Silver Leafed Rectangular Coffee Table with Clear Glass Top, PIERRE S


Click to Enlarge- Ashland Metal Accent Table- Removable Tray, 2493


Step 3...


Click to Enlarge- Florentine Mirror, 109013


Click to Enlarge- Laney 3 Lite Candelabra, 6444



Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Cozy Winter Beds for the Season

When there is a chill in the air and a flush in your cheeks, there is no better feeling than jumping into a luxuriously warm bed.   Plush fabrics, soft textures, and mountains of pillows instantly add comfort to any bedroom.  With the addition of  fabulous bedroom furniture collected over the years, a bedroom can truly be your sanctuary.  Personally, we at The Great House know an incredible amount of people who do not make their bedrooms a priority.  They focus on decorating the spaces guests will first visit, but short change their own private spaces.  We believe you deserve an incredible space to begin and end your day without compromising due to the practicality of decorating your public spaces first. 



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This French inspired tufted headboard and simple linens seem to pull you into plush comfort.  The interesting curving lines of the headboard along with antiqued gold trim serve as a feminine focal point for this bedroom.  To keep the headboard from making the space too formal, a simple neutral linen fabric keeps the piece assessable.  Crisp white bedding also adds to the simplification of the space.


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The combination of tan and white in this bedding combination leans towards French Country design in a simplistic way.  There is a rustic charm to wrinkled linens and loose ruffles that would be perfect in a guest room or girl's room.  This is a style you can recreate for a bedroom you want to be comfortable and carefree.


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We all can respect the architecture in this master suite, but the inclusion of simple furnishings truly makes this room speak.  There is a subtle beach style inspiration with the white painted wood walls, nautical inspired color palette, wooded roller shades, and easy styling.  This room would be a fabulous candidate for easy additions and subtractions of items to change the overall feel.  Imagine the space with accents of sunny yellow in the middle of the summer, or olive greens and browns in the fall.  By keeping the furnishings simplistic and solid upholstery, this room can easily be given a new look without breaking the bank.


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This room says "I am here to make a statement."  For that reason, I personally am in love with this space.  The eclectic mix of maps, safari fabrics, French headboard, rustic bench, lacquered mirror, and crystal accessories definitely makes a statement.  I can imagine this room having been collected over years of travel- which is an amazing way to have your guests be inspired by a space.  If a room makes you think, imagine, daydream, you have created a successful design.


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The first item making an impact in this cozy bedroom is the over scale mirror.  With intricate swirling wood frame, the piece adds a jolt of warmth into the cool colors of the space.  Notice there are no other natural wood pieces besides the mirror, only painted or upholstered furnishings.  If you have a favorite piece, make that the focal point, and design around it.  Over scale pieces will give your bedroom a more intimate, cozy feeling by instantly inclosing your space.  This will only add to your desire to curl up in bed and dream the world away. 

Monday, March 7, 2011

One Chance to Make a First Impression - The Entry Hall, Foyer Space

Whether you have a grand foyer, a small foyer or NO foyer at all... We all want to create a sense of welcome when we open our doors to guests.

I always tell my clients that when the Pizza guy says "Wow, this is incredible" when you open your door... take that as a huge compliment.  Remember, he sees it all!  We like to focus on entry spaces in all of our client's homes.  Once that is done you can greet anyone.  It is an entree to the rest of your home and very important in the grand scheme of things.

One of the things we love about decorating foyer spaces is that it usually is not an expensive space to do!  Creating a sense of Welcome can be simple.  Lighting, fresh greenery, mirrors and minimal art are all great ways to say, "welcome."


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