Creating A Look - Work That Wall!

Our client had a wall in her home office that was bare and boring and she wanted us to create something visually exciting, using the art she already had. The wall can be seen on the left as you walk in the room:

We thought doing something three-dimensional would create the most impact so we mounted three floating shelves. We designed a composition around her artwork, using color as a unifying element to integrate it with the leopard chair and carved trunk and make it all read as one cohesive statement. We adding an oversized clock, an industrial looking lamp, and some natural elements:

 

It's Not What You Have, It's What You Do With It!

Remember "Tradition With A Twist" where we first decorated a family home, and then years later staged it to sell?:

Our clients sold it, and they downsized to a smaller house.

Here's their new house as they found it:  BEFORE

This time around, we needed to edit the furnishings and place favorite pieces in the new home to create a space as charming and inviting as the previous larger house. 

And here's what we did with it:  AFTER

Scaling down doesn't have to mean losing the elegance of a larger space. And the Victorian house doesn't have to be furnished in a period style. Any space can be made to look and feel fresh and new with your existing furniture if it's placed with a modern twist. Leaving one space and beginning again in another can be a good opportunity to shake things up!

Baja in Brisbane

Our clients in this contemporary home south of San Francisco wanted color and warmth in their bedroom but weren't sure where to start. We noticed that the house had Mexican detailing in the bathrooms and thought south of the border would be a fun inspiration for color and style in the bedroom as well.

BEFORE:

Master Bath - our color palette inspiration:

In a back bedroom we spied a fun bureau the homeowner had planned to donate to the Salvation Army: 

AFTER:

We pulled the terra cotta and cobalt blue colors from the bathroom and saturated the bedroom with them- the walls were painted a pale peach, the sheets are a deep coral, and the duvet and shams bring in the strong blue color and detailed motif of the bath tiles.

We added another reading lamp and bookcases to either side of the bed to serve as both bedside tables and much needed space for the homeowners' reading materials.

A richly patterned area rug, brightly colored ceramics, and fun baskets above the bed add texture and visual interest.

The desk was removed from the bedroom niche and resituated in that back bedroom. We created a cozy reading nook in the bedroom instead with a comfy loveseat we found in a deep blue, along with inviting bold colored toss pillows and a large framed art piece. An ethnic patterned trunk in front can serve as both a footrest and extra storage, and the original bedside tables are reused here as end tables.  

That fun bureau was rescued, painted cobalt blue and placed on that blank wall where it can be used for much needed clothing storage. It's fun curves offset all the right angles in the room and add some whimsy.

A quick makeover in the bathroom consisted of a rich paint color, boldly colored towels and an intricately patterned shower curtain to complete the "resort" feeling.  

A South of the Border Stay-cation!!

  

                                         

Estate Sale Mill Valley

Part of the fun (along with the schlepping!) of being a stylist is doing commercial as well as residential spaces. This week we designed the window and interior of Estate Sale in Mill Valley, in the historic El Paseo mews on Throckmorton Avenue. A satellite office of The Madison Company, the space doubles as an art gallery, and now also sells vintage items from estates in the Bay Area. We had the opportunity to showcase them in this tiny but very charming setting.

Here in the window we hung attention grabbing red/white striped curtains and held them back with vintage men's ties:

Old books, hotel silver, blue and white urns and ironstone pitchers mixed with shells and quill feathers create a fun mix:

                                                              
                                                                       Hard at work!

                                                                    

                                                                          

English riding boots on old leather suitcases and a vintage Banana Republic safari jacket  (their very first travel themed store opened right down the street in 1978) recalls Baroness Blixen in Out of Africa:

      

An antique secretary desk dressed with books, china, and a classic bust creates the feel of an old curiosity shop:   

A black and white story anchored by 2 oil paintings from the gallery and layered with a wood rice barrel,  painted oil lamp, tole cache pots, old glass bottles and vintage real estate flyers:

                                                       Happy Customers!

The inventory is updated weekly and you never know what will turn up- stop by when you're in town!

Mill Valley Gem - Traditional With A Twist!

Here's a house we're particularly proud of and is very representative of our our work. We originally decorated it for day to day living some years back, have updated it from time to time with fresh accessories, and then recently staged it for resale.  Although staging usually requires a scaling down of furniture and accessories, all agreed that this home showed perfectly just as it was - a tribute to our belief that if a home is set up correctly right from the start, you can live beautifully everyday. The decor is a mix of contemporary classics with some family pieces,  and owes much of it's warmth and charm to the many fun accessories we found quite inexpensively at flea markets, thrift shops, estate sales, etc.