CHAIRISH CHALLENGE

I don’t know about you but I love a good challenge!  Recently Chairish, a fabulous company that buys and sells vintage furniture, décor and accessories, approached me about participating in a blog challenge.  They sent me several items to select from and I get to create a design scheme for any room of my choice using these pieces.  Sounds more like fun than a challenge to me but I am up for it!

I decided to create a Dining Room that is shabby chic and glamorous with natural and rustic elements.  For the challenge pieces I selected a bronze and brass crystal chandelier, distressed wood dining table and white cane accent chairs.  You can see the detailed pictures below.

I knew I wanted something unexpected and eye catching in here.  Keeping with the shabby chic feel and adding in a touch of glam I decided to use wallpaper on the ceiling that has a robin’s egg blue background with a metallic gilded pattern.  How amazing is this?!?

Here is the design scheme I came up with for a shabby chic, rustic meets glam Dining Room!

For the remainder of the furniture I selected neutral “X” back chairs with a white linen cushion and a distressed blue buffet.  The buffet brings in the colors from the ceiling wallpaper and whimsical printed accent chairs that will be positioned on either side of it. 

To add a natural and rustic element to the space I used reclaimed wood flooring with a jute rug, small boxwood topiary on the table and woven seagrass baskets on the buffet shelves.

And even though they weren’t pieces from the challenge I could not resist the gold wall sconces and mosaic mirror from Chairish that are located above the buffet.  They add a modern and elegant feel to the room while also tying in the gold from the chandelier and metallic print on the ceiling wallpaper. 

The crystal decanters on the buffet are also from Chairish and they provide the perfect amount of sparkle and help incorporate the crystal chandelier to the space. 

To make the style slightly more casual I selected iron candle lanterns for the table centerpiece and white ceramic pitchers on the buffet.  And the pink peonies in the pitchers add a pop of color that the space needs!

Here it is all together one last time!  Thanks again to Chairish for letting me participate in this fun challenge!

Do you like how the Dining Room scheme turned out?  Will you be checking out Chairish to add some new elements to your decor?  Here is a link to their site so you can check out all of the great items they have to offer!

MURPHY FAMILY ROOM: BARE TO BEAUTIFUL

Last week I let you guys into the Murphy’s Breakfast Room where they share many meals together as a family.  Today we are going to see the Family Room...where the family gathers to relax, watch TV and just kick back and unwind. While it needed to exhibit a sense of style they do want to LIVE in this space…not just have a pretty room to look at!  And with 3 small children and a precious little dog this room needed to be casual and comfortable with surfaces that can hold up to their every day life without spending a million dollars.

Here are a few pictures of the room BEFORE when it was empty and bare.

It definitely needed some design and décor love!  Beginning with the large pieces of furniture they selected a light, neutral sectional, which contrasts well with their dark wood floors.  It is perfect for the entire family to cuddle up together and watch a movie!  Although the sofa is large and provides a lot of seating they wanted some comfortable chairs in the room as well so we went with some linen wingbacks.

Since this space is open to the Kitchen and Breakfast Room (see here) we decided on a color scheme of neutrals…gray, ivory and linen.  Shocking I know!  But we also added some accents and pops of navy and gold.  I love using navy as an accent color because it goes with everything.  When she wants to change things during any season it will work with it all.  White in the winter and coral in the summer!  I love the texture the gold, beaded pillows add to the space.  And the navy pillows are from StudioPillows…not only are the patterns fabulous but Karis was amazing to work with!

A striking, gold sunburst mirror brings attention to the cast stone fireplace.  The remaining fireplace décor is understated so the focus is kept on the fireplace and mirror.

Using an ottoman as the coffee table is the perfect solution for a family with small children.  Not only is it durable but also more comfortable for the Mr. to rest his feet on and is like a cushion when the little ones are just starting to walk!  We can leave it to this sweet baby girl to be the judge!

Along with the remaining accessories we added a plush gray and white patterned rug and custom draperies.  The rug adds dimension to the room and having the two-toned drapes help to balance the height of the ceiling.  And the charcoal band at the bottom of the drapes tie in the gray velvet accent pillows and tufted ottoman. 

Here are pictures of the Murphy’s new Family Room!

What do you think?  Bare to beautiful?!?  I know I love the transformation and hope they do as well!

Next up in a few weeks for the Murphy’s…an updated Master Bedroom, Master Bath and Entry!

MURPHY BREAKFAST ROOM

Several months ago the Murphy's contacted me and let me know they were buying a new house and wanted me to help them design some spaces.  I have known them several years now so of course I happily obliged!  We started with the Family Room and Breakfast Room and today I am going to share the Breakfast Room design with you.

I assisted Beth with shopping for the larger pieces of furniture and then styled everything once it was all delivered.  I’m happy to say this is a growing family…they have two beautiful daughters and a sweet little boy on the way!  That being said, this is a place where the family gathers in the mornings and evenings for meals so the furniture needed to seat five and also be able to take the wear and tear of three little ones!

Here is the room before we started and before they moved in.  It is definitely an empty, blank slate.  But that is all about to change!  PS - sorry about the dark phone pics!

We selected a round pedestal table where the size worked well with five chairs surrounding it and was also a mid-tone distressed wood.  It will be very easy to clean, will coordinate with everything and will also hold up to the stress it is bound to receive from homework to food fights!  I pray the latter doesn’t happen too often for them!

The linen chairs help to soften the space and although they may not seem too practical they will hold up well since they are neither too dark or too light.  And they are also very budget friendly!  I love the shape of them and the large nail heads!

A jute rug is the perfect option for this space since there will be a lot of food ending up on the floor!  The durability of it will be very beneficial and the natural element brings in a new texture to the space.

Now for the final touches…my favorite part!  The draperies are a textured fabric in a combination of cream, charcoal gray and linen and tie in the dark gray barstools located at the island and the linen table chairs.  The classic white dishes and neutral linens help to make the space feel more sophisticated and the natural elements of the centerpiece help make it more every day casual.

Hopefully they have been enjoying many family meals in their newly updated Breakfast Room!  Next week I will show you the Murphy’s Family Room!