Would you sleep in your own guest room?

Billy Baldwin, the famous decorator, used to advise his clients to occasionally spend the night in their guests rooms to judge for themselves how comfortable they were and to determine if and where improvements could be made.  I recently completed a guest room with my colleague, Donna Russell of ProVisions Interiors.  Our goal was to create a room that was not only the serene, feminine retreat our client asked for, but also a physically comfortable and convenient place for guests.  We started with a creamy, neutral wall color, accented with the soothing spa blues that our client loves.  We pulled these tones from the client's existing rug used to anchor the seating area.

An assortment of pillows and layered bedding allow the guest to customize their sleeping arrangement, selecting the number of pillows and weight of covers they prefer.

Similarly layered window treatment, roman shade, sheers, and interlined draperies, allow the guest to adjust the level of natural light entering the room.

A small writing desk and stool provide a place to write, use a laptop, or apply makeup with the portable makeup mirror from the adjoining bath.

A seating area provides a place for guests to relax or read in private.

For interest, we used a hanging light from New Orleans designer Paul Gruer instead of a floor lamp.   The cream fabric on the chair only looks like linen--it's actually an upholstery weight polyester for ease of cleaning.  By using an inexpensive fabric on the chair and making our own welting from robin's egg blue linen, we were able to splurge on the beautiful embroidered fabric for the pillows.

To keep the color scheme for being too vanilla, both literally and figuratively, we painted the adjoining bath in the client's favorite blue.  Since we didn't have the budget for real Venetian plaster, I mimicked the look with regular latex paint.

For interest, we mixed abstract art, including my tarp creation above, with tradtional art and furnishings.

Sweet Respose: A serene retreat for an empty-nester couple

Our brief was to create a serene retreat fore an empty-nester couple. The room had good bones: it was well-proportioned with a lot of natural light, a beautiful four poster bed, and a tray ceiling. It just needed a little help to fulfill its potential. When we met with the client, she had tear sheets (I wish all clients did) that revealed her taste: they all shared a warm creamy mainly monochromatic palette, a restrained feminity, and an undated traditional sensibility.

We painted the walls in a creamy pale gold and re-carpeted in a luxurious stiae wool carpet. A custom double ruffled faille bedskirt and fine quailty Italian linens make the bed a retreat after a long day. Vintage Empire style mirrors with a custom finish flanking the bed provide a sense of architecture and symmetry, while the art platters above the headboard tie together the palette.

Interlined silk panels provide privacy at night, whil sheers allow in diffused light during the day. A small club chair upholstered in charcoal velvet provides a masculine touch to keep the room from becoming too feminine (there is a husband to consider after all), as well as a place for the clients to persue their voracious reading. Ottomans at the foot of the bed pull up to the chairs to provide more comfort.

Across from the bed, a custom nude (painted by me) provides a pretty view. This couple are not big television watchers, so there is not a tv set in the room.

Double doors provide access to the adjoining bath and closets. A faux finish on the door gives the look of aged cypress. Because this view to the bathroom contained so many doors--the entrance double doors, the doors straight ahead (they lead to his and her closets), and a door to the water closet (unseen, but directly to the right of the bath entrance), we decided that they needed to be features in their own right.

A chandlier provides a beautiful focal point, and is even lovelier against the pale blue-grey ceiling.

The extra long double vainities provides a beautiful display place for flowers and art.

The beautiful lucite ball chair (from the fabulous Visual Vamp at perch) provided just the right scale for the petite home owners and the right sparkle.

Togther these elements: creamy paint, sumptous fabrics, and sparkling accessories provides a soothing retreat for a busy couple.

Metamorphosis Monday: Fake a headboard

One of the biggest expenses in decorating a bedroom can be the bed itself; however, if you're on a limited budget (and who isn't these days), a headboard is one of the easiest design elements to fake. And for this week's Metamorphosis Monday hosted by Susan at Between Naps on the Porch, I'm going to show you how to fake a headboard from bi-fold closest doors. Recently, for a client, we had to decorate two guest rooms on a very limited budget. In one, the client already had a bed. In the other room, which contained a king size mattress, one of our duties was to find a bed--however, our budget did not allow for a piece of furniture. The solution: a metal bed frame and a headboard. The question was, "what headboard?"

We looked for inspiration from one of the existing pieces of furniture, this beautiful painted armoire in shades of bronze, green, and beige. Our solution, a headboard made from off the shelf paneled bi-fold closet doors painted to co-ordinate.s

Here are the doors in their original white finish.

Next, I primed them in red. I did this so that when I sanded off paint from the edges, the red (an accent color in the room) would peek through the bronze finish. The darker primer would also make painting a bronze color easier.

Here are the finished doors, painted in several shades of bronze with a dark wash and touches of gold, in place. We attached the doors directly to the wall.

A detail of the finish:

The doors provided a striking headboard with a scale appropriate for a room with 12 foot ceiling. The paneled detailing complement the client's existing armoire for the traditional decor that the client asked for.

Finally, my friend Valerie from Visual Vamp has progressed once again in Apartment Therapy's Color Contest. Please visit Here to vote for her. Thanks.

Ultimate Bachelor Pad

I've been working with Donna Russell of Provisions Interiors (here) on a great project lately- a bachelor pad in a converted warehouse. I've shared the progress through the bedroom (here), office/guestroom (here), and a faux paint treatment to hide an unfortunate sheetrocked beam (here). Well, here's the almost final product:

Before, an empty living room:

I'll start by apologizing for the photos: it was overcast and drizzling, and I had to return the better camera I was using. But I was so excited about the project, I could wait and snapped a few pics.

Entering the front door of the condo, the open kitchen is to the left underneath an original beam from 1895. We added the dramatic dark grey paint, pendant lights, and the fabulous tile that runs up the entire cabinet wall. The granite and cabinets were already in place.

There's a small dining area adjacent to the kitchen, and we continued the grey onto that wall to unify the space. The grey also acts a great complement to the exposed brick. Taupe linen grommet draperies soften the windows and blend into the brick, allowing it to take center stage. A new oversized dropped drum shade lights the dining area. The fabulous twig mirror provides interest, but again defers to the great textures of the brick and beams.

The custom floating buffet provides storage and serving area while maintaing a slim profile. The faux bois paint treatment ties it to the existing beams.

A view of the dining area from the staircase.

The sleek sofa is a Candice Olsen design covered in a durable outdoor fabric that resembles a man's herringbone suiting fabric. The zebra throw adds a graphic accent.

A leather chair and ottoman provide a comfortable reading spot. We added the fake beam and custom entertainment center under the wall mounted tv to provide storage for the electronics and a display area. The paint treatment makes it blend with the original column seen in the left of the photo.

The leaning mirror is a custom piece with a waxed natural finish.

The unit includes a private terrace through glass doors.

The metal console is a custom piece. The ikat pillows are made from Robert Allen outdoor fabrics.

Underneath the staircase was a large walk-in closet that we turned into a wine cellar.

Wall hung racks provide storage for wine. The homeowner's monkey makes a great butler.

I painted a custom art piece for the client.

Underneath the counter is a built in wine fridge. Unfortunately, because the room is so small, I couldn't get far enough away to take a pic of it.

Well, this is what I've been working on for the last month or so. Hope you enjoyed the tour.