Creating warmth with color and fabric

You can have a beautiful new house, 

but without a color plan or fabrics you won't have a home.

My clients, Jill and Jason, were in that category.

I had decorated Jason's mom's home about 15 years ago,

and when he gave me a call to help pull it all together, 

it was a very nice compliment!

I'm now officially old enough to have decorated for two generations.

 ugh.

J&J have two little girls, Ella and Lyla, and another baby coming in September!

Beautiful dark floors, a massive black distressed island, 

warm white cabinetry and an open floor plan all set the stage 

for wonderful things to come.

The only pattern in the room was a bossy red rug,

 which was repurposed in another room.

There were plenty of neutrals but no magic.

Two basic beige couches and no curtains in sight!

You can see a sneak peek of the new rug~

but where did our inspiration come from?

Jill loved the paint color Woodlawn Blue, 

and I green lighted it for her dining room walls.

Jason did a board and batten wall treatment,

 and he doesn't even follow any design blogs and

 realize how hot this treatment is in blogland! 

The Woodlawn Blue looked dynamite above it.

New white linen panels from Pottery Barn on rods installed under the crown molding

replaced some yellow linen panels that originally hung from the window frame.

What a huge difference it makes when you hang your drapes up high!

My recommendation is for them to paint the base of the table blue

and then to cover the leather parsons chairs with the Ballard slipcovers in white.

Feels like a boardroom in there with all those leather chairs.

The floor can't be dark, and the table dark and the chairs dark

and then the walls light and dreamy!

No, we have to create a symphony of repeating color and lightness.

Imagine a large bowl in that beautiful blue color 

for the centerpiece on the table.

The first thing Jill bought was this cute desk chair from Home Goods

upholstered in blues, creams and greens. Nice job!

 Once we picked the blue paint color, we brought it in to the kitchen and living area.

Jason painted the beadboard back to the home office desk hutch the same blue. 

 Jill accessorized it with some of her white ceramics

 and these charming dishes from Pier One.

Really pretty~

Gorgeous...but hey, its kinda boring!

How about a little blue and white damask to brighten things up.

Play with some of the accessories to repeat the color.

This is a great place to mount a valance when you have an upper tier of window

lites with a divided trim piece. This treatment is stationary.

A netted wood tassel trim in blue, beige and cream gives this a fun look.

 Some large custom pillows in the kitchen fabric look smashing against the basic beige~

look how great this room is starting to feel!

Jill found the rug at Home Goods too. 

We still need some more lighting, a chair, a coffee table....

I grabbed this pair of X benches at my local Home Goods. 

Every magazine you look at lately will 

have at least one room with a pair of x benches!

They are always wonderful for extra seating with style.

The big empty window wants a pair of floor length draperies!

And they want to be hanging off of big dark rods and iron rings.

The massive black fireplace balances out the big island on the other end of the room,

but all of these dark pieces need some companion pieces with color and lighter values.

Fabric always warms up a room.

This is the fabric I want for their draperies.

A paisley that combines our blue, gold and cream colors.

It will totally warm up this end of the room.

These walls are BM Providence Olive, which is a khaki tone.

Jason painted the lamp with the Woodlawn Blue~

he might be a future DIY blogger.

This is where this story ends, for now~

its got a great beginning and middle part,

now we just need to get to the end,

where they all lived Happily Ever After

in their charming family home.