Going Green

I've never been a fan of the colour green for some reason.  

Although I enjoy the green of the outdoors, having olive skin myself, I've never worn green because I felt it washed me out.  

So when a new client mentioned green was her favourite colour and that she would love to bring it into her new living room, I had to do some digging to get inspired.

So I head off to the interweb to find shades of green that would work alongside the browns and creams going into the adjacent kitchen.

This image nearly jumped off the page at me and made me do a happy dance!  

Yes, it could be done, and I would love it too!

So elegant, so fluid and natural, and so alive!  

Green literally brings the outdoors in.  

I love the worn cobblestones and the patina of weathered wood, iron and stone against the bright green.

     

The olive green with chocolate leather, fur pillows, linen and antique brass are a combination that are both comforting and elegant at the same time.

How beautiful are these Moroccan tea glasses?

What about green velvet with grasscloth wallpaper and high gloss black furniture?

Funky-Cool!

Celerie Kemble

I like how the gold & green make this room so airy - but the black & white art gives it some edge.

 So I started to put together this little inspiration board for my client.  

They insist on the TV over fireplace to save the walls for art - not pretty, but that's life!  

It will be recessed and maybe I can have another piece of art on hinges to hang over it... TBD.

Green onyx surround for the fireplace against chocolate brown walls.

Antique, mirror-front chests on either side of the fireplace.

Burnished gold sconces and central light fixture.

Sexy-back sofa (client's request) with yummy bolster pillows.

Coffee and/or side tables in antique brass with glass or marble tops.

And some fabulous artwork via Etsy.

Drapery will be neutral colour - maybe raw silk.

And I need to find some chairs in a green patterned fabric - but I know it can be done!

I now love the goodness of green 

and all the gorgeous possibilities!

all images here

Live-Edge Dining Room

It's been a while since I've posted project updates so here's the latest on one of the spaces I've been working on.  

This project is updating living, dining and family room with new furniture, lighting, accessories and  paint colours for the homeowners who moved into the space this past summer.

The clients wanted a "showpiece" dining table that would be the main statement piece of the open plan living/dining room.

current wall colour to be changed

This 8-foot custom made live-edge dining table was created by Urban Tree Salvage, who I discovered at the Interior Design Show last year.  The custom salvaged table top is reclaimed silver maple slabs that have been coated with a hand-rubbed oil finish to bring out the beauty of the wood.  The base is industrial steel.

I love the natural raw edge, the variation in colour throughout and the curves of the grain - just stunning!

Once this table was chosen, I sourced several options for the dining chairs to complement the table.  The client wanted comfort first because this is a dining room that will get a lot of use.  Secondly, and as important, was to have a streamlined chair that would not compete with the "star of the show" table but still be able to handle itself in the best-supporting role!  We decided the end chairs should be a bit different from the side chairs so we added a curved arm to the end chair to contrast with the sleek lines of the side chairs.

I selected the elegant and sleek solid wood Flame chair (top) by Jamco Wood, a Canadian company that custom makes Italian designed products for commercial and residential use.  We chose a dark espresso finish for the wood to contrast with the table (it's also the same wood tone of the sideboard near by) and the seats are done in a commercial grade camel coloured faux leather for easy clean up.   The end chairs (bottom pic) didn't arrive before the holidays (which we knew ahead of time) will add a bit of glamour to the industrial look.

The art behind the table is the client's own and is the foundation for some of the other colours in the room.

The adjacent living room will have this fabric and colour scheme - the patterned fabric is going on two occasional chairs, the taupe weave is on a chaise and the yummy charcoal grey luxe fabric is for pillows that will go on the client's existing sand coloured sofa.  The creamy grey paint swatch will be the main wall colour, the darker taupe/grey is for the wall behind the dining table, and the pop of deep orange will be painted over the fireplace to draw the eye over to that corner of the room.  Which incidentally was selected over one month ago before it was announced as Pantone's 2012 colour of the year - Tangerine Tango. 

We are still selecting new tile and hearth for the fireplace but will likely do a dark stone base with copper metal & light stone mosaic surround like the one above.  

The dining room now needs a very awesome light fixture (or two!) - which I have some ideas for.  

The living room still needs a rug and side tables, accessories and art... but that's all in the new year.  

I'm really happy with the mix of clean-lined furnishings with the raw-edge industrial look of the dining room so far - and so is the client...  I know there's a great bottle of Australian Shiraz waiting for me next time we meet - so that's a great sign!

I'd love to hear how you have used this combination of industrial and elegant pieces in your space?