interior paint colors: 2009-09-20

Those White and Cream Cow Hide Rugs

Suzanne Kasler

I am really enamored with white/cream cow hide rugs. They seem to add another layer of richness and beauty to so many different style interiors. Here is a lovely room designed by the wonderful Suzanne Kasler.

Southern Accents
I especially love cow hide rugs over sisal or seagrass. In this room the rug seems to compliment all furnishings; notice the side table and Ghost chair.

Jan Showers

The combination of the natural floor covering and the sumptuousness of the cow hide really speaks to me.

Cote de Texas

I think they add a luxurious layer of texture and interest to room. Here is the wonderful bedroom of Sally Wheat, brought to us by Joni of Cote de Texas. You can read all about the rest of Sally's house here.

Cote de Texas
Sally renovated the many rooms including the living room. Here is the photo from the cover of Houston House and Home. You can read all about her more recent renovation here.

Material Girls

Here the fabulous Jan Showers layers the cow hide over white rug. It adds a layer of richness to this room.

Veranda

Though not quite cream, I wanted to include Vincent Wolfe's gorgeous room. Here the cow hide is layered over a lighter rug and creates a luxurious effect.

uktv

=The cow hides seem to work in many different decors. Here it looks fabulous in this more masculine and modern room.

tbird
Of course in more modern interiors, like this bedroom the cow hide softens the hard edges of the furniture and the space.

Kim Christie
They also look beautiful laying on a hardwood floor - In this room I love the mix of the hard lines of the mirrors and coffee tables with the softness of linen sofa, throw and cow hide rug.

unknown
I find the cowhide rug a more interesting choice than the traditional needlepoint or aubusson rug. With the yellow chairs, it adds a layer of unexpected edginess to this room.
The darker floors also really make the rug stand out.

decorpad

Finally here is one my favorite rooms. I think the the cow hide rug looks so lovely in this very neutral interior. What do think?

Click on Hooked on Houses to see what everyone else is hooked on!

A Reader’s House

Many times in the emails I receive, there will be pictures of readers houses – usually fresh from moving in, or a recent remodeling. Rather than keep the pictures all to myself, I have decided to share them with you in an ongoing series called Readers Houses. Some of the houses are small and full of wonderful DIY projects and others are larger and look more professionally decorated – both are wonderful in their own way. Today – the reader’s house comes from Deerfield, Illinois – just north of Chicago. The owners are a builder and his wife who is an interior designer. The couple sometimes collaborate on projects and their own house is the result of one such partnership. Their house was a true labor of love that they both enjoyed creating from the very first blueprint. The result of all their hard work is truly amazing. The photography itself is gorgeous which makes the house sing! I think you will thoroughly enjoy this newest Readers Houses installment! To see the pictures in their entirety – be sure to open your browser on maximum view – they are B-I-G!

The entry hall: from this paneled space – with its beautiful herringbone wood floors – you can see straight into the living area and on the right, into the dining room. The house is transitional – slightly contemporary and slightly traditional with a muted, quiet color scheme throughout (except for the children's rooms!) In the mirror on the right – you can see the banister of the staircase with its glass topped newel post leading upstairs. Unfortunately, there is no other picture of the stairs. Let’s take a right first – into the dining room.

The dining room has beautiful wallpaper – all in soft taupe's and whites. A large mirrored cabinet between the two windows reflects the crystal chandelier. Remember – mirrors should always reflect something beautiful! Notice the ceiling, a soft metallic taupe, the same color as the wallpaper. The owner used a combination of chairs - tufted velvet mixed with host Chippendale styled painted wood chairs. The curtains are a loose weaved fabric that continue the shimmering quality of the room. What a beautiful dining room – so soothing!

Straight off the foyer is the living room. The mood from the dining room continues here with the soft taupes and accents of black. Here there is more velvet tufting, with the only pattern found in the silky pillows. The large seagrass area rug helps to tone the room down from being too dressy – but the overall atmosphere is one of tastefulness and sophistication. To the right of this room, through the black double doors is the computer room (see pictures below.) The wall next to the doors is mirrored which makes the entire living area appear larger.

The view of the living room that faces the left side of the house – here you can see the built in painted black cabinets and the pretty chaise lounge. The kitchen is through the opening here.

The kitchen is a large area with an adjoining breakfast area, dominated by a gorgeous built-in cabinet, painted black. Again, the same soothing feel is found here, but the taupe color is now replaced with white. Isn’t that built-in gorgeous? I love the mirrored doors with the faux arches. The contemporary styled chairs are on one side of the long wood table and a banquette is on the other. And I love the series of light fixtures over the island – so effective!!!!

In the kitchen, the right side has no overhead cabinets – instead there is one long series of windows overlooking the back yard. The sink is incredible – so large it has two faucets! Amazing! And I love the open shelving filled with white dishes. The dark wood flooring helps to warm up the space which could have been too cold looking without it.

The range is another incredible part of the kitchen. Whoa. Pure lust – it’s like a piece of jewelry in the kitchen!! The countertops are white marble. This kitchen is truly beautiful!!!

To the right of the living room, there’s a wonderful computer room for the couple and their two daughters. Beautiful chairs! Notice how the children's art work has been framed and is placed around the countertop. Must make the girls so proud! All the boxes stored with crafts and paperwork are neatly labeled. Someone who lives here is seriously organized!!! And extremely neat - the house is spotless. This room is painted in the same soft taupe of the living room.

The computer room has a beautiful bay window, overlooking the back yard, which is fitted out with a cushion and pillows. Very pretty fabric shades at the windows. Such a nice tranquil space for homework and computer surfing. Wall to wall carpet helps cut down the noise level.

In the library, the color scheme changes and gets deeper with a dark blue velvet sofa and dark wood paneling. But the show stopper here is the fireplace! What a screen! It looks like a piece of art itself!!!

In the library two chairs face the velvet sofa. You may think the blanket is H for Hermes, but it is really H for Hunter, the adorable dog! Of course there would be an adorable dog in this house, everything else is!

Upstairs, the oldest daughter’s room has a large scaled blue and green wall paper. I love the chaise in here – perfect for when friends spend the night. All the upstairs bedrooms have vaulted ceilings.

Daughter #1’s adjoining bathroom has seafoam colored tiles and a charming little make up chair.

Daughter #2’s room is more traditional – pink and green with a beautiful French caned headboard and side tables. She gets a window seat in her room for friends.

The master bedroom also has a large scaled wallpaper, but it is, of course, much more sophisticated than the daughters paper. A sitting area fills up the space in the large taupe and seafoam colored suite. Notice the scale of the upholstered headboard – brought up higher than usual so that it can be seen over the euro sized shams. A beautiful crystal chandelier lights the room, along with sconces instead of lamps.

The master bathroom is filled with white marble - and, as in the kitchen, there is beautiful cabinetry and very gorgeous hardware.

And finally – a view of the dormer window on the second floor. What an interesting vignette and what a beautiful house! It’s so interesting to see what readers houses look like - they are all so different, yet share one quality – the owners all have a deep love of interior design.

Thank you so much to the homeowner who shared her beautiful house with us today! If you live in the Deerfield area and are interested in hiring her for interior design work, email me and I’ll pass on your information to her. And remember – if you have a house you want to share with us online, send me the pictures!

Many of you have emailed me asking how I came to love Swedish antiques. Growing up we had very little money and my exposure to antiques came from my parents flea market finds. Even then I loved the history of the old pieces, but the furniture was walnut or cherry and very dark and heavy.

In 1992, I was newly engaged. I bought a stack of house magazines, excited about someday owning my own home. I was flipping through a magazine and was struck by a advertisement by Anderson Windows. What was this gorgeous clock with such shapely and graceful lines and light, beautiful wood? I was was awestruck. Here is the ad above. (the middle one - yes, I still have the ad!)

I carried the ad everywhere. I went to flea markets and antique shows and asked every dealer if they had a clock like this or knew where I could find one. I did find out it was a Swedish Mora clock, but no one in New England knew where I could find one. One day my husband laughed that I was on my own personal quest for the Holy Grail - the elusive Mora Clock!

In 1993 my husband and I moved to Munich, Germany. In Bavaria, I was exposed to beautiful painted pieces and lovely stripped and waxed country style antiques.

Meanwhile my sister was living in Copenhagen, Denmark and we spent many weekends exploring old barns and antique shops, searching for the "Holy Grail", but also finding other wonderful treasures.

One day while jogging around Munich my husband saw a Mora clock in a window of a store. He spoke to the owner in his very limited German and was told that the clock was sold. For months he refused to let me know where the shop was because he thought I would feel worse if I saw the clock in person. Finally, we were walking nearby the shop one evening and I saw the clock. I went in and spoke to the owner, also in very limited German, but found that in fact the clock was For Sale, not Sold. (He had mixed up his verb tenses!)

I bought the clock on the spot although needed several more weeks of restoration to the clock works. It has beautiful carvings, swag details and an oak leaf crown. I have never seen a clock I love more than this one.

We have had it over fifteen years and have spent those years finding other beautiful European antiques to compliment it, but it remains my most favorite.

I hope you love it as much as I do!

Just a reminder that the film Coco Avant Chanel opens today in New York and Los Angeles. I can't think of a better place to see it than the Paris Theatre too! Bon Weekend!

Participando en Creativa

Próximamente va a celebrarse la feria de Creativa Valladolid. Me he decidido a participar en su convocatoria de concurso en patchwork . Había que presentar un bolso y ésta ha sido mi idea.

Una mezcla de patch y collage en esa imagen central que pertenece a uno de los que he realizado hace tiempo y al que le tengo cariño por la cita de Henry Van Dyke que incluí :" Alégrate de la vida porque ella te da la oportunidad de amar, trabajar, de jugar y de mirar a las estrellas ". ¿ No es preciosa ?

Y ese es el título del bolso Alégrate de la vida
Está confeccionado con telas de distintas clases ( lino, seda bordada, rizada......) . En el asa izquierda hice un bordado de abalorios tipo crazy patch y las he colocado de tal manera que se vea a la vez la tela exterior e interior del bolso.
Lo mismo te lo puedes llevar de fiesta que con unos vaqueros......

El concurso se resolverá con parte de votación online y parte del jurado.

¿Quieres votar por el mío ? ¿ Te ha gustado ? Estaría encantada de recibir tu voto que puedes hacer el la pag. oficial de Creativa durante el día de hoy hasta el 6 de octubre. Tengo muchas ganas de ver los otros treinta bolsos presentados. Desde luego esta es una oportunidad de hacer valer la imaginación .

Gracias por tu participación.

A passionated woman

Walda Pairon is one of the most wonderful, charming, inspiring and passionated women I ever met.

She is a one of our classical Belgian interior designers and would be a perfect ambassador of the Belgian classical interior design.

A lot of Belgian and European designers (including me!) are influenced by her wonderful work.

I really have to admit that I am hooked on her warm design creations!

Walda Pairon, a very charming lady.

Walda lives in a beautiful cottage in Kalmthout, near Antwerp.

She designs interiors with a soul ( as her newest book "Interiors With a Soul" explains ) and is passionated about her job.

She is so well involved with her clients and therefore able to translate perfectly their wishes in her designs. She loves making people happy by designing their interiors.

Walda does not like trends and will not let her be influenced by a certain style. She is always looking for objects matching the environment and the owners of the house. She combines old and new objects on condition that both have a soul, a character.
The result is always amazing!

To me her interiors are as compositions, and each composition as a modest still life.

Walda has a very creative mind and that creativity ables her to give an interior a completely new look, sometimes only by bringing in little things!

She transforms an interior with "velvet hands" and treats her objects as living creatures.

Walda Pairon is a wonderful lady! When you ever met her, you will not forget her!

Her website : www.waldapairon.be