Behind Your Books Looks

I'm currently working with a client whose built-in, family room bookcases need a makeover. Her exisiting situation is something like the pic you see above. Warm golden wood, closed cabinets on the bottom, open shelves up top. She wishes to play down the large expanse of wood—the floor-to-ceiling bookcases fill more than 20 linear feet of wall space, wrapping from one wall around the corner and onto another. One of the options I suggested is to add color or pattern in the form of paint, fabric or paper to the backs of the cases.

As I began collecting images, I found most examples of this treatment used on white or painted cabinets, far fewer on stained wood cases. Still, there seems to be an endless array of choices, for both contemporary and traditional spaces. From every color of the rainbow in paint...

...including chalkboard paint behind shelves in a kitchen...

...to fabrics and papers ranging from subtle and softspoken...

...to bold and bright.

Some were clad in multiple fabric and paper patterns...


...while others used textural materials like beadboard...


...and brick. I can't say for sure, but what we see here could be that brick-patterned wall paneling that was so popular (but not so attractive) in the 60's and 70's. I think this application is very good-looking, however the designer pulled it off.

Not one of these looks exactly fits the needs of my client, but, as it turns out, we've shifted our thoughts anyway—from simply adding a decorative backing to completely painting the bookcases a color that coordinates with the room's new wall color. A "camouflage" effect if you will.

Have you tried—or would you try—a behind-the-books treatment like this?

Which of these looks is your favorite?

• • •

For a super-sensible tutorial on adding painted panels to the backs of your boodcases, click here. The same technique easily translates to fabric- or paper-wrapped panels too.

More Light !

As I reminded you in my last post,"lighten up" is my resolution, my words to live by, my singular yet multi-faceted goal for 2010. I explained what those words mean to me in this post. To keep myself accountable, I'll give you an occasional update. Last post was about my lightened-up attitude (Hooray for Mary Poppins!). This one is about actual light.

First, a new lamp, above. From HomeGoods, a very simple brownish/bronzish candlestick to replace the squatty blue and white ginger jar that used to sit on this table. New lamp's taller, slender profile suits this corner better as the ceiling height here is about 11 feet. I should tell you too that this lamp came with a stark white drum shade. Nothing against drums—love them—but I hoped when I bought the lamp that this ivory silk bell I already had would fit and look good. It did and it does. I'll save the drum for a future project—it's the perfect type to wrap in decorative fabric or paper and convert to a pendant. Like these from shadesoflight.com :

Interested in more shade-swapping ideas?

Learn to play "lamp shade switcheroo" here.

. . .

Next, a bit of ambient light in the entry that I concocted myself using a wood lantern (from a crazy gigantic home decor store nearby that I'll give you a tour of soon) and the bulb from an old nightlight. I love the shadows it casts on the wall and that it lights up some of the details on the antique secretary. This area near the front door needs just a bit of light because ten or so feet further along the same wall is that new table lamp I just showed you.

In case you're wondering, here's how my lantern became a lamp: Lucky for me, the top comes off. But any lantern with a door like this one also has can be reached into for rigging. The nightlight bulb and socket are attached to a plug-in cord with a thumb switch already in place. The clips on the sides of the socket are what kept it in place inside the figural ceramic lamp that was discarded long ago. (was it a lighthouse? I think so.)


Here's a close-up of my masterful installation, below. See that paper clip bent open and wrapped around the base of the socket? Its other end is hanging from one of those little dowels around the cupola of the lantern. Yep, I'm pretty sure that's how the pros would do it too. Tucked up under the lantern's roof and with the cord twist-tied in place so it's less obvious, all you notice is the warm glow of light, not the hardware.


Last but definitely not least. . . a lighted coat closet! (how long have I lived in this house and only did this now?) I found this fluorescent fixture at Target. I had seen a similar one at Lowe's but the installation involved some sort of double-stick tape or maybe velcro. I could just see it falling on my head (or, better yet, my husband's—he'd love that) after one too many flips of the switch. The Target model came with mounting screws and keyholes cut into the back of the fixture which allows it to sit very securely flush against the wall. Those are the kinds of details that can make or break a project for me—and getting those details just right can make what seemed like a simple job take much longer than expected.


But all the trouble is worth it when, in the end, you get this :

Light!

. . . in our dark little hole of a coat closet. Which recently underwent a much-needed (and very successsful, I might add) makeover. More about that next time . . .

Luxuries Large and Small

These lovely little luxuries are ring boxes from the Muse Collection by Charlotte Moss at London's Halcyon Days. For your dressing table, vanity or evening bag, they are "descended from the rare and beautiful enamels of 18th-century England. Prized by discerning collectors worldwide, both as tokens of taste and sentiment and as works of art, they are destined to become the antiques of the future."

Says the designer of her collection, which includes atomizers, handbag mirrors and tiny vanity trays, "I have bought these wonderful enamels as gifts, and received them as gifts, for years. It is a great pleasure and opportunity to be entrusted with creating designs for today. Once again I’ve chosen to invoke the muse - images and motifs from the lives of women who continue to inspire - myself and others."

You would be correct in assuming that these pretty little numbers come with price tags containing quite large numbers.

I received as a gift this Christmas my own tiny, shiny box. It is not fancy enamel nor is it covered in pretty patterns. It is plain, coral pink and heart-shaped. It is from the not so exclusive, one on every corner, Hallmark collection. And it is currently my most prized, sentimental and inspiring possession.

It came from my daughter and contains a photo she took of us (with the camera in her laptop) on Thanksgiving Day 2009. That's her, below, squeezing the life and love out of me. And though this box was a gift, it came at a very large price. Letting her go last year to live her own life was more difficult than anything I have done with or for or because of her in the last nineteen years of my life. But it was worth it.

I have proof in a priceless pink box.

"Every luxury must be paid for, and everything is a luxury, starting with being in this world."

Cesare Pavese, Italian poet, critic and novelist, 1908-1950

Thanks to Rosemary and her dentist's fancy magazines for the top image. It is quite a luxury to have a friend who thinks about you while waiting to get her teeth cleaned. Images and descriptions of Moss's Paris, Nantucket and New York boxes are from Halcyon Days' website. And to Katey, well, you know.

She Has Plans for You

Alexa Hampton, president of Mark Hampton LLC and designer of rooms like this (above and below)

furniture like this

lamps like this


and rugs like this


can currently be seen, and read, on the website of Williams-Sonoma Home. Their Designer Series, under the Design Center heading, features interviews with interior designers and style experts who offer practical tips and guidance to home decorators. In her piece, Ms. Hampton gives us tried and true, smart and sensible advice about planning and furnishing a room. Read it here—wshome.com


Once you've absorbed all that Ms. Hampton has to say, you might also want to see what others in the series have contributed. Tastemaker Carolyne Roehm talks about fabrics and color (of course color!) and design blogger extraordinaire Heather Clawson of Habitually Chic chats about the details and key elements that make a room work. And as long as you're already in the Design Center, take a look at the glossary of decor terms and play around with the upholstery design tools.


In her feature, Alexa Hampton says her favorite Williams-Sonoma piece is the Mark Desk (above). Chosen, she says, for its classic styling and the architectural feel of its stretcher base and column legs, this beautiful desk was actually designed by Alexa, manufactured by Hickory Chair, and named for her design legend father, the late Mark Hampton.

And because this is my blog, here's my favorite: the very feminine Carlyle Chair looking chic in ivory leather.



One more time, CLICK HERE to read Alexa Hampton on Creating a Furniture Plan at Williams-Sonoma Home.

Interior photos and Alexa Hampton portrait via Architectural Digest
Alexa Hampton furniture via Hickory Chair
Alexa Hampton lighting via Visual Comfort
Alexa Hampton rug via Stark Carpet
Williams-Sonoma furniture via wshome.com

Coffee Table: A Love Story

Allow me to introduce the Bailey Coffee Table. I have never loved a coffee table like I love this coffee table. But until quite recently, I've expressed my love from afar. At first glance—as seen in a Pottery Barn catalog two years ago? a year and a half?—I was drawn to its warm color and those pretty curves. I could see immediately that it was the perfect size and shape to replace the table I'd tired of—a relic from my husband's oak-dominated past. A perfectly serviceable table to be sure, but not nearly as special as Bailey. I've gazed longingly at Bailey both online and in many subsequent catalogs. Sadly, the original price prevented me from acting on that love. So I avoided looking for Bailey during outings to the PB store. I tried to pretend I'd never noticed it in the first place. That strategy almost worked.

If you've read my blog for more than five minutes, it's pretty easy to tell that I. Love. Color. Lots of color. Pattern too. One of my favorite rooms ever is this one, above, by L.A.-based designer Lynn von Kersting. Here, she mixes my favorite primary colors with vintage finds, Asian, European and otherwise exotic accessories and textiles, warm woods and worn painted finishes, all in a way that makes this room irresistible to me. Just look at all the patterns on those toss pillows on top of a patterned sofa! A green shade on a blue and white porcelain lamp? Yes please. Books and artifacts strewn about. Paintings hung like they've been collected over time. I could live here quite happily without changing one single thing. (Ok, I'd have to change out those white lilies for something else. Roses maybe. Lilies make me sneeze.)

Another designer whose colorful works I admire is Linda Applewhite who currently divides her time working for clients in both the Bay Area of Northern California and Santa Fe, New Mexico. These two living areas, above and below, make me so happy. Again, look at all that color! I love the way she combines contemporary fabrics and patterns with antique furnishings and found objects with lots of authentic patina. Her rooms are often whimsical and a little over the top—even for me!—but I really appreciate her process. While they might appear to be mixed and matched with abandon, her interiors are very well-planned, well-balanced and super functional.


In my attempts to achieve a similar look for my own home, I've borrowed ideas from both von Kersting and Applewhite, while striving to stay true to the objects and shapes and colors and patterns I am naturally drawn to. Trying to do what's best for this particular house. And without tossing everything I've had and enjoyed for many years. I'll admit the idea of trashing it all and starting over from scratch has crossed my mind. But my practical side would never allow it. I also try not to have anything in my home just because I think it "should" be there according to the latest trends or design standards. And I want the things in my home to have value beyond their worth in dollars. Whether there's a sentimental attachment or just because it makes me smile, every object should have function or beauty—or both—in a way that appeals to the people who live here. (Lucky for me, my husband likes lots of color too, though he has occasionally expressed a fear of living in what he calls a "clown house"—too much of all the aforementioned pattern and color and exuberance. I tell him not to worry, but I can see that he sometimes still does. Not that I blame him... but I digress.)


A handful of detail photos, above and below, give you a peek into my living room. Above: lots of mixed up pillows on an off-white sectional that more or less matches the cottage white walls; the patterned shade of the floor lamp that sits next to my red arm chair; golden checked curtains that give the room a beautiful glow at certain times of the day; a wool area rug that pulls together all the colors of the room. Below: my freshly painted green chair sits next to an antique oak secretary; vintage art and imported plates hang over the sofa; an antique oak table with pretty turned legs and carvings holds a few pieces of blue and white porcelain; the view over my current coffee table ends with the entertainment armoire across the room.


Easy to imagine—isn't it?—that a green coffee table would fit right in. And still, I couldn't justify the purchase. Several months ago, Bailey appeared in the back of the catalog with the clearance items. At exactly a time when I should not be considering new furniture (bad economy=fewer discretionary dollars, especially when you already have a coffee table). So I forgot about it. It obviously wasn't meant to be. And then. . . last weekend. . . I walked into the nearby Pottery Barn Outlet store. Right there, smack in the middle of the store. Bailey.


Priced to sell at $249. And I can tell you, one would have sold right that instant and driven home with me if it weren't for this: all outlet furniture sales are final. OH. NO. What do I do now? I thought Bailey was out of my life. I was prepared to live with old oak for the indeterminable future. So I did all that I could do. I looked. And touched. I may have even hugged it. I whipped my fabric swatches out of my purse to see if they liked Bailey too. They did. I snapped a couple of pics with my phone. Measured. Paced. And left the store. At home, I paced some more. Uploaded the photos. Looked at my room from every angle. Talked myself out of it. Then back in.

Here's a sketch of my living room. All of the case goods, with the exception of that green chair that might end up in the kitchen, are brown. Oak, walnut, other woods I can't identify. Do I want to bring a green-painted coffee table into the middle? Will it stand out too much? Or will it blend nicely into the mix? It would sit on top of the red area rug, so the contrast there is low with regard to shade, but high with regard to hue—red and green being complimentary as they are.


To make it even more confusing, check out this photo, below. See the beautiful finish and how it's distressed and chippy? See the brown that shows through? Does that help it to coordinate? Or make it stand out in a way that's not good? What would Lynn and Linda do? Why is this so hard??!! Because I want it so much? Or because it's all wrong?

When I called this post "a love story", I didn't say there would be a happy ending. I can't tell you yet where it's going to go. But I may not have much time. There were only three (or four?) on the floor so I need to decide soon. $249 is not a lot of money for a great piece of furniture, but it's too much money to waste on a coffee table that doesn't love me (I mean, my house) as much as I love it. And I need to get my life back and quit obsessing over this table! I do have other things to think about. Really. So I'm asking all of you. Bailey or no Bailey? Be honest. But not brutal. Remember, I'm in love. If it's not going to work, please let me down easy. Here. Have one last good look and let me know what you think. Thanks.

EDITED TO ADD: Check out my next post to read how this story ends. . .