Thursday, June 17th, 2010
For the past year or so I’ve been loving all the new wood finishes that have a more matte, greyed tone. It’s the rustic, well-worn Belgian farmhouse floor in a waxed finish. Let’s call it: rustic sophistication.
It’s the classic Alex Vervoordt room that features his perfect blend of Belgium antiques and soft wall finishes that makes you want to exhale slowly and luxuriate in the calmness.
Or a classic white kitchen with mile long wide floor boards in a bleached finish. Even though it gives it a well-worn, lived in look, it still feels fresh and modern.
But why limit your use of this beautiful material to the floor?! This living room definitely isn’t your typical ’70s panelled rec room! What a great way to add interest and bring in strong horizontal lines in a room that looks like it has higher than average ceilings. The large scale color block art on the wall would be easy to recreate as a quick DIY project in your favorite color palette.
This grey barn board style wall treatment, which also works as a really high headboard in this narrow room, makes my heart skip a beat. The brown, white and grey of the bedding is a warm but low key balance to all that color and texture variation on that wall. It may be a bit much for the typical bedroom, but why not go bold in a guest bedroom where no one will be living with it for long periods of time? It’s like the powder room principal – go bold because this small and infrequently used space can handle the excitement.
Or if the light wood beams is a bit too rustic for you, what about this amazing wood wall that functions as a banquette on the dining room side….
And as the wall and headboard on the bedroom side of the wall. The area under the bench in the dining room was even utilized as storage for the bedroom! Brilliant! Impressive that this was all done by the homeowner (though it did take a long time to complete the whole project… definitely not a quick weekend DIY!) And don’t forget the great end cut wood dining room table he made (in the first photo).
And now that I have a client who is interested in using reclaimed wood for their kitchen, I have an excuse to delve even deeper into the range of gorgeous wood finishes available. Take wood beyond the floor and typical applications.
See this stunning example from Dwell magazine that inspired us:
These were made from a single tree. LOVE LOVE LOVE!!! You wouldn’t believe my excitement when they showed me this photo as their dream, since I’d been drooling over it ever since my husband brought home the magazine for me. (It’s a kitchen special issue so he knew I’d love it.)
Now the question is: how do we want to recreate this feel without copying it directly? The ideas are swimming around and around.
Can you see this new (resurrected) style of wood in your home? Maybe as a table top? That’s another obsession of mine that we’ll have to save for another post.
Image sources:
1. Axel Vervoordt: Timeless Interiors
5 & 6. Apartment Therapy Presents: Real Homes, Real People, Hundreds of Design Solutions
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Tags: Axel Vervoordt, bedroom, chocolate brown, dining room, Grey, Kitchen, living room, texture, white, Wood
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Wednesday, February 17th, 2010
The other night I had a very vivid dream involving a giant cinnamon roll – you know the kind that are the size of a dinner plate? Needless to say, I woke up with quite a craving for cinnamon rolls. After staring at the beauty that is a well crafted cinnamon roll, I realized it would be fun to use it as a source of inspiration.
So here are rooms that incorporate the colors of the cinnamon roll – the glossy white of the icing, the deep brown of the cinnamon filling, and the shades of golden brown of the bread. This palette can work in every style of room – contemporary, cottage, rustic, traditional.
Bedrooms
I like this mix of bedrooms. Notice the use of texture in these subtle palettes helps to add layers and interest.
Kitchens and Bathrooms
Bathrooms can be traditional – with marble counters and cream inset cabinetry, or rustic – with exposed beams, distressed cabinetry, crisp white walls and a creamy tub meant for hours of soaking.
Kitchens can be the new transitional – with a mix of vintage inspired stools, exposed beams, creamy walls, and sisal rugs balanced by crisp white cabinetry. Or this palette can be applied to a traditional kitchen with buttery yellow walls (more butter isn’t really necessary on a cinnamon roll, but it sometimes tastes really good, admit it!), creamy inset cabinetry, a crisp white exposed sink and the warm tan of a butcher block countertop.
Living Rooms and Dining Rooms
Here you can see the range of this palette. Contemporary living rooms and dining rooms from sunny LA to NYC. A clean lined midcentury modern living room from the midwest. Axel Vervoordt’s Belgian antique filled dining room and living room with those great textural walls in such an enveloping shade of cream.
However you live, there’s always a way to incorporate the cinnamon roll palette in your home. It results in such calm, inviting spaces, just like the bliss I feel after a cinnamon roll and a big glass of milk. Has food every inspired your color palette?
Tags: Axel Vervoordt, Bathroom, bedroom, chocolate brown, cinnamon rolls, color palette, contemporary, dining room, Kitchen, living room, midecentury modern, tan, traditional, transitional, white
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Colleen Fox Slack | email: colleen@colleenfoxinteriors.com | phone: 612.868.0348
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