JoAnn's cabin

Christine,
I found your blog through my daughter and just wanted to say how much I enjoy reading it. Hopefully you can help me with my dilemma and lead me in the right direction.

My husband and I live on a small farm in a log cabin. I'm wanting to make some changes to our living room area, but I'm not sure where to start. I have always liked primitives and antiques, and still do, but I'm also mesmerized by the images of magazines such as Pottery Barn and have found myself leaning more towards that style of design. I'm just not sure how to incorporate some of what I have with newer things and make it all flow together. I'm hoping this is where you can help me!

I'm open to your advice, but I do want to tell you some of my likes and dislikes. First of all my likes: Antiques, PB style, a neutral palette, textured fabric......I especially love linen. I also like using family photos and pewter. Things I don't like or want to use: Anything modern or contemporary, leather, fake flowers or plants, log furniture, deer heads, log furniture, Indian artifacts or anything cowboy theme related. I don't want my house to look like a lodge.

I'm willing to make some changes, however there are some things that have to stay such as the structural elements - rock wall, fireplace, ceiling beams, etc. I'm also very fond of my sofa, the rug and hutch that holds my dishes. I'm stumped with the following:
-Furniture layout and arrangement Your sofa is too far back. You have made the traffic path straight through the room- bring your sofa up four feet- the traffic path will be behind the sofa. This will create a more cozy intimate area. It might take some getting used to- but trust me- that it is a much better arrangement.
-My chairs. Should I re-cover them? Get a different style? I know I said I liked a neutral palette, but I do still like the red too. The fabric is just starting to wear and fade. I thought about doing off white? What color would you suggest? You have a serious problem with contrast. You simply don't have enough of it anywhere. This is primarily due to your floors, walls and ceilings all being the same color- as well as the rock- still about the same tones. You need more contrast. The red is still pretty similar in intensity- so yes- re-upholster- cream would be great.
-Lighting? Yes- you need more light- check out this post- and follow the same direction that I gave Kim.
-Window treatments. I like something simple; no drapes or layers. I also like having the French doors without a treatment. Well- I will have to disagree with you here. I think that window treatments can be simple and still be layered. I also think your dark walls could use some softening and some lightening. I would add linen cream floor length drapes. I would also layer them with solar shades or roller shades or Roman shades.
- Do I need a larger table underlight? We don't use this area as an eating area. It's more like wasted space. I would either get more sitting furniture- and make more of that area- or get a table and chairs- the drop leaf folded up looks awkward- and doesn't fill the space.
-I really like the botanical prints. Do you think I need one more? Now that I've moved the sofa away from the wall- I would do a larger collection of botanicals. I included a photo at the end of this post with a collection of figure drawings- I would do the same type of collection- but with botanicals.
Thanks for taking the time to read my long request. I look forward to your reply.
JoAnn
Included in the need for contrast is the area above your mantle. This is supposed to be your focal point- but the lack of contrast is making it disappear. Look at the fourth photo from the top- your decor above the mantle almost disappears. You need something lighter and brighter. Check out the art work I selected for you below. (Uttermost) See the light frame- this is important- contrast! contras!t contrast!

Keep your rug- but add another rug on top of it. Look on those Pottery Barn catalogs of yours- they do it all the time. This will lighten it up- more contrast again. The rug below is from Homedecorators.com.

I included the photo below to show the lighter chairs. The wingback is a classic style- and a new, lighter fabric would be terrific.

Here is the photo that shows the collage I was suggesting. Botanicals are easy to come by- find some interesting frames- -and different sizes. You can create a beautiful collage.

I would then go around and take a look at the place- how about that TV? Can it go? I love how you decorated the hutch with the white dishes- well done. I also love the checkerboard and the red piece of furniture by the stairs. Great pieces. Add some softness- add some contrast. Lighten it up. Add more artificial lighting. Add some plants. Lighten and brighten- you will love the result!

Malia in Singapore

This e-mail came from my sister-in-law- who- with my brother and their two darling little boys just moved to Singapore for two years.

Hi Christine!

We made it! We're all here in Singapore and trying to adjust to life. It's been crazy, but we're slowly working at it. I was wondering if you had a minute to help us? We currently have rental furniture and I am dying to get something more permanent in our town home. Do you have any suggestions of what to get and how to arrange it in these rooms? I'm totally open! I think you know my style. I'm a modern girl. :) Please don't mind the mess everywhere! The curtains and lights are part of the town home and can't be replaced. We will probably be going shopping on the weekends to see what's available. Any help is appreciated!

Thanks so much!

Love ya,

Malia

Malia,
I think what you really need is an onsite consultant. A note to all listeners: I am now officially accepting donations for my Singapore trip. :)

Since you are only going to be there for two years- I would do two things. #1- not spend too much money. #2- spend the money you are going to spend right away so that you can enjoy your improvements as long as possible.

Your place is great- it has nice floors. Your room is asking for an L-shape furniture arrangement. I put an off white sectional at the top of the post. To me- going so light is bold and fun for a mother of two. Very modern- very sleek. Go bolder than you might typically- this is your chance- as you know it is a short term purchase. It is clean and simple- a perfect look for a modern girl. I would focus on four things:

Area Rug
Plants
Pictures
Splash of Color

An area rug will warm up your space, soften the harshness and make it more inviting. It will also add texture- which I think is the most missing element in your place. I loved the Zebra rug...

Plants. Imagine your apartment with some nice large plants in the corners of your rooms. Get something with large leaves and a tropical feel- large plants in large posts. Then add uplights on the floor- put the lights on the timers- and your home will have ambiance when the sun goes down. Don't skip this step. Go get yourself some plants!

Wall décor. Choose a prominent wall for a photo collage- that will make it feel like home instantly. Then go with some alternative wall décor to bring your other walls to life.

I would finish the place with the smallest splash of color. A bright green- a funky orange- an intense blue- pick a color- slip it into your wall décor- add a table runner and a couple of throw pillows- and you are done. You could even purchase some blank canvasses and paint them solid colors.

The furniture, rugs and art in this post are form overstock.com. Do you think they ship to Singapore? I checked on my little map and I've had 164 hits from Singapore- so- any Singapore readers out there? Help Malia out- where should she shop?

An Area Rug for Sonia

Christine,
Thanks for sharing all your opinions without holding back! : ) I need to select an area rug for my dining room (I don't have a pic of it right now since they are changing out our floors as we speak) and wondered what would go well with the attached picture of the fabric I'd like to choose for the curtains (2 windows-4 panels) Everything else in the room has no pattern, the furniture is cherry tones, the floors are oak, the walls are BM AC-12 Copper Mountain with a low chair rail, and under the chair rail is paintable wallpaper left white. Attached also is a picture of the focal painting, I pulled the color of the walls off some of the background colors in the painting. If you have a chance to let me know what type of area rug design would look good with the curtains fabric that'd be great. My other option would be to do no area rug since the room is pretty small -- 12x11 -- so the rug would have to cover almost the entire room for the chairs to fit right.
Thanks again and again and again.
Sonia

Hi Sonia,

As far as whether to have an area rug or not- I would go with the rug.
Reasons:

1. Pattern. You said you only have one pattern in the room. You need more.
2. Textural Variety. It adds softness in a room with a lot of hard surfaces.
3. Repetition of color. Your colors will blend together better as you see them repeated throughout the room.

So- with that said- I have five selected for you:

1. Adeline Rug

2. Cecil Rug

3. Agra III

4. Genuine

5. Chantilly Rug

So- help Sonia select a rug- have any favorites? The top two are from Pottery Barn- and the bottom three are from Homedecorators.com.

I think I would go with the Cecil rug...

P.S. Are you sure you want the bottom of the chair rail left white?... Seems a little stark to me- that copper color is pretty dark.

Charles and Ray Eames Rock

This is a follow-up post to yesterday's.

Christine,

Thanks for all of the great advice! I have a few questions of course. Where would you put the area rug? I never quite know how to do that with a bed. I'll address that below. Also are you suggesting 3 window treatments on each window (linen drapes, Roman shades and woven roller shades)? No- I suggested a Roman shade on that one window- panels on the others- the roller shades throughout- so each window would have two treatments. Not sure if I can swing the cost of that!!! Last question (I swear!) is on the seating area. The chair is definitely going and I was looking for a suggestion on something cool to put there, maybe with a pattern, to funk things up a bit. Any and all ideas welcome! Thanks again - you are so generous to do this for all of us! - Mary

For your chair- consider using a cool style rather than a cool pattern. The top two photos on the post are Eames chairs- I would get the lounge chair in cream, not black, and I would get the molded plywood chair in palisander- not red. The white lounge chair is from In House. These are classic chairs that you would keep forever- and their style is absolutely timeless. When I lived down in LA- a local museum had a display of Eames furniture. It was amazing. I just found that I have mentioned the Eames chairs in these posts as well. I guess I really like them.

OK- so- where should you put the rug? I would do it like the bedroom above. Although there are certainly a number of different correct ways to go about it.

Right in front of the bed also works.

I like sticking pretty close to the rule of thirds. Have it under the bed 1/3 or 2/3 of the way. I feel like the rug above is too close to 1/2. However- sometimes the limitations of room sizes and rug sizes keep you from being able to have the ideal.

2/3 is my ideal. You also want it show a decent amount in the front- and not cut your traffic path in half. If you had hard floors- I would suggest you had the rug large enough to step on it when you got out of bed.

I picture a nice large rug in your room.

Thanks,
Christine

Bedroom photos from Country Living.

Erin from Kentucky's Dining Room

Christine,

So excited to be reading through your blog! I am also a mother of four great kids (oldest a girl and three little boys, all ages 2-10), a fan of baking sugary treats (like cupcakes), a fan of American Idol (though this year I'm not so into it), and married to a wonderful DIY guy who says, "Decide what you'd like and I'll do my best to make it happen." What more could I ask for?

Maybe ... some decorating talent would be nice! I just don't have it! Check out Erin's room here.

A year ago I jumped into redoing my dining room full force. We've been redoing this old house from end to end in just the past 2 1/2 years, including a complete kitchen redo (I love my maple glazed cabinets and black trim), knocking down walls, and a fireplace makeover. So I found an inspiration room on HGTV's Rate My Space and couldn't wait to get started on the dining room, but then as I miserably failed practicing the glazing technique on a piece of scrap drywall, I halted the whole project. The room's been a storage space and sometimes dining area for almost a year now.

Now I've got the momentum back. I'm attempting to put together my dining room and trying to look at it again, abandoning the glazing plan altogether. I found your blog because I'm questioning the existing crown molding I don't see the crown molding??? and how to handle the walls now that I've scrapped the glaze and diamond pattern (on top) that was part of my original vision. From what I've read on your blog, it seems the chair rail is a little too high in my room. Should I remove it? Move it? Add crown? Do a finishing of some kind on the bottom like faux wainscoting or beadboard? The height is OK- yes- I would add wainscoting or beadboard.
I just want the room to come together and me be happy with it, so I'm trying to plan everything! I'm not very confident about putting things together. How big a light fixture to I need for the large scale dining table? Is 24" round big enough? Would the rectangular 36" chandelier be better? With a rectangular table- an oblong or rectangular chandelier is ideal. Yes- 36 inch is a good size. Do I worry about putting all rectangles in the room (chandelier, table, buffet, art?) or do I need to vary it with some circles and squares? No- don't worry about that. In certain categories repetition can be boring- but with a rectangular shape- it is not a concern.

Another thing ... I tend to like things that match, but I realize it often looks better when they coordinate instead. So, if I have pillar candles on the chandelier, I'd like pillar candles as sconces. Does it matter if their finish amongst the sconces and chandelier is different (one more bronze, one black)? I would not do pillar candle sconces and a pillar candle chandelier- now that is where the repetition thing is bad. If you love that look- use it on the chandelier- as it is larger and makes more of an impact- but then choose something entirely different for the sconce- but something that still coordinates- like the sconce below from Bellacor - only $97.

I'd like to bring out red in the artwork and then with some accessories, are there rules other than to repeat the same color three times in the room? What you really need to make your room look more like the inspiration room (which I put at the top of the post) is some pattern. Don't use solid drapes-- use a pattern- same with the rug. The patterned fabric above is from Beacon Hill. The rug is from Dash and Albert. Add more color in the art work and centerpiece. The poppy print is from House in the Country- and is available in different sizes- framed or just canvas wrapped.

Then, is the table too big for this room? I've measured and staged the area with the furniture I already have and I'm thinking I'll like it fine, but I have a lingering doubt. Your table is not too large. My overall vision for this room is to be a casual dining area that we use almost daily for our family. Kid-friendly and durable is a must and we want to have guests and not have to say "let's put the leaf in." The only furniture will be the table and chairs and a buffet on the wall parallel (black or bronze mirror above). The sconces will be installed on the far end of the table (opposite the doorway to the kitchen), with the focal artwork in between. Simple window treatments on either side of the French doors, likely on swing away arm rods. We NEVER use these French doors, but I want the option kept there with the swing rods. No rug planned because it will just get ruined by my wonderful but messy boys.

Here are several photos, especially of things I've picked out online. I can't spend a ton on light fixtures, so that's unfortunately limiting. I love the pillar chandeliers at Restoration Hardware but $1,000? Not in our house!

In case it matters, I love traditional and tend toward cottage and Tuscan looks. My whole house is in the green family you see above including the kitchen adjoining the dining area, or a caramel/gold family. Housewide white trim. Black accents just seem classic to me right now.

I've asked a ton, I know. Please know that I am soooooooooooo grateful for any input at all. I'm so glad I found your blog. I'm decorating-challenged and usually just end up with nothing on the wall for years because I'm so scared of deciding, hating it, regretting it and thinking of the expense! It's a debilitating fear.

Thanks a million again. Wish you and yours all the best!!!

Erin

Southeastern KY

You are very organized- which is a great way to make good decisions- I hope my answers to your questions were helpful- thanks for writing in! Closely imitating an inspiration room is really a very good way to decorate when you have limited experience and are low on decorating confidence.

You are off to a great start!

Christine