Have you met the brilliant designer Garrow Kedigian?
A project that he designed was featured in House Beautiful last month, and when I saw this amazing library, it actually took my breath away. I honestly think that I love everything about it.

ditto :: {what I would steal from this space}:

ummmm. everything.

1. Never underestimate the power, beauty or practicality of a small space.  It brings out the warm and comfy and snuggly child in all of us. I love that the proportions of this room are modest and the conversational furniture fits in perfectly. The space is full, but it breathes, due to the open legs under the furnishings, and the narrow pedestal of the side table.
2. must. have. those. pillows. Brown velvet greek key on white? no, really. they belong to me. Labyrinth by Clarence House is the fabric. le sigh.
3. Playing with pattern. Cow hide. polka dot pillows. Stripes. Greek key. Modern rug pattern. herringbone…. and yet, nothing feels like it is “too much” or “clash-y” because bold patterns are balanced by smaller, repetitious patterns. Notice that even the cowhide selection shows restraint and balance.
4. Symmetry reigns, but without matching. The opposite side-chairs are balanced, but not the same. The opposite lamps are balanced, yet not the same. The height of the bookshelves on the left are balanced by the paintings on the right. genius.
5. once again, I love when drapes are a tick or two off in shade from the walls. either darker or lighter. The effect is just beautiful. And the small herringbone is so classy. Library perfection.
6. I love the contrast that the dark-painted window frames have to offer. It draws immediate attention to the dramatic window, which is stunning in this space.
7. Built-ins. You just can’t go wrong with built-ins. They are worth the effort because they can conform to your exact space needs, and they offer highly efficient storage. They also add architectural interest and beauty. This room offers both hip and ceiling height built-in bookshelves.
8. Moulding. The walls are painted in a simple cream, which is all that is needed to accentuate the beautiful texture that the moulded walls offer.
9. fearlessly hanging paintings right on top of the moulded walls. The textured effect is beautiful.
10. don’t miss the free decor: bare branches with a few remaining dry leaves, hanging on. Free art if you are willing to have some drama in your space.
11. Comfort. A place to put your feet. your drink. a warm blanket for your lap and a pillow for your back. Enough light to read a good book. This room does not exist to simply look good. This room serves your needs, and in addition, happens to be stunningly beautiful. Now, that is my kind of design. bravo.
12. Life! Good design is to be lived in!! Fresh flowers, a drink, a snack, and a great book. If you are not enjoying your space, it is time for a re-design.

Can you see why I just love this room?

For hubby’s birthday this year I had a brilliant idea; thanks to this amazing girl, and the fact that hubby had a 3 day business trip on his b-day.

The plan: invade his office, and give it an inexpensive, quick, and happy makeover. This is a new office and a new job. He is thrilled to be working at this wonderful company… so I figured his office should reflect that as well. Besides, he spends a lot of time in the place. It should reflect who he is and bring him happiness.

Here you can see the “lovely” before pictures :

……{I just love that his major form of decor is sweet pictures of our family. And the only picture on his desk? his bride! I know. He really is that wonderful.}

This makeover was completed for around $150; $60 of that was for the two lamps. The rest was reusing, thinking-outside-of the box, and free-flea marketing from my own cellar.

After:

Here are some of the things that I did to bring more peace to this space.

1. color: first things first, I knew this space needed some color continuity and theme. This office is in a brand new building, and we had picked out the deep brown-purple color together. Now it needed a more decisive color scheme. So I went with greens and browns. I didn’t introduce the brown-purple anywhere else, and that allowed it to become somewhat of a neutral.
2. the focal point: I moved that, um, not-so-lovely and rather-large metal desk piece to the other side of the office. It crowded the space, but most of all, it is not a beautiful piece of furniture to look at. You should always consider what your main line-of-sight for a space is, and then place the most stunning pieces on that side. In this case, I aimed for bringing symmetry, light, and order to the back wall of his office. That created a focal point that breathes, and is pleasing to the eye.
3. rearrange: Use what you have. Just use it better. I moved the file cabinets to create height and symmetry at the edges of the office. I moved the small accent table in front of his desk to hide electrical cords and break up the vast metal surface of his desk. I moved the accent chair to make it more of a feature in the room. And, as I stated above, I moved the large metal ‘credenza’ to a less visible spot in the room.
4. practicality: I also made sure it was useful, hence the baskets everywhere. Two more baskets are to come for the center shelves of the white console.
5. personal: I made it personal by adding photos of our family, hubby’s football helmets, a collectible football book that we treasure, and a framed diploma is on its way for the back wall.

6. reduce: One of my goals was to cut back on clutter. Here is that ‘credenza’ thing, once home to some clutter. {Can you see the football helmets on top? I love this; what a fun way to enjoy your sports memorabilia}. This mammoth piece of metal furniture was given some breathing room by minimal decor, repetitive photo frames, organized books.

Who doesn’t love a great link-up hosted by The Nester?? So, I am joining in on the party. fashionably late.

I often get asked what paint colors I have used in my home.  Here are some of our favorite paint colors that we use at Fieldstone Hill:

Son’s room:
Dune 8134 {Martha Stewart Signature for Sherwin Williams; former collection}

Upstairs Bath:
Sachet 8117 {Martha Stewart Signature for Sherwin Williams; former collection}

Master Bedroom:
Spelter 8059 {Martha Stewart Signature for Sherwin Williams; former collection}

Guest Room:
Silver Thyme DMV038 {Mount Vernon Collection, Sherwin Williams}

Diningroom:
Osprey 8079 {Martha Stewart Signature for Sherwin Williams; former collection}

Laundry Room:
Deep Linen G22 {Old school Martha Stewart Everyday Colors for Kmart. I had an old swatch that I had color-matched}

Boy’s Room walls:
Blue Heron DCR054 {Charleston Collection, Sherwin Williams}

Guest Room:
Antique White SW 6119 {Sherwin Williams}

All of the colors listed as “Martha Stewart for Sherwin Williams, former collection,” are still available if you tell them the name of the paint color at the Sherwin Williams counter. Paint swatches are no longer available.

All of our interior trim is “French Ivory, 8017” {from Martha Stewart for Sherwin Williams, former collection}. I love this trim color. It is the perfect, classy shade of soft white.
{the checker board boys’ room is the only different shade of white trim}

Picking paint colors can be tricky, but I personally find that I prefer wall colors that have a little bit of “muddiness” to them.
Let me know if you have any questions or thoughts!
– {darlene}


for more posts featuring ‘beautiful colors,’ click here.