Favorites from Wisteria

I don't often get to look through all of the home decor catalogs I get in the mail - and there are lots of them! Even when I'm sourcing things for a particular project I don't always have the time to browse everything that is offered by online retailers.  It could have been the colors on the cover that drew me in to this particular catalog.

In any case, I'm glad I decided to have a look because there are so many things I would love to have in my own home or use in other projects.

Like the Bonswara side table.  The beauty is in the simplicity of its form and that honed marble finish.  Mind you, it's not inexpensive but this is a piece you'll buy and keep forever.

Iron Chinese Chair

A work of art.  I'd love to flank a console with a pair of these in an entryway.  

Laurel Leaf Mirror

This mirror has a Dorothy Draper-esque feel to it.  I can see it over the sinks in a simple white bathroom.

Acrylic Floating Bracket

Only about a thousand things you could use these for: a collection of blue & white porcelain, foo dogs, blanc de chine, agates, brass animals, porcelain birds, celadon pottery - anything you can think of.  They hold up to 30 pounds.

What do you think? Any favorites here or have you seen something else I need to know about.

Happy Monday!! 

The Green Room Interiors provides Interior Decorating and Design Services to happy homeowners in Chattanooga, TN.  If you'd like to discover the joy of living in a well designed home, contact Kim at 423.653.3186 or email thegreenroominteriors@gmail.com

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Client Entry Before and After - in Neutrals

Hello out there readers of design blogs!  Today I have a postlet to share with you of a recent foyer makeover.  This is one of the "afters" because I think it best to open things up with some pretty.

So now we'll back up to where it all began.

The thing is my clients' home is at the top of a mountain on the most gorgeous wooded lot, and we didn't think this particular arrangement honored the natural loveliness of its surroundings. Although the console table was a step in the right direction, the three shelves with the two mirrors and chairs felt busy.

My clients wanted something rustic and sophisticated.  And they did not want to repaint the walls.

Sorry for this horrifically blurry shot, but its the only one I have the shows the "before" of the feature art piece painted by my client's son.  I immediately knew we should make this painting the focal point of the long wall of the entry.  I had the painting reframed with a wider creamy white mat and a simple black frame for a cleaner, more updated look. (see below)

Here's what else.  We added some whitewashed planks to the aforementioned long wall, hung that pretty painting, put a long chunky console table under it and styled the whole thing up. With some nature-inspired stuff like those twigs I got out of their side yard. And, to keep the look from going all Cracker Barrel on us, we added some modern glam with that amazing Drexel Heritage glass prism lamp and crisp white accessories. 

We also painted the French Doors to the outside living area a rich charcoal gray, which we repeated in the family room on the book cases and exterior doors.  It gives them such presence, doesn't it?

Before

 In this slightly wider shot, you can see we also replaced the fussy wool rug with a black & white cowhide.  Oh how I love it!  And we replaced the generic chandelier with something a little more whimsical. A tall leaner mirror further simplifies the look and is perfect for checking out your head to toe look before heading out the door.

And that's the end!  Thanks for stopping by and having a look.  And did you know if you were following me on Instagram then you would have already seen it? Follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, and on Facebook!

Top 5 Items for Styling (that you already have)

And so yet another week of way way way below normal temps are expected around here for the majority of this week.  And that means lots of time spent indoors. And that means lots of opportunity to really study your decor and maybe start to think you want to change things up a bit.  This happens to you, I'm sure!  And maybe you don't want to go out and buy a bunch of new stuff to get a new look at home.  Not to worry!  Here are my top 5 items that you already own that you can use to freshen up your place.

1. Bottles.  I love to decorate with bottles.  See photo of my kitchen below.

Would you believe there are 4 bottles in just this photo?  Limoncello bottle on bottom shelf, small blue bottle on middle shelf, blue wine bottle on windowsill, and wine bottle behind fruit on countertop. More bottles have been added since this photo too.

Wine bottles also make good vases

and candleholders

2.  Books.  We all have them.  They're great for adding texture and for propping things upon.

In my kitchen I used a small collection of cookbooks to style my kitchen counter (and more bottles if you look to the far left in this photo).

In the photo above, I used books to add some height and texture to my bust planter.

And I used a collection of books to style my skirted table.

3.  Candlesticks.  I like a mismatched set placed in front of a mirror for maximum impact.

Image above from Pinterest

4.  Bowls.  Of something.  It helps if its a cute bowl and you put something cool in it.

Image from Pinterest

Like a bowl of photographs or a big bowl of sea shells.

5.  Mirrors.  I love them and I'm always looking for ways to work in another mirror.  Layering is the answer.  Behold.

3 images above found on Pinterest

And there you have it!  What's your go-to styling item that you like to use?

The Green Room Interiors provides Interior Decorating and Design Services to happy homeowners in Chattanooga, TN.  If you'd like to experience the joy of living in a well designed home, contact Kim Lemmon at 423.653.3186 or email thegreenroominteriors@gmail.com

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Pimp My Dollhouse - With My Interior Life

Hello again friends!  Today is Monday and you know what that means.  It's "Pimp My Dollhouse" day!  My guest today is Kathy from My Interior Life. 

 Are you familiar?  I thought so!  I'm very excited to have Kathy's participation.  Not only is she a fellow Tennessee blogger, but she has the most extraordinary talent for uncovering some highly coveted vintage finds.  And then styling them in the most fabulous way. 

Kathy's dining room.  Need I say more?

In case you're not familiar with the Pimp my Dollhouse Series, I've invited some favorite bloggers/friends to come up with a plan for my living and dining room using 4 things I know I want to incorporate into the space.

They were told that they had an unlimited budget to work with, that I wanted a colorful and sophisticated space, and that I love Chinoiserie.  The rest is up to my guest posters!

Anyway, I absolutely love love L O V E what Kathy put together for me.  You will too.  Here's Kathy:

Hi, everyone! I'm Kathy from My Interior Life, and I'm so excited Kim invited me over to help her "pimp" out her dollhouse living room and dining room. Working with Kim's existing pieces and knowing her love of color, pattern and traditional/mod gave me a great direction. Plus, we all know she loves some good Chinoiserie pieces. Starting in the living room, I was inspired by her green velvet sofa. I immediately thought of Tory Burch's green living room . . .

And another room designed by Jeffrey Bilhuber . . . 

I thought it would be sophisticated and rich to paint her living room walls the same saturated tone as her sofa . . .

Since Kim is not afraid of color and I know she loves green and yellow from the fabrics and accents she's used in other rooms in her home, I decided to go for it in the living room and make it into a little jewel box. Also, since it's not a room she uses every day, I decided to amp up the drama a little and give her a great geometric area rug and a beautiful Coromandel screen with a colorful pagoda scene. The brass lamps tie in with the gold in her wheat sheaf table, and the yellow and blue furniture and accents play off the colors in her fabric which I used for pillows on the sofa. With all the color in the room, I decided to go simple with cream or white drapery panels with a little Greek Key trim. 

What better way to transition from the yellow and green in the living room than to lead into a beautiful De Gournay-wallpapered dining room (it's great working with no budget, right)? With such a bright space, I tempered it with black cabinets, black Klismos chairs and black and gold knot mirrors. I brought in a few modern accents with the brass and black Sciolari chandelier and the brass Mastercraft host and hostess chairs in a beautiful blue velvet. The blue chairs and accessories also complement the blue in her Chinoiserie fabric which I used on the Klismos chair seats. A little Asian influence in the burl wood credenza and Blanc de Chine goddess lamps ties in with the Chinoiserie-themed hand-painted wallpaper. I chose to use the same drapes in the dining room to create a sense of continuity between the two rooms. 

Thank you so much, Kim, for inviting me to participate in your series. I had such fun with your "sky's the limit" budget. I hope you enjoyed my interpretations of your space and furnishings!

Jaw-droppingly gorgeous, right?  So many individual elements I love in her plan - like the Klismos chairs, the knot mirrors, the cormandel screen.  And what?  De Gournay?!?  In yellow?!?!?  I die.  But I think even greater than the individual elements is the "look" as a whole. It sophisticated, it's dramatic, it's completely lovely!

Kathy, thanks for Pimping My Dollhouse. I'm making notes!

What do you like best about Kathy's plan?

The Green Room Interiors provides Interior Decorating and Design Services to happy homeowners in Chattanooga, TN.  If you'd like to discover the joy of living in a well designed  home, contact Kim Lemmon at 423.653.3186 or email thegreenroominteriors@gmail.com

Client Project Updates

How about I bring you up to speed on one of the projects I've been working on?

Remember this dining room project?

Actually, let's back up.  Here's the only photo I could find of the dining room when I started working with my clients.

I'm not sure if I shared this with you but my clients' inspiration for their dining room was this photo. Turquoise, blue and white traditional goodness.

My client loved the Farrow & Ball Lotus paper so we created a similar look with a stencil. And when I say "we", I mean the decorative artists we hired.

Most recently we changed out the chandelier.  Here's what they had before.

Big and brassy. Although it was a very good quality fixture, we opted for something with a lighter feel. (Thanks, Kimber!)

We also added a new mirror and a pair of blue & white porcelain lamps (I adore the lucite bases)  over the antique buffet my clients purchased at Scott's in Atlanta.

All we have left are the dining room chairs, the window treatments and just a few accessories.  I like to keep it simple in the dining room.  Entertaining is stressful enough without having to remove dozens of tchochkes to make room function properly.

That's all I got for now.  Stay tuned for more updates on this project and a few others I've got cooking.

Oh, and any guesses as to what type of chairs my clients are leaning toward? 

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The Green Room Interiors provides Interior Decorating and Design Services to happy homeowners in Chattanooga, TN. If you'd like to discover the joy of living in a well-designed home, contact Kim Lemmon at 423.653.3186 or email thegreenroominteriors@gmail.com

Mirror Makeover

So in case you've been wondering what in the world I've been up to, I'll just tell you it's a lot of different stuff.  And I will be sharing more of it with you in the near future.

One of the little project-ettes I've completed is a mirror makeover for a client's nursery. If you follow The Green Room Interiors on Facebook, you may have already seen the inspiration board.

As you can see, our plan calls for a round mirror that will be placed on the wallpaper just above the crib.

Enter this little number I spotted at a local Antique Mall.  Nice, but I thought we could do better. So, after the sanding and priming, it got a coat of fresh white paint.

Better, but I still wanted to do more to bring out the stud detail of the mirror, which I think is its most interesting feature.

Familiar with Liquid Leaf?  It claims it's a one-step gold leaf finish in a bottle. And, it's only about $5 at Walmart.

I'm pretty happy with the results.  The gold is warm and soft, and I love it against the white paint. I used one of Shelby's small artists brushes to apply the paint to the studs.

This mirror is a surprise/gift that I plan to deliver to my client Friday afternoon.  I  hope she likes it! 

How is your to-do list coming?

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The Green Room Interiors provides Interior Decorating and Design Services to happy homeowners in Chattanooga, TN.  If you'd like to discover the joy of living in a well-designed home, contact Kim Lemmon at 423.653.3186 or email thegreenroominteriors@gmail.com

Latest Finds

Hello out there! It's been a while since I've posted anything new so how about I bring you up to speed on several fronts?

Work-wise, I've been blessed with some incredible opportunities lately for the most amazing clients!  These are all enthusiastic, happy folks who are giving me free reign to do what I love to do and yet they also have great ideas and strong opinions about where we're headed.  It makes this little journey we're on together really fun and completely fulfilling.  I hope to be able to share some photos with all of you as these projects progress. 

In other news, I've been scouring the area in search decorating gold - those fantastic and unique vintage pieces that bring so much character and personality to a space.  Want to see what  I found?

We're starting big.  This stellar mid-century dresser is a craigslist find. It's solid walnut and is in impeccable condition. 

So I paid a little more than I normally like to pay, but I feel like I got my money's worth and then some.  I'd love to keep it but sadly I have no place for it.  And there are groceries to pay for.

I just picked up this wicker storage chest.  It's very well made and sturdy, and it could be another one of those things I bought because I really liked the hardware.

Are you seeing the fun-house reflection of my shoe and leg in the hardware?  Gross.

And lots of blue and white.  I always feel lucky when I find a pair of lamps.  Pretty details, too!

I may use this umbrella stand here at The Dollhouse in the foyer. Goodness knows it would come in handy with the buckets of rain we've been getting.  Really, I want to keep each and every one of these things and it makes me a little sad to part with the things I sell.

I'm guessing that this brass octagonal mirror is from the late 70's to early 80's. It weighs a ton and all the edges are beveled. 

And so there you have it.  Well, most of it.  We've also made some baby steps on the renovations here at my Dollhouse.  But that's a whole separate post.  Those plywood sub-floors that are in my living room/dining room? Their days are numbered.

I'd love to hear about what's new with you!  Leave me a comment or shoot me an email!

The Green Room Interiors provides Interior Decorating and Design Services in Chattanooga, TN.  Find out how a well-designed home can bring more joy to your life!  Call Kim Lemmon at 423.653.3186 or email thegreenroominteriors@gmail.com