My French Bouilette Lamp

Happy Monday lovely readers!  Before we get into today's post,  I'd like to thank everyone for all of the positive comments and feedback on my reveal for the most recent One Room Challenge.  You guys make my day! I still plan to add and finish a few things in those rooms so I'll update you with progress reports as they happen.

And speaking of updates, I've already changed out something in my living room.  I found a new lamp while shopping in Atlanta over Mother's Day weekend.  Actually my Mom spotted the lamp and kindly offered it up for me to purchase. So I did.

Are you familiar with the French Bouillotte lamp?  After consulting Professor Google, I've learned that the bouillotte lamp originated in France and was used on the playing table for a card game (similar to poker) known as Bouillotte.  The original design included a tray where chips were stored and a key at the top of the lamp that would allow the shade to be moved as the candles they used at the time burned down.

That's all very interesting but I bought the lamp because I loved the aged finish and painted detail.  And it casts a nice little glow in my room at night.

And so yes, room(s) not yet completely done and we're already making changes.  This happens to you too, right?

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

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One Room Challenge Linking Event - It's Reveal Time!

Okay, okay.  I know you have many blogs to visit today so I will keep the written part short and sweet.  It's been a tough 6 weeks and I didn't accomplish everything I had hoped to get done for the reveal, but I think you'll get the picture - actually you're about to get lots of pictures.

First, the obligatory "before" shot.  (If you'd like to catch up on the posts leading up to today's reveal, you can do so here.)

Oozing with charm, right?   Sure it is!  See the "afters" below.

Please don't judge my photos too harshly - I took them myself because my room is not yet totally done (as if that will ever happen)  and I worked on it up until it was time to post the photos. Oh, and some of my DIY projects might be a little rough around the edges.  Still working on those finishing touches!

I'm still playing musical chairs around the dining room table.  Bench and chairs or just chairs?

Do you recall the Chinoiserie fabric that inspired this entire space?  

Sadly it's nowhere to be found in here - yet.  Due to unavoidable circumstances, my upholsterer was not able to get my host dining chairs done in time for today's reveal.  Sad face  :-( . As you read this, my chairs are getting upholstered with my Chinoiserie print fabric on the backs and they will flank the ends of my dining room table.   Kind of a bummer they're not here yet but I'll be sure and take photos when they arrive.

And lucky you!  This reveal is a 2-for-1 because I did my living room too!

Leopard pillows - I'm all in.

Most of the items I used in both rooms are vintage and "found" items. People always ask me about decorating with vintage finds, and I always give the same answer.  It takes time, people!  And patience too.

Just look at how excited Ellie is over this new space!

And that's where we are today!  I owe a giant "Thank you" to my Mom who spent a weekend with me placing  furniture and accessorizing. And a big thank you to everyone who's followed my progress along the way and taken the time to comment with such kind words. It's much appreciated!

UPDATE:  At the 11th hour, the upholsterer that was redoing my chairs emailed me to tell me he got one finished up.  Hurray!  Here's a look at that

Finally, a Super Sized thank you to Linda for providing the motivation and for hosting the One Room Challenge and The One Room Challenge Linking Event.  Make sure you head over to Linda's blog where you'll find the links for everyone who participated in this round's event! 

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

Art in the Kitchen

As I make my way through my kitchen makeover as part of One Room Challenge,  I'm giving some thought to how I can bring some personality and interest into my small, featureless kitchen.  One thing I'd like to explore is bringing some art in my kitchen.  If you recall, I have a rather large, blank wall at one end of my kitchen where the dining table and chairs are placed.

My wall is crying out for help.

But what do you think is the best scenario in this situation?  

I love the idea of a large, single piece of art, maybe even a big portrait.

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I love everything in this kitchen.

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I think the portraits lend an air of sophistication to these kitchens.  

But how about something whimsical?  

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or dramatic, like below

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Botanical prints are also something I would consider

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Or even a colorful abstract..

So I 'd love to hear what you think .  Do you like to use art in the kitchen, and what do you think the best option is for my blank wall???

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

Pimp My Dollhouse: designPOST interiors

Good Monday, folks!  Today I'm thrilled to welcome Beth from Design Post Interiors to share her take on making over my Dollhouse!

If you recall, I've asked a few of my favorite bloggers to come up with some ideas for making over the living room and dining room of my house using five items I already own.

And so now, here's how Beth sees the makeover of these spaces:

Hello all, Beth here visiting from designPOST interiors!  I am so excited to be here today pimping 

Kim's dollhouse!  I have been following along this series and drooling over all the designs.  When 

you are working without a budget, it really doesn't get much better!  Maybe it was the endless budget

or the fact that I was working with pieces so different from my usual style, but I decided to go way

outside of the box for Kim.  I try to always choose styles that work for my client's but since we were 

going all fantasy on this, I decided to push the limit a little bit.  I veered a little from chinoiserie and 

brought the elements together in a more casual bohemian way.  I love taking traditional pieces and using

them in an unexpected combination.  And of course I believe every room needs a touch of nautical!

For the living room I decided to use Kim's dream fabric as roman shades.  I love how they add a bright
punch of color!  Working from those colors I was able to tie in some new patterns on the rug and
throw pillows.  I love the idea of using a bold green sofa instead of a boring ole neutral.  After choosing
metals and wood tones for the accent furniture, I love how the wheat sheaf table base adds the perfect
golden pop.  I tied that in with the sconces as well.

I envision the dining room being right off of the living area so I wanted to continue with a version 

of the same palette.  This time the fabric ended up as throw pillows.  Again it livens up the space 

with all the beautiful colors.  I chose a mixture of chairs that would bring a more casual vibe to the space.

I love the juxtaposition of the Duncan Phyfe table with laid back slip covered and rattan chairs.  The rug 

ties back in the navy from the living room but in a little more formal version.  I wanted both rooms to

have a more casual and natural feel so I used one of my favorite wallpapers from Paperboy Wallpaper 

as well as leafy topiaries and a seagrass mirror.

I love this challenge as I always love to see how I can meld different styles.  Although Kim and I have 

different takes on decorating, I love that we can both use the same pieces to create rooms we love.  I 

hope you enjoyed my take and I'd love for you to come visit me at designPOST interiors!

So, what do you think?  I love Beth's idea of using my gorgeous Chinoiserie fabric to make roman shades.  So smart and tailored, don't you think?  I also love that little punch of yellow at the dining room table - the entire palette feels so fresh!

Thanks for participating, Beth!

What do you love most about Beth's plan??

Pimp my Dollhouse - with Powell Brower at Home

Hello!!! If you tuned in on Thursday, then you already know that I'm launching a new blog series today called "Pimp My Dollhouse".  In case you missed that post, let me bring you up to speed on how it's all going to play out.

This all came about because I'm about to embark on the design of my formal living and dining rooms and I'm enlisting the help of some very talented designers and blog friends.  But before I let them run with the ball, I've given them 4 things to incorporate into the design of these rooms.

I've told all participants to keep in mind that I love color, pattern, Chinoiserie, and that I wanted the rooms to be slightly sophisticated but not stuffy. Oh, and no budget worries - just design me up some fab spaces.

Let me just say I'm still trying to pick my jaw up off the floor after seeing what these ladies have cooked up.  And I'm sure you know them.  They're the super talented design team of Nancy Powell and her daughter Bethany Brower .

See for yourselves....

Thank you, Kim for inviting Powell Brower at Home to participate in your Pimp My Dollhouse series! What a fabulous idea. I loved this challenge because #1 there was NO budget and #2 you gave us the items you wanted us to work in, all which have your great personality, style and color consciousness.   Here is my vision:

 For the living room I have chosen an antique 9 x 12 chinese art deco rug.  Once I saw that, and knew the $15,000 price tag wasn't an issue, I designed the whole room around it. Knowing how much you love color and a good mix of traditional and modern, I layered in brass light fixtures to compliment your vintage wheat coffee table, colorful  fine art, and exquisite green silk draperies.  The dual golden yellow chairs bring in more color in a cozy conversation arrangement. Your fabulous fabric is made into two custom pillows for your velvet sofa.  Here's the adjoining dining room:

Another fabulous room size vintage chinese art deco rug adorns the dining room bringing in some of the dark blue colors in your Chinoiserie fabric that we upholster on the back your dining side chairs. Blue and white porcelains compliment your Duncan Phyfe table and antique console. Contemporary art and statement accent chairs give his room a collector's touch.  A contemporary brass chandelier finishes the look.

These rugs are really the main event  in each room, and are like artwork on the floors.  It was so much fun designing the room around these.  Thank you Kim for letting our imaginations run wild! It was so much fun, I wish I could help you install this!  Now, go buy a lottery ticket!

Powell Brower at Home

Is everyone dying over those rugs like I am?  And that's just for starters. I love all of the gorgeous artwork, the little hits of brass, and of course the yummy color palette.  I love the idea of using my chinoiserie fabric on the backs on the dining chairs too.  So many great ideas and I know I would feel completely at home in these spaces.

Thanks so much for participating in the "Pimp My Dollhouse" series!

Make sure you come back next Monday, because the lovely and talented Tiffany Leigh is going to work her kind of magic in my living room/dining room.

Can't wait!!!

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

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New Blog Series - Pimp My Dollhouse

Hello friends! 

One of the things I find so interesting about design is how two or more people can look at the same space and take it in completely different and yet fabulous directions.  It's been a little over a year since we moved into The Dollhouse and I still have lots left to do - but my living room and dining room really need to get finished!  Since I have so much on my plate right now, I thought it might be fun to get some fresh eyes on those rooms and maybe even go in a direction that I normally wouldn't have considered. Isn't that why people work with designers?

And so the "Pimp My Dollhouse" series has been conceived and will kick off  Monday. Participants have been given the following info for the design of my space.  

The "Before" 

The slate doesn't get much blanker than that.  This image was shot from the foyer looking into the living room and beyond into the attached dining room. The opening on the right wall of my dining room leads to the kitchen.

And below are the room's dimensions and foot print/s.

AND, there a few things I want to incorporate into these rooms.  

Behold:

My wheat sheaf coffee table.

A hunter green velvet sofa.  Mine is a vintage tuxedo sofa but the color and the clean lines of the sofa above make it a darn good stand-in.

My double pedestal Duncan-Phyfe dining table. I've had it forever and cannot justify replacing it at this point in time. So it stays.

And finally, 

5 yards of this chinoiserie fabric.

Participants were also told that I like a trad/mod mix, and that I love color and pattern.  And Chinoiserie.  You knew that , right? These rooms are meant to be more formal than the rest of the house, so something a little more sophisticated but certainly not stuffy.  Oh, and there are no budget constraints.  If I can't afford it, I'm always up for trying a "look for less".

And so now my blog besties are taking the ball and running with it and I can hardly wait until Monday!

First up will be Nancy and Bethany from Powell Brower at Home. I just know this mother/daughter design team is going to knock our socks off come Monday, so be sure to come back and check them out.  I may not sleep until then.  

Oh, and if you'd like to cook up a plan for this series, please leave me a comment below or shoot me an email!

Until 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 Lemmon at 423.653.3186 or email thegreenroominteriors@gmail.com

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Five Yards

Okay, so it's really 5 1/4 yards.

  Of this business.

Pretty gorgeous, no?  I found it here in town (Associated Fabrics for you locals).  I had seen this fabric on the 50% off rack time after time thinking it would still be there if I ever decided I couldn't live without it.  But when I went in there last week the roll was noticeably thinner. 

And the print is discontinued.  So what was I to do?!?!??  This was a purchasing situation if I've ever had one. And I have. 

And so I find myself with a bit of a conundrum.  What to do with 5 yards of this fabric.  5 yards is a challenging amount.  It's too much for doing just the seat cushions for my dining room chairs. And the print is big and I don't think you could appreciate the beauty and the fabulous movement of the fabric.  

Observe.

See what I mean?

And it's not enough to recover a pair of these chairs I got for my living room.

So for now, I'm thinking about making a showstopper kind of wall treatment with it.  

Maybe one enormous framed panel as a backdrop for my dining room buffet?  Something like this...

Erin Williamson

Or even two smaller framed panels flanking each side of my dining room buffet. Like this. (Insert my buffet for the french doors in the photo below)

Kelie Grosso in House Beautiful

That's the direction for this week, anyway.

Do you have any other ideas for my 5 yards of fabric?

The Green Room Interiors provides Interior Decorating and Design Services in Chattanooga, TN.  Contact Kim Lemmon and find out how a well-designed home can improve the quality of your life!  423.653.3186 or email thegreenroominteriors@gmail.com