Tag Archives: yellow

Le Big Reveal

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Design Brief:
Unify a jumble of comfy, much-loved bits of furniture,
acquired over time and representing a mixture of styles and eras.

Use the homeowner’s existing pieces, recycling as much as possible
in order to keep room in the budget for her must-haves:

an area rug

curtains

So, without further ado, here it is!

It was the hottest week of the year, but that did not stop me from using the awesome paint sprayer to unify the wicker furniture with a coat of charcoal grey. The 1920s settee, chair and table, in particular, look AMAZING in this new, dark colour.

The rug, from West Elm, brings a hit of contemporary design into the space, to keep it from feeling too girly or too theme-y. We wanted to keep the cottage vibe of the room but with a modern edge.

The Big Stuff made the seat cushions (and they did an excellent job, as usual!) in the gorgeous yellow buffalo gingham check that was our starting point. Once the client saw that fabric, the whole room just fell into place; we let the fabric dictate the rest of the palette.  The grey and creme floral and all the ribbons and trims came from Designer Fabric Outlet, and the polka dots were a twin duvet set from Ikea–thanks to my trusty shears and sewing machine, it is now the upholstery on two of the  dining chairs and has also been transformed into cushions, including some reversible ones, for the rest of the seating. We drew the yellow from the check out to paint a curvy little chair and placed it in the corner, with a view of the garden.

Curtains add some privacy and can be drawn in the evening if it gets cool. The tea-towelling I used along the border of each panel picks up on the yellow and evokes a bit of the south of France at the same time.

Rewiring an old, broken lamp and giving it a coat of the same yellow as the chair brought it back to life.  The other lamp belonged to the client’s mother and sported an antique gold finish; a quick coat of charcoal grey and it was ready to provide some much-needed light for reading in the evenings. I recovered both lampshades and added whimsical oversized pom pom trim in charcoal grey, including a pom on each finial! I think every room needs a touch of something to make you smile, don’t you? Tired of the pom poms in a few years?
No worries– some neutral linen shades are an easy and inexpensive update.

To see more, head over here.