February 9, 2011

Tuesday, er, Evening Mailbag

It’s baaaaack! The mailbag is here, ladies and gents, ready to answer your trickiest design questions. Today we are tackling one room in particular because there are a number of good questions. Here goes…

Molly writes:

My husband and I bought our first house recently and we’re working on furnishing and decorating it little by little. I’m trying to figure out seating for the family room, but I don’t know what to do with the open floorplan and relatively small area. The total space is 16.5 x 13. We currently have the Cooper slipcovered sofa from West Elm. The green chair in the picture is just there until we get permanent furniture, but I can’t figure out what color or style chair(s) to replace it with, and how to arrange everything so that we don’t block anything.

I was also hoping to squeeze a desk in the room somewhere. (Wishful thinking?) Do you have any advice? Should the scale of whatever chairs we get match the scale of the couch? Should we get a sectional instead? Our taste is a bit eclectic — we have some rustic elements in our house, but I prefer furniture with a modern shape. My husband just wants something comfortable. We’re open to color and pattern — especially blues and greens. Our walls are painted Grey Owl by Benjamin Moore and I’m making curtains out of Flower Field by Calico Corners (a really bold floral pattern) in chocolate brown and white. We also have a dog and two cats, so that’s a consideration as well. If you could offer any advice I’d really appreciate it!

Read the rest of this post »
January 5, 2011

Tuesday Mailbag

Happy Tuesday to you all. First mailbag of the new year and we have two good questions. Let’s get down to business, shall we?

Katy writes:

I have a tiny powder room with Cole & Son’s Foretti in gray.

I need to get a ceiling fixture and can’t have one that hangs too low or it will hit people in the head. I really like this one but don’t want to spend that kind of money. Any suggestions? Any colors you recommend? I need your help! Thank you! Read the rest of this post »
December 14, 2010

Tuesday Morning Mailbag

Just one question for the mailbag today so here goes:

Kristin writes:

Hi Molly,

I am having trouble deciding on a rug for my dining room. I am looking for a
rug that will work with the somewhat open floor plan I have, the rug in the
living room is only a few feet away, but also works with the curtains that I
worked so hard to make. I am thinking grey, but have not been able to find
anything that works.

The dining room is painted Revere Pewter from Benjamin Moore and the curtain fabric is
Dahlia in the Slate colorway from Calico Corners. The dining room is open to the
living room and the kitchen.

Read the rest of this post »

December 7, 2010

Tuesday Morning Mailbag

Is it Tuesday already? Time for the mailbag!

Leo writes:

Our master bathroom is neutral, neutral, neutral, and feels like it needs something to brighten it up. We are thinking of colorful towels and bathmats, but don’t want just solid colors or traditional patterns. Can you recommend any sources for bathroom linens in interesting colors, textures and patterns? What else could we do to bring in a bit of excitement, but still maintain a calming environment?

ML: Hmmmm… You want excitement but in a calm way? I think what you are saying is that you want to make your bathroom a little more lively but not busy or chaotic. Towels definitely can help as can addressing the walls. Nothing changes the feeling of a space more quickly or completely than a coat of paint. And the good news is, if you hate it, it’s quick and easy to repaint it, especially in a small bathroom. I would select your towels first and decide on a wall color that works with them. How about keeping it neutral but adding a little sass with these jacquard bath towels from Williams Sonoma Home?

Read the rest of this post »
November 30, 2010

Tuesday Morning Mailbag

So many good questions this week! Should I take it that the mailbag is back on? Let’s get to it…

Tom writes:

A “friend” recently bought a house that needs a little help. It’s vintage 1978, with lots of golden oak floors and unpainted oak trim around the windows and doors. That by itself seems like a lot of oakiness for his taste, but to top it off, the previous owner recently remodeled the kitchen and selected cherry cabinets, which don’t seem to work very well with the floors and trim. Redoing the kitchen again isn’t in the budget for the foreseeable future. He’s considering staining the floors – would you recommend darker or lighter? What’s the difference between bleaching and liming? Any other ideas?

ML: Hmmmm. Golden oak really screams 70s and not in a good way. And pairing it with cherry is really adding insult to injury. Here’s what I would do. I definitely prefer the idea of lightening the oak floor vs darken it. Dark floors can be pretty but have been really overdone in the past few years. Also, if you have a pet, they will show every hair which is something to take into consideration. The lighter treatments look much fresher and more modern to my eye.

Quarter sawn white oak with a driftwood finish:

Read the rest of this post »
November 24, 2010

No Mailbag?

Alas, here we are on Tuesday morning and yet no mailbag. I am as disappointed as you are. I didn’t get a single question this week. Not one. How about that? I thought about making a few up but then I thought, maybe no one really wants me to answer questions? Maybe this isn’t something people are into? Maybe I should 86 the mailbag? People? Is this what you are saying?

Now I find myself all dressed up with nothing to do. So sad. But the show must go on…

For the past few days, I have been puzzling over how to fulfill a request I got from the Children’s Action Network (a great local organization that helps find homes for children waiting to be adopted and improves the quality of life of kids in foster care). Each year, they ask members of the design community to create a wreath that can be auctioned off at their big holiday fundraiser. Last year, I thought I had the great idea of wrapping boxes in red, green, black and white wallpapers and attaching these little presents all over an evergreen wreath. The results were fair to middling:

Read the rest of this post »
November 16, 2010

Tuesday Morning Mailbag

You know what time it is! Let’s just jump in…

Charlotte writes:

Am looking for some round rugs, preferably 5 ft to 6 ft in diameter- maybe a sisal. any suggestions?

ML: I love round rugs in the right spot but they can be tricky to find. Never fear, I have tracked down some good options and hopefully one of these will work for you. Anthropologie is working out the round rug at the moment (and all come in the 5×5 diameter you are looking for). For starters, there is this Doily Rug (I particularly like it in the gray but in the interest of full disclosure, I should say it comes in brown, too)

Read the rest of this post »
November 9, 2010

Tuesday Morning Mailbag

Hi guys. It’s that time again where I try to solve your design dilemmas. This week readers had some good questions so let’s get started!

Kristen writes:

Hi Molly. I hope you get a chance to weigh in on this rug conundrum. I need help. I’d like to replace this falling-apart little Ikea Persian with something else. I’m thinking zebra pattern? Or something else mod? And it needs to be larger than this 5 x 8, doesn’t it? My only hesitation is that there’s a large Persian in the adjoining dining room, and I’m afraid that something really graphic will be too much of a contrast. What do you think?

Best,
Kristen

Read the rest of this post »

November 2, 2010

Tuesday Morning Mailbag

Hey everyone. Well, it’s Tuesday and you know that means it’s time for answers to your burning design questions. I am only going to respond to one person today but it’s one person with a lot of questions and questions that could pertain to all y’all out there. This is from my dear friend, Eric, so I am going to do him a solid. Everyone else, let’s try asking one question at a time…

Eric wrote (and sent the following pictures) on October 28th:

We had new windows put in the bedroom and kitchen, and they’ve been naked ever since. Curtains? Blinds? Pull down shades? Too many options. Read the rest of this post »

October 19, 2010

Tuesday Morning Mailbag

Hey everyone. I got a bunch of great questions this week. See below for my thoughts: