Console Whispers

I don't know about you but I have placed more consoles than I can recall. Sometimes one just wants a console to play a supporting role versus standing out. I'm going to share my console secrets with you. Here are the two most versatile consoles I have found. This is the Milo Made to Measure (Milo M2M) Console by Hickory Chair. That is exactly what it is ~ made to measure. Plus Hickory Chair has so many finish selections, one is bound to work well.

These are the Skinny Consoles from Worlds Away. I have placed these so many times. They are truly thin ~ 10" max. These are wonderful when space is at a premium. They come in hammered gold and silver and gold and silver leaf so literally they can accommodate any decor. The shelves make them easy to personalize.

Both of the them are slender, have sleek lines thus adding little mass to the design. I have placed two of each side by side behind long sofas and sectionals. It looks fabulous and does not over power the space.

There you have it. Consoles I am truly in love with!

Thursday's Room(s) ~ A Couple of My Own

For this Thursday's Room, I thought it would be fun to show you a project I am working on. The designs are done ~ they loved them. Furnishing and fabrics are either here or on their way. The work has begun! Remember the tweens rooms I wrote about? I wrote about it on Facebook and twitter for sure. I love doing kids' rooms (although, if I call a tween a kid, they may roll their eyes:) I'll show you a bit of each room's design. The reveal won't be for a bit as we are waiting on wallpaper and one piece of furniture (boo hoo). Both rooms will complete in June and I'll post before and after pictures.

The first room is for a chic young lady. She told me her color palette ~ turquoise and red ~ I added ivory and a pinch of chocolate. The Robert Allen fabric at the top is in her room. Here are a couple more also from Robert Allen...



Here is her furnishings plan...


And a couple pieces going in her elegant, sleek room...



Both from Worlds Away.

Right now ~ the room looks like this...

At least someone is enjoying the mess...


The color palette the other tween chose is vibrant ~ I love it too! The girls are very different, which their rooms will reflect. The ceiling will be purple. She also likes landscapes so naturally I turned to Byron Jorjorian for inspiration. Here is a piece of art from Byron that will be in the room (among others)...


Here is her furnishings plan...


She was very clear about wanting a comfortable seating area. Well my dear ~ you have one ~ a very comfortable chaise. Here are some of her fabrics...



The first two are from Robert Allen ~ the flower one is from Silk Loom.

Now for a couple of furnishings...



The lamp is from Arteriors; the etagere ~ Worlds Away.

And here is the room now ~ yikes...

You have a glimpse of the purple ceiling.

Truthfully, I had so much fun doing these rooms that I am as excited to see them done as the tweens are. I love that part of what I do! The anticipation of the full reveal ~ I get excited every time.

Monday's Method

Welcome to Monday's Method. I received an email from Sari with a dilemma ~

Paula,

I found your website through your guest blog entry on Brooklyn Limestome about advice arranging furniture. My fiancé and I are interesting in purchasing a house but how to arrange furniture in the living room, a very important room, is quite puzzling to us.
This is the living room-



You can see if you make a right (I think you mean left) at the front door, it leads to the living room with the fireplace. Behind the single black chair is a doorway leading to the basement. To the right of the TV is another doorway that leads to the kitchen area. We don't want to block anything off. How can we possibly arrange the furniture to access the television in the best way? We feel like any way would be awkward/leave empty space or have a far view from the television. We like L shaped sectionals where the most people can view the TV at an optimal angle. The dimensions are 23’ x 11’. We want the fireplace to be a focal point, perhaps hang a flat screen over it, but we don’t want to block things off.

Can I please ask you for your expert advice???? What do you think??
-Sari

Sure, you can ask for my advice!

First let me say that this is wonderful space. So open and clean. It appears very spacious but I see your dilemma. When I look at this, I immediately see that the windows are not symmetrical, which may have posed some problems for the current home owner's furniture plan. I am thinking that the portion of the ceiling that is lower is functional in some way or why would it be there. I am assuming it needs to stay. The second thing I notice is that the fireplace seems disproportionate to the room as a whole and the style is fairly traditional with contemporary architecture. I know, I know... you asked about furniture arranging but it is all related for me.

When I have a long narrow room like this, I think of zones but a bit of construction would need to be done to make that work given the fireplace and television is your aim as the focal point. Let me just say upfront, I think a bit of construction is needed for either of my suggestions but please don't hyperventilate. A home is worth a bit of elbow grease especially a beautiful home such as this.

Here is one option (a caveat ~ I was not sure where the door was next to the existing television so I drew it two ways ~ it was too late to email as I worked on this late at night)...


In this option, I have removed the fireplace from the long wall altogether and repositioned it along the wall opposing the large window. The striped area indicates a build out to accommodate a fireplace consistent with the architecture and your flat screen television. In this option, you have your L shaped sectional and another seating area with swivel chairs for extra guests. The chairs may be moved closer to the TV for the big game or movie night but should return to their original placement afterwards. If this is how the door is positioned (above), I would extend the build out the width between the door and the wall for a clean line.


If the door to the kitchen is positioned like this, I would do a build out as such an add sconces. This option accommodates a 42" television. Note, the windows remain the same. You could make them symmetrical if you are going through the construction to move the fireplace. It seems the right window must stay put given the jut from the ceiling so the left could be moved further left, equal distance from the outer wall as the right one. This would give you a lovely wall expanse for art. I have moved the window in the next option....


If you would prefer this orientation, that's fine too. This has less seating available but it also is an interesting look. This is a long sofa finishing with a chaise. I did move the window to be symmetrical providing us with a great wall expanse for a linear fireplace. The custom cocktail table would be 18" high; the fireplace would be placed at 19" ~ just above the table; next, the television would be placed just above the fireplace. This will keep the TV at eye level when seated. Here is why you may choose this option ~ it accommodates a 52" television. Aaahhhh!! "I see" says your fiance, "more screen for me." Hmmmm??!! Gives you something to think about. This option would also require a build out but I'm not sure how much. I drew the largest build out it could need and the design still works well.

In either option, you can see the door swing in the drawing and FYI, there is a three feet traffic path when the basement door is closed. An ample walkway.

No, I didn't do this drawing out of thin air, I specify furnishings of course.

The sofa/sectional in either option is the Garland by Zagaorli. I love, LOVE this sectional. It is beautiful, transitional style and very comfortable.


In option one, there is a corner sofa and a love seat. In option two, there is a sofa, armless love seat, and a chaise.

Option one also boasts the Joseanne Swivel chair from Hickory Chair; and case goods from Worlds Away.




The second option has the Lorenzo Cabinet from Hickory Chair opposing the large window and the round straight lined side table above.
But what about the focal point Paula Grace??!! What about the fireplace?? Yeah, that is the best part!

For option one ~ The Crystallo (with or without decorative surround)...


For option two ~ Linear...


These fireplaces are from Napoleon. They do not require outside venting. All they need is gas and electricity. The beauty is that they may be placed at any height such that if you place a television above it, the television can be a eye level when seated. No neck ache, no tilt down mechanism required. I also think they are more in line with the architecture of the house you are considering. The furnishings in the fireplace pictures is quite contemporary. The sectional I choose is less so, a bit softer but still clean lined.

So there you have it Sari! I hope this helps you with your decision process. Let me know how it goes.

If you have a question about this or another topic, leave me a comment. If you would like advice about something specific to your space, send me a couple of pictures at paula@paulagracedesigns.com.

I'm linking with these lovely ladies ~ all fabulous parties worth a long leisurely visit.

Monday ~
Between Naps on the Porch Metamorphosis Monday
Little Red House Mosaic Monday
Cottage Instincts Make it for Monday

Tuesday ~
A Soft Place to Land DIY Tuesday

Thursday ~
The Shabby Chic Cottage Transformation Thursday

Saturday ~
Funky Junk Interiors Saturday Nite Special

See you tomorrow for Timeless Tuesday!

Fall Highpoint Market ~ Part II

We all have our usual haute showrooms when going to Markets. I wanted to show you a few of mine and then another trend I was seeing. One of my usuals wasn't at Market this time. These things concern me because the economy has put such a strain on the industry that I wonder if all will come out the other side. I hope so. There are some smaller companies out there that make exceptional furnishings that are struggling. Even some large ones too but they can restructure, sell off or drop components so their large corporation may gain capital. Not so for the smaller ones. That's what concerns me; makes me sad really. But on with some usuals that seem ok ~ for now.

Up first, Palecek. You saw the top photo yesterday (worth repeating). Here's a fact about Palecek ~ their a green company ~ and always have been.

This is a beaded leaf motif.
Etched wood.

They introduced a glass series that is gorgeous at a very nice price point!
Love this new introduction chair ~ front and back.
I also adore the table next to it. Simple and beautiful.

Next, Global Views. You saw a lot of them yesterday with the gray and orange color trend. Here's a few more interesting pieces.....

Here is a new take on wall decor ~ a open rose. Its extension is about 10" so it can't be placed in a narrow hallway but wow, these were awesome. They have small buds and open roses. A grouping of these on a tall wall would be quite interesting and lovely.
Wonderful crystal ball sconce.
They have a collection of bronze ~ brown pieces that I adore. That's my favorite neutral.
Accent table ~ quite sculptural.
Gorgeous new dining table.

Worlds Away. They are known for their metal and mirror but are also gaining popularity with these accent pieces. What I really like about these ~ they all offer storage and can be used in many applications......
A demilune wow factor.
Organized glamour.
Asymmetric glamour ~ these come in mirror images so they can be symmetrical with one on either side of a sofa. I particularly like these ~ they add interest. You can see me taking the picture... mirror.... what are you gonna do??! The star burst are also a reflection ~ not part of the piece :-)

Hickory Chair. I only took a few pictures ~ you saw some yesterday. For in depth coverage, check out Habitually Chic ~ Heather covered them very well. I'll be going to Hickory Chair University in November. I'm looking forward to that.
I love this soft pink bed. Very feminine.
An Alexa Hampton chair ~ wonderful, front and back.
You may wonder why I keep showing and saying front(s) and back(s) of chairs. Each are equally important for aesthetics. Chairs often float thus seeing 360 degrees of the chair. Look at Alexa's chair. It is a tub chair but note the wood embellishment and nail head, the extension of the 'arms' out as if stretch out to catch or embrace you. It is quite inviting by its shape and form. I kept coming back to this chair (or maybe I was just going in circles ~ it is easy to in their showroom :-) I doubt it though. This was my favorite piece in Hickory Chair. Double click on it to see the detail.

Now for a trend I saw. Yesterday, I covered the color palettes. Today ~ pendants. They were everywhere. I saw many, many pendants made of natural materials. All were simple shaped. The ones I liked the best were at Jamie Young....
They are soft and elegant. I can see using these is many rooms ~ sun rooms, powder rooms, flanking a bed.....
These glass pendants were introduced at last Market but I did not see them. They are beautiful glass enchanted with silver and banded at the bottom. Quite retro too! Again ~ many places these beauties can go.

These little numbers below are from Arteriors Home.....

The thing I like about smallish pendants is they may be hung as a solo piece or in a grouping at varying heights for interest, in a straight line for organization ~ but all add interest and a bit of sparkle even if being used for general or task lighting. I'd like to mix the glass pendants from Jaime Young with the first Arteriors' pendants in a grouping. I think those forms together would be harmonious ~ united by the silver and light ~ divergent by material, concentration of silver, and shape. Yum!

Lastly, we have Luna Bella. I wish the picture wasn't so dark ~ sorry!
These are glass beads hanging in acrylic spheres with gold and pewter distressed castings. I know, I know, your thinking Halloween but they aren't as dark as they appear. I love them. They have funky powder room written all over them!

There you have it, Part II of Fall High Point Highlights. Tomorrow I will drop names and report on green resources ~ I figure I'll still go to heaven if I behave in a sinful and moral fashion in the same post ~ right??!

If you have not voted on the E~Design Giveaway ~ click here and cast your critical vote!