Ok, before I go any further, I have to say I don't think this is a fluke. I think I am simply drawn to her designs. I was leafing through my stash of inspiration rooms for today's post. I stopped dead at this one. I stared at it for a long while taking it in. There are similarities to last week's room. There should be. The wood plank ceiling for one (but she carries them down on the walls in this room). I am strangely attracted to wood ceilings right now. Maybe it's being surrounded by natural elements, maybe its a little like being in a safe cocoon ~ not sure.
This in my opinion, this is the epitome of rustic chic ~
The designer, once again, the amazing
Mariette Himes Gomez. This room was published in
Architectural Digest in
June 1999. I point out June 1999 because that was ten plus years ago and the room is still brilliant even with all the new
fangle things out there. It's timeless.
Hmmm... maybe I should have saved this one for Timeless Tuesday.
Now let's discuss the P&E's (principles and elements).
This is a large scale room. She brings into better perspective with the wood ceiling and walls. I adore how she floated the bed framed with logs. Then carefully placed large scale pieces of wood around and over it. The curved ones almost appear as hands reaching out and draped ever so gently with gauzy fabric. God-like if you ask me. This vignette is in perfect proportion to the room.
And talk about emphasis ~ that is one fine focal point. There is also lovely harmony ~ the rustic, wood surfaces unifying the room made better with her use fabric for soft diversity. Shape, form and line play important rolls. The horizontal lines of the ceiling and floor tend to make one feel secure. The free forming branches provide the rest for a full range of emotion ~ angled in some areas for action / excitement, curved in other areas for comfort, and vertical for the feeling of expanse ~ God-like. The shapes and forms compliment each other and are well proportioned.
Color and light are critical here. With all this wood, the room still appears bright because of the light (light enters the room from three sides), the neutral hues of the canopy that allow light to pass, and bed linens. The green chair, a color from nature, is also light as are the floors. If more vivid color were used, the room would take on a much different feel. Imagine the canopy being different colors or dense such that the light couldn't pass. What would the room feel like then? I also adore how the ceiling and floor run perpendicular to each other. If they were parallel, I think that would be overwhelming (or a bowling alley look ~ not too chic for a master bedroom).
This room could very well have been overwhelming but with Mariette's gentle hand ~ not even close.
You may recognize these drapes from my old house. I really like the way they compliment the mirrors above the bed. Those mirrors use to be in my old dining room. Its always fun to see where things land when you move. See the chests and lamps? They use to be in my living room. So pieces from three rooms ended up here in one of our guest rooms!
This is the second guest room. Love the blue! The drapes conveyed with the house. The previously homeowner made them. They were in the sitting room on the main level. There were actually six panels in this silk. Two are in my office; two are in this guest room; and two are in my assistant's home :)
This is the master bedroom sitting and dressing table area... large silk panels for extra yum!
And my daughter's room complete with wide black and white stripes, a fuchsia ceiling and drapes to tie it all together. The black and white portion of the drape was in my daughter's old room. Her windows then were in an alcove. We still loved the peace signs so all I did was add fuchsia silk to the bottom to lengthen and add a few more baubles. I love the way they turned out!
We still have to put the fuchsia paint splatter decals on the walls. All is good time... all in good time.
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