Fall decorating

A little redecorating and furniture shuffling has been going on, nothing extremely autumnal, but just a nudge toward velvet, wool, plaid, and a few natural objects like pumpkins and acorns.

 

 

Sammy approves of the new placement of armchairs on either side of the fireplace, as this presents him with two places to sleep during the cold months.

I am enjoying this quiet, cozy layout for a month or so before glitter, twinkling lights, fair isle knits, and wreaths and garlands mark the onset of Christmas in the house.

Den inspiration

So, we're making some changes to the house right now.  We had a formal dining room that was VERY infrequently used, so we're turning it into a media room / family room.  I think it will be a temporary change.  Once we finish our basement, we plan to use the room as a dining room again.  So far, we've switched out the light fixture, removed the furniture, and moved in a TV.  Our sofa should be delivered soon, and I'm really excited about it.  We spent a lot of time visiting furniture showrooms and looking online but eventually settled on a custom sofa in a brown velvet.  I'm excited to see it in person!

I like to call this room a den because that makes it sound cozy and traditional, which is the feeling that I'm hoping for.  Here are a few images I've been looking at as far as inspiration for the colors, mood, and furnishings in our new den:

I like the modern art in this room and the combination of brown and red upholstery.

 

A very moody, dark den

 Palmer Weiss

The velvet sofa is great, and I just got a pair of similar lamps that I'm in the process of rehabbing.

 Another velvet sofa, plus an interesting arrangement of art

Another dark den in shades of navy and gray

 Southern Living

We have very similar velvet drapes in our living room, and I again like the combination of the oriental rug, modern art, bits of bamboo, and traditional furniture silhouettes.  I like pretty much everything about this room!

Jeffrey Bilhuber

Green velvet everything--looks so cozy!  Plus, I love blue and white ceramics and that unlacquered brass.

 

Elle Decor

I like the strong reds in this room, repeated on the curtains, rug, tablecloth, chair seats, and sconce shades.  Some people don't like red in large doses, but I really like a deep, strong red without too much orange in it; I find it a comforting color.

 Lovely lacquered red wall -- I wish I could do this!

This image is closest to the actual wall color in the room, which we probably won't change just because it opens up to another space and there's no good place to switch paint colors.  I like the various shades of tan and brown in this space.

Heptagonal ottoman

I was flipping through my copy of Domesticities, a collection of house tours featured in The New York Times Magazine, and found myself pausing as usual when I got to pictures of the Houston home of John and Dominique de Menil, designed by Philip Johnson and decorated by Charles James.  I love the contrast between the home's modern architecture and the antique furniture and bright colors brought in by James.  I particularly like the seven-sided octagon that James designed for the living room, sitting in front of a Rothko and to the side of an antique Steinway piano.

Doesn't this look like a great place to spread out with a book from the collection visible to the left of the room?  Or to sit and listen to the piano being played?  The size of the ottoman is probably its most luxurious aspect; I know I certainly don't have room for a piece of furniture that size in my house, although if I did, I'm sure it would get a lot of use.  It would be a great piece of furniture for kids--I can easily imagine my son using it to spread out on to read books or as a launching pad for adventures in flight.

Here are a few other large-scale ottomans on the market now if you don't want to go the custom route:

Inman slipcover and ottoman from Hickory Chair

JAR Designs clover ottoman from Overstock

Graham large ottoman from Ballard Designs

Lotus Antrazit ottoman from CB2

Bevin tufted ottoman from Horchow

Oasis ottoman from Crate & Barrel

Image from Domesticities, photograph by William Abranowicz

Sunny rooms

These rooms are cheery in their atmosphere, but neutral in their color scheme.  All the brightness comes from the sun itself!  Despite the sun streaming in, however, these rooms don't seem overly warm in tone.  Personally, I can't take a room painted in warm colors that gets a lot of sun.  I am at heart a foggy-sea coast-British-umbrella sort of person.  I like lots of natural light, but I don't like a lot of hot, bright sun.  So I think these rooms are perfect!

via DecorPad

via DecorPad

Liz Williams Interiors

via DecorPad

via Grits and Glamour

Amanda Nisbet via House Beautiful

Okay, so the Amanda Nisbet room is a little more on the "warm" end of the spectrum, but it's also a big, open room, so the color makes it just cozy enough.  The key element in all these rooms: lots of white, which I also love!

I think I could move right in and be comfortable in any of these lovely rooms!  Also, I think I need an inglenook fireplace.

Pairs of chairs

Country Living

Heather Hilliard

Sunset

Elle Decor

House Beautiful

Vogue

Ginger Barber via Cote de Texas

 Alan Henderson

Atlanta Homes Magazine

Cote de Texas

Marco Meneguzzi

Nuevo Estila via Delight by Design

Notice the common element in all of these rooms?  If you said "a pair of chairs in neutral upholstery," you are correct!  I think a similar style of chairs might go well in our living room, opposite our couch, to add more seating to the space.  The trick is to find a chair that meets all my requirements: relatively small in scale, comfortable, preferably with a washable slipcover, not too pricey, and available locally so I can try before I buy.  I am thinking maybe the Luxe Chair Frame from World Market would do the trick:

I am not crazy about the exposed legs, but a custom linen slipcover would solve that problem and get the chair looking more like my inspiration: this Louis Chair from Cisco Brothers, which I love but which is also way out of my price range.

 What do you think?  Workable solution?