January 23, 2019

Inspirational Images

January 23, 2019/ Meryl

Hey Friends… as you know I’ve been reworking the Livingroom at the Chalet…. the next focus is floor coverings…

Currently we have our Pottery Barn Darby rugs in Mocha… so pretty right??? But, I want to go blue or I want to go bright - well I’m about to share the images that are currently whirring around in my brain… and where I am in the process. I shared a post about all the different rugs in the Chalet last July entitled Rugs Rugs Rugs!!! I love mixing different patterns.

Ok - could you just die? This rug - this pattern - this blue… with the light colored couch. This is so where I’m headed with the Chalet. I love love love this look. We do have a challenge with the layout of the chalet. The Livingroom and Den side of the first floor measure: 24 feet in length by 10 feet wide… but, when you minus the space for the radiators and the fireplace surround you are left with about 8 feet by 23 feet. This is a tall order; and since our last name doesn’t happen to be Rockefeller custom is not something we can well afford; that’s why we currently have 3 separate rugs all the same pattern - one 8 x 10 and two 8 x 5 spanning this side of the first floor. And this may be where I end up again… and I really want to span to at least 22 ft.. there is too much bare floor by the television cabinet. Ok but, before I go down the path of retailers both brick and mortar and on-line… let’s peruse the lovely pics that have been keeping me up at night! haha!!!

Oh and I want to mention I think that Erin’s rug is a nice balance to our current Diningroom rug from Morocco. Cream base with pattern.

In my minds eye… done right… find Erin’s rug.

I love the woven textured Emily A. Clark has in her living room.

I know at this point you’re thinking - wait… you like Erin’s rug and now you like Emily’s which direction do you want to go in?

Well friends there in lies the rub! I like a lot!

I also love this look at Erin Conway’s home.

Sarah Hart is blowing my mind with her design for a century old home she and her family moved into last month. Look at this - modern with old world beauty. Her mix is amazing!

This simple geometric pattern is the perfect compliment to Nicole’s beautiful decor and has the wheels turning in my head!

Then we get to the lady with all sorts of crazy inspiration… Charlotte Smith has so many lovely floor coverings in her home… each unique and statement making. I love it all.

Totally shifting gears we get to the distinctive rugs in the homes of my friends Bev Wilson above and Tiina Treasures below. I mean these are gorgeous old rugs that have history and luscious colorways.

LLAAYYEERRSS

I love this lovely runner in Jen Dulac’s living room. The colors simply say HELLO!

I fell hard for this blue and pink gal… on Christmas day… while chatting with my Mother In Law about what I was working on and sharing images and ideas. But, I have to heed her warning not to get something that will not work well with the Diningroom rug. Otherwise I will be getting a new rug in there too and honestly I don’t want that.

If you follow me on Instagram than you know of my love of Home Sense. While out shopping for new lamps for the Diningroom I couldn’t help but, take a poke around the rugs… and what lovely options they have. And while the Old Meryl who loved a more jumbled look would have thrown caution to the wind and bought this lovely number below… I mean look at these colors - I mean YES. But, No friends… the point of this process, which started last July was to streamline the design and end up with a more sophisticated less cluttered look and bringing home a random albeit beautiful 9 x 13 wool rug at the crazy good price of only $399.00 would not have gotten me to my ultimate goal. So the search continues and I have to sell my Darby rugs. I’m learning even if we like something that doesn’t mean it’s suppose to come and live in the Chalet.

Til next time friends!

January 16, 2019

Design Shift

January 16, 2019/ Meryl

Over the last few months I have made some design changes to the Chalet Livingroom - today I want to talk about the process.

Let’s start at the beginning… back in July I was lamenting… I didn’t like my livingroom… wah wah…

Should I swap the console table for the cabinet in the upstairs hall? I didn’t like my couch and for that matter I didn’t like the coffee table either… wah!

I stopped dead and decided to pull everything off the console table and restyle - which I did… and viola! Once lightened up with less - I was in love again! Removing frames and books made a huge difference!

Then I decided I needed to a new couch - if you read my piece from 11/14/2018 Couch - furniture for sitting or reclining. I went to Crate and Barrel and placed an order for the Montclair Sofa - Traxx fabric in Feather - it would be delivered in October. I kept looking around the room going piece by piece… what else could I change?

Next up was a coffee table…. while I still love my bench… the rustic finishes were no longer where I wanted the livingroom to be… So I made my way to one of my very favorite retailers Home Sense. In my minds eye I knew what I wanted… and tho and behold it is exactly what I found… round and two tier! I am in love my friends and the brass accents on the legs are the crowning jewel!

The next bit I tackled was the top of the television cabinet…. I put away a lot of decor.

I love how the top of the China Cabinet is styled. For some reason I had always resisted symmetry - I love my new Home Sense lamps! I was inspired by interior designer and friend Diane Rath - she actually picked up these very same lamps up for a client. Diane is someone I’ve seen use pairs of lamps successfully in her designs. I’m loving the deer art here too - I had never leaned art on a cabinet before… on the floor on the mantel on window sills Yes but never when wall space was available. I grabbed this image prior to moving the Art that was hidden behind the lamp.

I reworked the sideboard as I was de-christmasing the chalet. I wanted to get a lighter brighter look in this area, but, before I went out and shopped for something new - I shopped my house. Moving this cloisonne lamp from the upstairs hall really made the area pop - especially since the lamp shade is white. I also took down a piece of artwork.

When we put the Chinese Cabinet back in the corner after Christmas I realized it needed a change too - and that change is this new lamp! I love the pop of white in this corner and yes it’s another Home Sense find! I can’t say it enough whenever I seek I always find it at Home Sense!

You can see in the above image I also organized the decor on my roll-top desk.

I love the new look of the chalet - it’s definitely more streamlined. This is where I’m headed with my design as we enter 2019. My former funky cacophony of crap decor style was adding to a sense of chaos. In general I am moving away from the look I liked for the last decade… it’s funny how things change and yet they circle back around; 20 years ago I decorated in a traditional vain and then I morphed into a more rustic look and now while I do wish to maintain an air of casual usability I want the Chalet to be pulled together.

Traditional Casual with a touch of Chinoiserie is the new description of the Chalet!

Next week I’ll be sharing the Images that are inspiring my thoughts for new floor coverings!

Til next time!

November 14, 2018

Couch - furniture for sitting or reclining

November 14, 2018/ Meryl

If you follow along on IG and of course you do - haha! than you’ve seen the new additions around the Chalet livingroom. In today’s post - I’m focusing on arguably the largest and most important element in the room. The Couch. I will forever say Couch because I looked up the definition of Sofa, Davenport and Couch and discovered the first two both state they may be convertible into a bed. So Couch it is!

This is the best image I could find of our now discontinued old couch The Goodwin from West Elm. It served us well for 10+ years and will continue to; now that we’ve moved it into the basement playroom.

You’ll notice a theme - I like simple 2 cushion - clean lines.

Because I am a realist - even when it comes to decor I won’t let myself fall in love with something I can’t afford. My list of new couch options was short. While we do have Pottery Barn rugs in our livingroom - and that room is even featured on the Pottery Barn site - I only liked one option from them the Carlisle - but, the very low arms which I thought I loved on-line didn’t work well when I saw it in person.

Onto my go-to retailer for many items in the Chalet over the years - Crate & Barrel and they did not disappoint!

Petrie Midcentury Sofa

Jenny Green Velvet Sofa

Rochelle Midcentury Modern Apartment Sofa

Torino 3-Seat Sofa

After researching on-line these were my top picks … I know they are all mid-century in feel and I wasn’t sure how that would play out with the other pieces we have but, after taking a single turn around the Mall at Short Hills location my heart and my behind quickly fell in deep love with - the Montclair!

We also bought the matching ottoman. Our livingroom is too tight for a sectional - so having an ottoman against the couch offers that functionality and the ability to move it out of the way or to be used as extra seating.

The other important point that made Crate & Barrel rise to the top is how customizable the pieces are. You can choose arms type, leg finish and fabric.

Its a cotton poly blend fabric with a herringbone pattern mix of beige, white, taupe and grey mixed in. I’m in heaven! I’ll write about the rest of the changes in a future post!