A Home as a reflection of self.....

All photos from Elle Decor's Metropolitan Home archives

I am a little nostalgic today for my favorite design publication, Metropolitan Home. The last issue was published in December of 2009; I have years worth of back issues saved to use as inspiration and reference. I loved the urban, sophisticated home decor that they featured. I fell in love with the aesthetic and was always in awe of the way that contemporary and modern were mixed with antique and traditional. Most people's tastes are a mix of styles and the homes featured in the magazine always reflected this character.

As I was looking through old issues, I came across the home of George Stephanopolis and Ali Wentworth. I love this home!! I could move right in. It was done by an interior designer named Elizabeth Martin. I love the way she balanced the masculine and the feminine. The living room is both sophisticated and playful. The architecture of the room is stately and traditional and she balanced it out nicely with some fun elements such as the carpeting (they said they painted themselves with fabric paint!!), fuschia footstools, the hints of lavender and the homeowner's shell collection.

I love the brightness of the living room contrasted with the warmth of the family room. A chance to express two different design concepts in one home but she did it in such a manner they don't feel so removed from each other. That is the beauty of home design; your life has many different facets to it and you should be able to explore this with your interiors. You should be able to combine different styles and design concepts to reflect your self and not think you need to stay with one style through your own home. Your personality is not one dimensional and your home shouldn't be either. Hiring a good designer, even for a consultation, can help you pull the different styles together. Working with different styles can be tricky!!!

I think the designer did a great job reflecting the different sides of the homeowner's personality. You can tell by looking at their home that they are fun, sophisticated and worldly. The mix of the different design elements makes their home both comfortable and beautiful. Think of the different sides of your personality, what makes you, you and how you can incorporate that into your home. Afterall, making your house your home is the biggest luxury of all!!

Fresh!!!

One of my all time favorite bedrooms by Frank Roop

All photos from Frank Roop's website

I am ready to change the pillows on my family room sofa. It is a beige chenille sofa and now I have brown silk paisley pillows mixed with a soft blue cotton fabric pillows. I like the mix a lot, but am thinking I want to infuse a little more color now that it's summer. I am going to take inspiration from Frank Roop.

I love the work of Frank Roop. He is a designer out of the Boston area who used to work in men's specialty clothing. He takes the design principals he learned in men's suiting and applies them to his interiors so they have a couture feel. What I love about his work is his fresh use of color. I am impressed how he subtly mixes palates of blues, greens, grays and beiges with pops of a bright. I am focused on his pillows. He always uses solids, mostly velvets and I think the mastering of the color palate is what gives them a sophisticate air, instead of coming off as cute.

Along with my beige sofa I have chairs that have burgundy in them, so I could get away with some of the soft blues and seafoam greens he has in his rooms. This will also give a new feeling of freshness to my room.

I just love the bedroom in the top photo. This room is what interested me to look at his other work. I love the soft mix of color, the eclectic mix of furnishings and the formality of the architecture against the relaxed feel of the furnishings; I think the room looks sophisticated and playful at the same time!!

I am going to look for fabric and have some new pillows made for my sofa. I will post when done. Today's luxury is to look for a way to add a pop of freshness to an existing interior. It could be adding a new color palate in pillows, candles, vases, pictures. Look for interiors photos that catch your eye and borrow ideas from them. I am certainly going too!!