A Little Respite...........

Frank Roop Interiors

Vicente Wolf Interiors


Is there nothing more glamourous than a Barbara Barry room?

I feel as if I have been rushing around a lot lately; between work, my daughter's school, her activities and general household chores, it seems there is a lot of preparing and juggling to get to the end result!! I know that I am not the only one trying to fit a lot into a day, life is busy!! So I thought I'd take a few minutes off to dream of "restful interiors".

The photos above, to me, represent restful interiors, ones that soothe your spirit. They are rooms that beckon you to kick back for a moment, sit on a comfy couch, put your feet up and enjoy a cool cocktail. A room that gives the feeling of calm and serene when you enter it, like the busy world has stopped for a brief moment for you to take a deep breathe and relax!!

Looking at the rooms above I can imagine how luxurious the fabric feels to the touch. I imagine the clean smell of freshly cut flowers in the air. I imagine the temperature being just right for the season. I imagine feeling calm, relaxed and tranquil. I feel relaxed just to think about it!!

Rooms that put me in this spirit all have the same elements in common:

• Subtle color and fabric contrasts (I've blogged about my definition of these in previous posts)
• Luxurious and tactile fabrics, linens, velvets, silks and chenille.
• Warm color hues
• Lots of plush furniture
• Ottomans in place of coffee tables (I love ottomans!! Will dedicate a blog to my awe of them sometime soon.)
• Carefully chosen and placed accessories that pull the room together, but don't clutter.
• An air of sophistication
• Fresh flowers!!!!
  

I try to incorporate the elements that I find relaxing and soothing into my own home. I love having a respite from the busy day, even if it is waking up 1/2 hour early to have my morning coffee in my most tranquil room, I feel refreshed. Today's little luxury is to take a few moments to define the elements that you find soothe your soul in a room. Incorporate 1 or 2 into your interiors today. It can be as simple as a adding a vase full of beautiful, fragrant flowers or cleaning off a cluttered table and re accessorizing with items that make you feel calm. After all, in today's busy world, isn't the thought of feeling refreshed in your personal space the most luxurious thing of all?

Fresh!!!

A beautifully fresh space by Vicente Wolf

Photo from Vicente Wolf Associates website

Spring and it's freshness has been on my mind lately (you've probably noticed this from some of my earlier posts!!). I feel like in the spring and summer the lines of interior and exterior become blurred. People are outside more often enjoying the beauty of nature and want to pull that into their homes. I think that's where the notion of "spring cleaning" comes from; when the world feels so fresh, bright and crisp and smells so heavenly, you want to hold onto that and own it in your own space.

One of my favorite interior designers, Vicente Wolf, does this notion of fresh interiors to perfection. I am drawn to photos of his work in every publication he has been in. He uses a limited palette of colors in his rooms and always uses white walls and trim; but the way he chooses to use color, a hint of grey blue or a dark table or chair leg in an all cream setting, make the space come alive and the contrasts seem so fresh!! I am in awe of the way he contrasts furniture shapes too. Curvy paired with straight, modern paired with antique, he is a master of blending opposing elements and forms together creating pure sophistication!! His rooms appear simple but they are quite a masterful balance of the unexpected. I love the unexpected in design, it is what makes it unique, interesting, awe inspiring and fresh!!

Freshness is what we crave in the warmer months. It is so refreshing to walk into a home that conveys the crispness of the season. In upcoming posts I will talk about adding elements to your existing interiors to make them pop with freshness. Afterall, isn't the notion of bringing some of the feeling of summer into your home quite luxurious?