Coat of Arms in Design

A coat of arms or a family crest is a symbol used to represent your family, your country, or your military as a means of identification. Everyone knew which crest belonged to which family or even individual. They are seen as quite regal and filled with history. Today, although they are less common, they still show up in family rings or in homes as heirlooms passed down from prior generations. I've been seeing a lot of them lately in design in pillows, as wall decoration or elsewhere. It could be a nice way to add something different and personal to a room.

In Rob Southern's latest spread in House Beautiful he painted these chairs white but you can see on the back of them they have a carved coat of arms. The black and white contrast is gorgeous in this front hall.

Michael Smith found this extremely large coat of arms to put in the stairway of this California home. It definitely draws your attention upwards.

Like I said above, many stores have them as pillows. Even though it might not be your family crest, they still look important. By Joanna Poitier.

Christopher Coffin designed this elegant and traditional sitting room and put two small crests over the doors.

These are the most modern and daring looking coats of arms I've seen thus far. I just adored this entire spread from Elle Decor by Badgley Mischka. This room with the monogrammed pillows is so bold yet nonabrasive.

Monogramming has become so popular, perhaps it's time to go with something more subtle? An old family crest? I think one has to be careful not to use it in a pretentious manner-like all over the place. I still love monogramming, of course--it might be awkward if I put the Alicia B. family crest on an LLBean tote, right? One of my favorite crests is the Medici one HERE.


Alicia B.

Clerestory Story Time

Traditional Home. Look to the left to avoid the TV over the mantle (ugh) to the clerestory windows!

A very loyal reader asked me yesterday what clerestory windows were. For those of you who didn't have a proper art history education, clerestory windows, which originate in churches, are a narrow band of windows placed up high, to let light in from above. Here are some great ones that I found in residences, not churches.

This is from the Golf Digest Showhouse by Suzanne Kasler. If you can get past the astro-turf patch, there are gorgeous clerestory windows in the kitchen. The kitchen is a great place for them if you don't have an amazing view from your sink or you want privacy but still want light to come in, then these are perfect!

The light that streams in from these windows is so beautiful/ethereal. By Suzanne Kasler.

These next two are used as decorative elements on the interior of the room. This bathroom was designed by Robert Young for Traditional Home. These windows let you know that there is another room behind those slatted doors.

By Phoebe Howard, these almond shaped clerestory windows are placed above closets and add a great architectural element to the room.

These are more reminiscent of a church setting, as the windows are placed very high, and the ceiling is slightly pitched. By Christopher Coffin.

There are so many different kinds of windows out there so it can be confusing. I love clerestory windows because they remind me of my early days in art history classes, which eventually led me to interior design. Sigh.


Alicia B.