Round Mirrors over the Mantel? I'm in!

Yesterday I was scanning through Elizabeth Dinkel's Portfolio, which I highly recommend, I'm going to have to add her to my inspirational designers folder, and I came across the picture above. I absolutely loved the round convex mirror over the fireplace mantel. It is over-scaled, and has amazing depth. I got curious about this idea of round mirrors over fireplaces; so many people put flat screens which makes me shudder. Take a look at all the different styles.

Todd Romano uses a round mirror in this large and elegant dining room. I like how it is a faded white color and blends into the wallpaper.

This mirror is quite traditional, as are many round mirrors. It is small but clearly the attention should be paid to the large chandelier in the room by Shiela Bridges.

Isn't the wallpaper in here stunning? The flat mirror and the flat fireplace look so pretty on the wallpaper. Just STUNNING. Designed by Nathan Egan.

That's right, there's a mirror there! Leta Austin Foster used a sunburst mirror. I love the dark reds in this room, it's actually calming feeling. And the apple green ceramic stools really balance it out.

This is from Eddie Ross's portfolio. This entire wall is basically mirrors and actually the traditional mirror breaks it up a bit.

I think I love everything about this room, from my dear Domino. This looks like an over-sized pocket mirror, and is hanging on a chain (from Ballard Designs).

Also from Domino, a pair of round mirror with a pair of scones next to it. I love the asymmetrical look to this with pairs.

What a gorgeous scene from Living etc. A pretty and neutral living room livened up with a fabulous mantle display and a Venetian mirror--leaning.

I'm a traditional kind of girl and love to have a gorgeous painting over the mantle, but I think that a round mirror or regular mirror as well is a fun alternative. A mirror adds the illusion of space to a room and a round mirror in particular can add a focal point to the room. Too bad for me I don't have a fireplace in my little apartment but I will be putting a mirror in my foyer to make it look bigger!

PS-ONE DAY LEFT to enter the floor lamp give-away contest! CLICK HERE if you can't be bothered to scroll down.

Also, thank you to My Design Secrets for the guest blog yesterday!

Alicia B.

Hit the Ceiling...with paint!

Domino Mag. Soot paint from Benjamin Moore

Picking a paint color for your wall can be challenging, making sure the color is coordinating with the furnishings, and is harmonious with the look of the room. What you don't usually think to do is to paint the ceiling! I've been seeing a lot of that lately and it looks quite fun. It can either make the room look very cozy and warm or it if you do it with enough drama, it can raise the ceiling as well!

This Sills Huniford sitting room has a light lime green painted ceiling. It really draws attention to the beams above and draws your eye up. I really love that ladder off to the left with the newspapers on it--like a library.

Sara Story, who is always quite fun, used a magenta paint in this long kitchen area. I think it works well because there is so much light flooding in from the window and she used little purple and grey accents around the room.

You are, of course, never limited to just paint on a ceiling. Using ceramic tiles reminds me of an old villa or estate somewhere in Europe--perhaps Italy! Robin Bell used this Moroccan tile design in an outdoor space. I think it makes the space look very exotic, yes?

This is a child's room from Domino. Using wall paper on the ceiling is also a fun idea. The walls are a plain light green color, while the ceiling is the element of interest. This is a sweet and whimsical idea for a child; they can lie in bed and look at the stars! This is Osborne and Little Firibata Star pattern.

From House Beautiful: the walls are nearly the color as the ceiling and is only separated by a nice thick moulding. Quite pretty and classic in this small kitchen.

Exposed wood beams such as these add to the "lofty" feeling. These look like they are stained and even have brackets. Interior by Fern Santini of Abode.

This little den by Eric Cohler is one of the most creative ones I've seen. The colors in the room are gorgeous and you can find each one of them on the ceiling in the cross word puzzle! I wonder if it was customized for the client, and what it says. I love how the lines of it flow right into the lines of the windows and the curtains. SO amazing.

This living room has light chocolate colored walls, but is mainly covered with wall to wall bookcases. The top part of the wall then moves right into the ceiling so you're not sure where the wall ends and the ceiling begins. The blue color is agua vert by Philip's Perfect Colors. I love how they kept the mouldings white, even on the fireplace. They're such a beautiful architectural element.

Another ceiling treatment that I've seen is tin ceilings! Apparently they are quite affordable and definitely adds a vintage look to this room. Usually they are used in kitchens, but in a bedroom can be interesting as well. By Kathy Andrews Interiors from Point Click Home.


You can read more about ceiling treatments in Point Click Home HERE. I super wish I could paint the ceilings in my apartment. Usually they are painted the plain white and I'd love to add something fun like a painted ceiling someday. Do any of you have painted or wall papered ceilings? Thoughts? Feelings?


Alicia B.

Shades of Grey

One of the features of my new apartment that I'm most excited about is the tile in the bathroom. I know it sounds small and silly, but I walked into the bathroom and it had this cool grey subway tile in it. Usually, it's mini white, or ugly black and white cop-out tiles, but not this time. As I'm trying to make each room fun, I've decided that perhaps I'll play up the grey so that I can do punches of color in the towels, the shower curtain and the wall decor. Grey may seem dull or too neutral, so here are some grey rooms that still carry lots of drama.

OMG. Talk about dramatic. I love this painting; so moody but beautiful and the stools with the angular animal legs add to that feeling. By Susan Ferrier. Painting is by James McLaughlin Way and the stools are from John Rosselli.
(Thank you Emily Amy Gallery you little art scout!)

How many different greys/silvers/steels are in this minimalist kitchen by Julie Stevenson? Cool and dramatic.

I guess this isn't technically grey; more of a black/grey/brown, I suppose. I love the punch of yellow though in that chair. It just shows you don't need tons of color in a small space like this. From Marie Claire Maison.

I love the greys and the natural wood tones here. From Point Click Home.

This was how I originally wanted to do my living room before I decided on yellow. How beautiful and calming is this grey on the wall with the black and whites contrasting? By Eddie Ross. So beautiful.

I love this bedroom here from Domino mag. It looks so cozy with the grey tufted headboard and the light flowing in reflecting off the blue glass lamp etc. The grey paint is Benjamin Moore Rushing River.

This is Jamie Drake (genius) INSPIRED by the show Californication (better? Thank you to my loyal/rad commenters). The scaly tiling is very dramatic yet organic and I LOVE the built in open shelving on the back wall.

A brown shade of grey here with a separate tub from the faucet. So cute! From Point Click Home.

I think I'm going to do a dark grey on the currently white walls. The grey is cool and calming and I love the way that it absorbs and reflects light. Next stop: the paint store!


Alicia B.

Marble Quarry

In one of my classes right now we are to design a worship space (not necessarily religious worship). Mine just HAPPENS to be in a marble quarry (my idea). The entire room is dug out of a black and gold marble quarry (which may or may not exist) right outside of New York City. The idea is that the marble is cool, calming, smooth, and light bounces off it creating a beautiful effect with the gold. Marble is used in a lot of bathrooms and kitchens; take a look how it's used when you're not in a fictional quarry.

Sara Story uses this amazing orangey marble on this intimate fireplace scene.

In a break from the typical clean white marble, this marble has gorgeous dark veins running through it creating a great contrast. By incredible designer, Nancy Boszhardt.

Marble is often times seen as traditional or "old" but in this space it makes it feel more contemporary. By Matsouka Wang Architects.

In contrast to above, this DEFINITELY is a more traditional feel. Designer Juan Montoya uses slabs of creamy marble on the walls, as columns, and on the floor.

This marble fireplace that I found in Domino blends right in with the rest of the busy patterns in the living room. I feel like it's rare to see marble with lots of contrasting veins in it; people are usually using it to create a cleaner look.

In this Christopher Peacock kitchen, he uses a marble top on this island which is a very beautiful and traditional look but...see below...

He then uses little marble bits to make up the backsplash in the rest of the kitchen. So much you can do with stone!

This was the darkest marble I had seen used and it was only a small part! It def creates a dramatic effect though in this deco style bathroom. I super love those monogrammed pink guest towels too!

How do you feel about marble? Too traditional? Not traditional enough? Want to live in a marble quarry?

Alicia B.

Flora

Rita Konig's bedroom in her fun eclectic apartment in NYC. She uses a floral pattern in the bedspread, the wallpaper and even the light fixture!

So over the summer I was seeing lots of geometric patterns, lattice work etc in fabrics and wallpapers. WELL, summer is over, and so is geometry. Sort of. Anyway, I've been noticing a lot of flower patterns in wallpaper, bedspreads and fabrics in general. I find it quite calming in a world full of dropping numbers and people panicking about the economy etc. (clearly I need to get out of NYC for a few days). Flowers are pretty, sweet, and simple. Take a look at some of these sweet rooms.

I think this wide floral patterned dining room makes the space look bigger than it already is by adding a depth and openness to the walls. By Michael Taylor.

I know, I know. It's very traditional, but SO pretty! Look at the effect of the large beams on the ceiling leading down to the simple but beautiful curtains and into the room. By Markham Roberts.

Again, Markham Roberts (genius) uses the flowers to frame out a room/area, and it continues around the room (tablecloth, flowers on table and on mantle).

Even with traditional flowers, you can make the space look modern. Living etc.

Mix many different floral patterns for an eclectic look like this one by Fawn Galli.

Does this wall paper look familiar? (See above.) Found it in Domino.

It could be fun to use big bold flowers, like this one in Greenwich, for a glam/modern/but also classic look.

There is a lot of floral fabric in this bedroom designed by Barry Dixon (love!), but it is a pretty wide pattern so it appears more subtle and not too over-flowered. In the huge glass vase, the theme continues! So cute!

It's interesting how even though we are seeing lots of flowers, they can still maintain a modern look or some of the geometric quality. I think that when people think flowers, they think old lady designs or a stuffy chintz, but they can be light, feminine, modern, or glam depending on how you place it. Thoughts?


Alicia B.

Dining Table and Sofa? YUP!

As if it wasn't obvious enough how much I adored the show Top Design (Eddie and Nathan in particular), I'm going to keep talking about it even when it's over. The show was silly sometimes but other times very inspirational and brought forth many design questions/issues. Remember the episode with those (ridiculous) Swarovski Crystal chandeliers? In Eddie's dining room that he designed, he put a sofa on one side of the dining table and chairs on the other. I was completely bewildered with the judges said they had never seen this idea before. I had seen it countless times in Domino and House Beautiful and had even used that idea in a school project! Anyway, I've collected some examples of this being done. Enjoi!

Tom Scheerer put this elegant sofa on one side of this breakfast/tea table. I think it looks very calming and draws your eye to the windows.

This one also leads your eye to the window but also give you something to settle on visually as these windows are floor to ceiling and there appears to be a lot of open space.
By architect Joeb Moore from Kaehler/Moore.

How elegant and cosy does this sweet little table look with these small sofas? From House to Home. I love the colors in this room too; perfectly feminine and inviting.

On the back wall they placed a gorgeous loveseat. From Domino.

You don't always have to have a sweet delicate little arrangement. Here, Alessandra Branca puts a heavy trestle table with an armless seat and matching high backed upholstered chairs.

I think the lesson learned here is, use a sofa with interest; some sort of embellishment or beautiful fabric. Also, don't have the sofa with it's back to you as you enter the room. Has anybody ever done this? I'd love to see pictures! I think it's a very sweet idea and when I have a small sofa I would use it in my breakfast room (when I have a breakfast room too). Perfect.


Alicia B.