Be Colorful Coastal

How A Rug Pulls A Room Together

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It has been a year since we bought our home. We bought this  as a second home that is becoming our primary residence. It has been a shopper's dream to start from ground zero but it is also, at times, overwhelming. Over the past year, we have added the large furniture elements and now I am beginning to bring in the accent layers that are giving this space  personality. 

These are the touches that have made this room feel more like home but I still needed something to pull it all together.

I needed a rug and this was a bit of a challenge. Blues are a new to my wheelhouse and as I am learning, they pose a challenge. There are so many variations of blue and although a lot of them will blend together easily, some can look like a total miss. Because I already had blue patterned chairs, I knew I wanted the rug to be a simpler, cleaner look.  I also remember last year when we were looking for a house and studying Zillow images like it was our job, that a lot of the pictures had rooms with busy, almost distracting rugs. It was a disconcerting look. I didn't want the rug here to be the focal point. Instead, I wanted it to make the space more cohesive. I was looking for something to ground the room. 

 

 

I ended up going with a custom rug so I knew that the blues would play nice and I wasn't disappointed.

 

 

xoxo,

p

 

Rug resource Masland custom rug via Hadinger Flooring and Rugs

 

I am sharing this post here:

 

The Dedicated House

 

 

 

When All Else Fails, Paint It

 

When we bought our coastal home we tried to have some of the furniture included. I especially wanted those Maitland Smith chairs. The homeowners, as I expected, said no to most of our requests but they did agree to throw in this cocktail table and the sofa. These two pieces were in the living room then but after we bought the house we moved them into the family room. 

 

 

We are hoping to achieve a slightly coastal look. I didn't want a house dripping in beach signs and fishing nets. That is a whimsical look that I'd rather leave to the true seaside cabins and bars. Instead, I chose to subtlely introduce a bit of classic coastal flair with this nautical inspired navy and white striped rug. 

I am all in when it comes to mixing woods but somehow I just didn't care for how this glossy finished table was pairing up with the more rustic entertainment center and end tables and I felt like the lines of the table said, "formal".

 

 

 

 

So, my go-to solution when something isn't working is to paint it, and that is exactly what I did.   

 

 

I began with this undercoating primer from Behr Paints that is available at Home Depot.

 

 

Then I threw on some pizzaz with Sherwin Williams Ravishing Coral SW2612

 

 

 

 

It took two coats and in some places three coats to get the look I wanted.

I used an ultra soft mini roller for this step to get an extra smooth finish.

 

 

  

Now I have a tradtional table in an unorthodox color. I've always thought that every room should have that one unexpected statement element.

For this room, it will be this cocktail table. 

 

 

 Hmmmm, now that's done, what's next?

:D

xoxo,

p

Pulling Together a Coastal Family Room

1.

 

We just celebrated one year in our "new chapter" house. I still don't call it home but it is starting to feel more and more like my grounding spot.  We have established residency here but we also still have a home up north that we have lived in for eighteen years. That extended amount of time trumps a new start when I think of the word home and the feelings it conjures up.  The longer we are here, though, and the more things we do to and purchase for the house the more it is beginning to feel like it is uniquely our space and not the previous owners home.

 

2.

This time last year this room was very bare bones. We were using a Rubbermaid chest as our entertainment center and the sofa, two slip covered chairs, and entry table that came with the house were the only pieces of furniture in the room.

 

3.
 

 

The clock and lamp were two pieces I brought down from our home in Galena. The shade on the lamp did not survive the trip and I eventually had to have it replaced.

 

 

4.

One of the biggest improvements to the room was when we finally purchased this Hooker entertainment center and I could relegate that Rubbermaid piece to the garage where it belonged.

 

5.

 

 This is definitely a work in progress. The step ladder is a keeping it real moment.

:D

I was drawn to the more rustic wood finish of this piece because I felt like it brought a more casual and coastal feel to the room. My challenge now is to successfully blend this laid back look with a more polished style that is occurring in the living room.

 

6.

 

I am not rushing in to style the shelves of the entertainment center. Yes, I could go add some mass-produced tchotchkes from a big box store, but I prefer to bring in accessories that are unique or have a special meaning or memory attached. We did find this intriguing mermaid, though, and I love how perfect she looks here. I named her Lily.

 

7.

A big portion of the house budget this month went toward power washing the exterior of the house and some painting but we still managed to add two classically coastal area rugs.

 

8.

 

This rug has inspired me to focus a bit more on the family room. It has given me some direction. I hadn't done much in here until recently because this room flows right into the kitchen and the kitchen is going to undergo a major renovation in the near future. Until then, I will have to be content with smaller touches of flair to our coastal styled family room. Here is a hint of my next project. When a piece isn't working for me, I paint it. 

 

:D

 

xoxo,

p

 

Resources:

1. Sofa and chairs unknown. Chest is from Hooker's Sorella Collection

2.  John Richards lamp

3. Storage chest via Rubbermaid

4. Clock from Ethan Allen circa 2002, lamp is recycled from up north with a shade from Home Goods. Lamp finial from Sticks Gallery in Des Moines, Iowa

5. Hooker entertainment center, Sorella Collection

6.. Upholstered breakfast chairs by Sherrill from Baer Furniture

7. Carved wood mermaid from Alison Craig Furniture

8. Navy and ivory striped wool hooked rug from Amazon.com

 

I am sharing this post on Coastal Charm another coastal style blog that I just discovered.  I suggest stopping by for more beachy and nautical inspiration.

 

A New Brenda Belfield Canvas For the Living Room

 

 

 

 

There are so many things I want to do to our home but from the beginning, I knew that I wanted the artwork to take center stage. The first art selections came before we had purchased a stick of furniture.

 

Painting by Sharon Erbe

 

Across the room from this colorful and uplifting painting is a big black box of a fireplace. I'm just not a fan.  At first, we put this Hollywood Regency mirror above the fireplace.  It was a good look  but I was hoping it would reflect the Erbe piece that I am rather obsessed with. It didn't. 

 

 

So it was relocated to the foyer but that left the mantel looking very lonely and forlorn.

 

I am very aware that the living room is still in need of a better lamp, a fireplace update, and some key accessories, but those things will have to wait. Art is a unique one-of-a-kind item. If it moves you and you have space for it, you have to be able to commit right then and there. Let priorities be damned. This was the case with this painting by Brenda Belfield. It was love at first sight. 

 

 

 

I think the integration of the framing and the canvas is beautiful.

 

Thank you, Ms. Belfield. It is as if you created this piece just for our home.

 

 

 

xoxo,

p

 

The Ultimate Quote Books

 

Yes, I am Chanel zealot and a collector of quotes. This Coco quote seems to be ubiquitous but while poking around one of my favorite furniture haunts I saw these and knew they probably needed to come home with me and appear to be haphazardly stacked on the corner of my desk.*  They aren't boxes but are actual books that have been recycled and recovered. It is fun to finally be adding the layers of interest to our new space now that the bulk of the major furniture purchases have been made. This will allow a bit more to the shoe budget which has been sorely neglected as I have focused on house.

:D

 

We have rugs arriving tomorrow. I will be sharing photos soon.

xoxo,

p

 

*I bought the only Chanel set they had at Allison Craig but I did find them here  at a considerably higher price.