Design At Your Fingertips

Last week I installed a project in Georgia for wonderful clients of mine. I have been lucky enough to decorate their townhouse in NYC and country home in Connecticut, so when they approached me about decorating this condo, I eagerly accepted, despite the only 3 month time frame in which I would have to complete the project. As many of you know, with European fabric houses and custom upholstery workrooms, it is not uncommon for a custom piece to take 12 to 16 weeks to produce. A typical design project of mine lasts between 1 and 3 years.

For this project, I accepted the challenge of decorating with ready-made items. I found a lot of stores like Mrs. Howard, Mecox, and Paysage and catalogs like Wisteria and Pottery Barn that have really wonderful things in stock or in their warehouses that make quick decorating possible. I like to mix and match these items with a few antiques and vintage fabrics (like those sold at John Robshaw) to achieve a more layered look. As an example, in the Living Room, an antique wooden console really anchors the room and works perfectly with the set of new, painted chairs from Paysage.

I wanted the client, a large family, to have a comfortable, bright and fun space in which to relax. My inspiration was the great view of the ocean and the colors of the beach below. I brought out these colors especially in the bedding and pillows, and items like BeeLine’s Turquoise Ceramic Lamps. All of the upholstery in the Living Room was slipcovered in the same fresh blue fabric. This is another quick and easy way to give stocked items more of a custom look.