Approaching "Timeless Design"

Faint blue walls with gold toned furniture and accents. The wall color is close to Benjamin Moore, Stone White. Source

How do budget-conscious, young women decorate their homes today so that in 10, 20, or 35 years, we’ll still LOVE it?

·         Hire a designer?

·         Only purchase classic antiques or reproductions?

·         Splurge only on trendy accent pieces like rugs and pillows?

Since decorating styles cycle, it may be impossible to create a timeless home that won’t eventually bore you or require updating.

A timeless look by Jeff Harr Photography

Right now, trending styles include gray and whitewashed color schemes with European influences….been to Pottery Barn or Restoration Hardware lately? What's interesting is that the 'hot' furniture right now includes antique replicas, or reproductions.

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...and I LOVE this trend.

So, if your home reflects your personal style, you’ll love it.

But personal aesthetics change. Will this white-washed look remind everyone of the 2010s in 2040?

Really, there’s no way to stay safe from evolving styles, patterns, and fabrics…especially if you naturally enjoy decorating. After all, isn’t it “the hunt” that makes decorating so fun!?

A rule of thumb is to change out the textiles, paint, and accessories every 10 years to keep your home fresh.

Designed by Kathryn Ireland of Million Dollar Decorators

But, it is possible to have a home which only requires tweaks…if it’s filled with antiques....

Antiques…never go out of style.

Antiques or reproductions can really ground and warm-up a room. They give homes a level of sophistication. I love wood furniture and interesting wood grains. Most antique reproductions are solid, inviting, and comfortable. They can handle wear and tear. You can also have your antique furniture professionally painted, if you wish!

Room designed by Miles Redd

The use of antiques in the room above make it hard to tell what period it was created in...The lines in the antique furniture give it that everlasting grace. This room is a bit formal for my tastes, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't find similar pieces, like the rug, the chest on the back wall, or the lamps.  Antique furniture doesn't have to be this dressy...see more below.

John Saladino

Another way to design your home so it stays fresh-looking is by cleanly mixing styles, like modern and classical. Darryl Carter is a newer designer who has received attention for his ability to put seemingly unrelated items in a room to create comfort. 

This small space is so interesting! Antique chairs, mirror, round table, and weathered doors mixed with contemporary coffee tables

Darryl Carter, Simon Upton Photography

Darryl Carter Design in Elle Decor. Even though this room is so interesting, it holds classic pieces.

Mid-century furniture is hot right now...but be careful of purchasing more than a few pieces for your house. Filling an entire home with period-pieces won’t achieve ‘timeless and traditional.' 

Source. This room feels cold and sterile to me. Are the owners of this home going to appreciate the style for 30 years to come?

Look at these next photos...can you guess when they were photographed?

Timeless and traditional, warm and elegant. Photo from Pinterest.

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You or I could guess, but we may be surprised.

What do you think? Is antique furniture something you would purchase today?


Thanks for stopping by!

Tara

Decorating Styles for Achieving Timeless Design

When thinking about design and glossy magazines, its easy to forget that photography is the art that brings it all together. At the 1stDibs Photo Archive, an archive of photographed interiors, which highlights the photographers, you can choose an inspiring photo and then "search the look on 1stDibs" to find antiques and furniture that will create a similar space.


It's pretty awesome. 

Miguel Flores-Vianna

While searching through the photo archive, I was drawn to the minimalist decorating photos. It seems that this "less is more" style can be put together with many other decorating styles. Minimalist architectures use glass, steel and concrete in their work. The design focuses on including only essential items needed to fill a room. It intentionally leaves out prints, patterns and lots of color. 


I find myself drawn to minimalist mixed with rustic styles. I like the contrast of the wood with the coldness of the style.

Melanie Acevedo

 Pieter Estersohn

I love this rug. It provides the softness that would otherwise be missing from the setting. There are touches of Japanese influence. Traditional Japanese is part of the history of minimalism.

In this setting, the designer stripped everything unnecessary from the scene. The fire brings in the warmth to keep it friendly. The photo is from pinterest.

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This living room is relatively bare with white walls. The worn leather settees provide the warmth and comfort, as well as the linen curtains. If the designer instead used a white slipcovered couch, like the ottomon, I wouldn't find this room as great. Photo via Cote de Texas.

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What do you think about these photos, below?

 I really like the dark timber with the collection of bottles in the first photo, and in the next photo, the hanging pictures on the wall. It adds a level of interest and personality.

Photo credits

Too minimalistic? Or is it too rustic? hmmm.

Miguel Flores-Vianna

Now I'll be spending even more time searching 1st Dibs, finding matches to lust after and guessing how many thousands (outta my price range)...the pieces fall under.  I wonder if the photographers have this same dilemma after looking at their own work?   

A Cool Conversation

Beat the Heat! The Dallas Mavericks accomplished this already, now the rest of Texas has to struggle through the remaining summer months of July, August, and September. We’ve had record-breaking, day after day, 100 degree heat…and wind. It feels exactly like opening up your heated oven and allowing all the hot air to free itself.

To help us all cool off for a minute—how about some Slim Aarons photography.

 Athens, 1961

 Acapulco, 1978

 Vail, Colorado, 1964

 Tropical Mustique, Caribbean, 1989

Verbier, Switzerland, 1964



Spain, 1971 

 Poolside Gossip, Palm Springs, 1970

Slim Aarons, 1916–2006, is a notable American photographer who followed the rich and famous around snapping photographs of their leisurely lives. Aarons photographed and befriended many of the most famous faces of the late 20^th century including Howard Hughes, the Rockefellers, Rothschilds, and Kennedys.

I personally like the photographs that are of large crowds or unknown faces, the best.

All photos can be viewed or purchased, here.

If you want more, Amazon sells all four of Slim’s coffee-table books.

Slim Aarons: Once Upon a Time, 2003

Slim Aarons: A Place in the Sun, 2005

Poolside with Slim Aarons, 2007

Slim Aarons: La Dolce Vita, 2011

Thanks for stopping by!


Tara 

New Project for The Deco Blog team

We wanted to introduce a new project we’ll be working on over the next few months. An owner of a mid-century modern furniture consignment store in Dallas has asked us to help repaint and organize his space.


This is what it looks like today:

To do list:

• Choose interior paint colors
• Paint booth walls
• Select furniture from 3500+ sq ft of space to design booths and
• Upload photos for you to see.

So far, this is what we know.


We’ll be playing with warm and dark wood furniture, chrome, and glass. We’ll look for complementary colors like cool grays, interesting deep browns and steely grays. Modern homes often have white painted walls with floor to ceiling windows, but we’ll have to take into consideration the warehouse’s artificial light, which will read differently. We want to choose a grays that read gray and cool, not dingy. And clean whites, that won't look creamy….or apartment beige-y.


Eventually, the floors will be stained to be a dark glossy cement.


We’ll be picking up these colors for starters:

Benjamin Moore, Edgecomb Gray (http://blossominteriors.com/blog photo credit)

Benjamin Moore, Linen White (http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ photo credit)

Sherwin-Williams, Conservative Gray (http://www.traditionalhome.com/images/img_newhousenewkitchen_l2.jpg photo credit)

We also like

• Benjamin Moore, Stone Harbor
• Sherwin-Williams, Gilbraltar
• Benjamin Moore, Cliffside Gray

On a side-note, how come I can't find more photos of specific colors if everyone is crediting their photos? What's the scoop on that?