Time for a Change

West Elm

This image serves as an inspiration for my next living room. It's the combination of neutral plus blue, in dark and light tones. Very relaxed. Peaceful. Just what I'm looking for.

Top Ten Design Features

What defines style today?

For your consideration, here is my Top Ten selection of features that have most inspired designers and consumers in the past five years or so. Although I could name several more, these are at the top of my list.

Today's designers now have an endless sourcebook for inspiration online. How did they figure this stuff out 10 or 15 years ago? Who knows?

1. Books/bookshelves.

Even in pared down, contemporary spaces, bookshelves are everywhere nowadays. I must list this feature first, of course!

Phillip Gorrivan living room

2. Gallery-style wall art collections.

Our definition of 'art' has matured. Favorite photos, drawings, found objects, flea market portraits and kids' art can all find space on the wall.

Kate and Andy Spade's NYC entry

3. Muscular design details.

Bold features are evident everywhere; delicate features are used only sparingly and to much greater effect. More often than not, furnishings and accessories are sculptural, even sensual.

Ruby Beets

4. Dark/light contrasts.

Black and gray have had a surprisingly long-lived moment. When combined with white, they add spark and (shock!) actually open up and brighten a space.

Thom Filicia showhouse bedroom

5. Continued emphasis on solids, tone-on-tone and geometric patterns.

Not the 90s variety of beige tones, but using contrasts (see No. 4) to add depth and graphic interest. Yes, I know florals are the next big thing on the horizon. But I expect to see those designs complementing or even accenting, rather than dominating a scheme, even in traditional interiors.

House and Home

6. Saturated colors.

Neutrals will always have their place, but when colors are used, they are vibrant and bold (and check out the black mantel).

Miles Redd

7. Luxury surfaces.

The selection of quality tile, stone, floor coverings, textiles, fixtures and paints has exploded recently. I suspect this is a result of research and development improvements in materials, improvements in manufacturing techniques, and access to a wider variety of natural materials. It also seems to me that pigments are far more various and of a higher quality. Generally speaking, today's consumers expect a much greater variety of options, courtesy of their iPad and laptop.

Ann Sacks Nottingham tile

8. Comfortable does not equal messy.

Today's furnishings and textiles are sturdy and have comfort built into them, so there is no excuse for oversized, frumpy sofas and chairs (or messy beds).

Michael Smith bedroom

9. Pared down window treatments.

Even in traditional interiors, consumers want a clean, light-enhancing view out of their windows. Fussy is out. Period.

Robert Courterier's country dining room

10. Recycled materials.

Found, repurposed, and handed down. Recycling furnishings and accessories is the easiest way to go green in your home.

Living Etc.

Which design features would you add to this list? Please let me know!

Dark Mantel, Again

Yes, I'm still thinking about it. This is a really nice example. It is a Christopher Maya living room from the February 2009 issue of House Beautiful. The paint is Benjamin Moore Black Panther in a gloss finish. This shows how great black works with light blue and red, which of course are the colors of my sofa and rug. I also like the black echoed in the large coffee table.

It really would add a nice bit of drama and finish to our living room. Dum de dum de dum. Need some more time to think about it.

(And yes, I did switch the lamps on either side of the fireplace!)

Check out another nice example, this time from Lonny. Note the light blue chair and sofa, with a peek at a red pillow. Definitely a pattern there!

Photo 1: Julian Wass; Photo 2: Lexy Mueller

Dark Mantel

There has to be some sort of compensation for putting up with Washington-area traffic, cost of living, and humidity.

Indeed there is, for any time you have a few hours you can head down to the National Gallery of Art. It is simply one of the finest museum experiences you are liable to find anywhere, just for the sheer beauty of the buildings, if not the magnificent art. This is exactly what we did last weekend.

We are trying to enjoy the last days of summer before we pack off our younger child to college. He, being an eager photographer, suggested the trip. And the first gallery we visited was the Small French Paintings, located in the East Building's lower level.

Donated by Ailsa Mellon Bruce, this collection is one of our family's favorites.

The painting that really caught my eye on this visit is Edouard Vuillard's Vase of Flowers on a Mantelpiece, c. 1900.

What a fantastic idea! I started picturing our mantel painted black. Now that would really pull together the new seating arrangement, giving our modest living room an undeniable focal point. It would also give a bit of edge to a room filled with furniture that is either painted off-white or just medium brown wood. And what about that bit of greeny blue in the mirror's reflection? I've been thinking of using that as the fabric color for the eventual new loveseat. I also love the touch of green on the crown molding. This echos the green of our adjacent dining room.

Although it has a late Victorian look to it, the painting and the room have a distinctly lighter French feel.

The only question is, would the mantel look best in a glossy or eggshell finish?

Vuillard liked to include at least one prominent dark object in many of his works. Here's a pastel entitled Madame Josse Hessel in Vuillard's Studio from 1915.

Many of the same colors are used in this painting. There's the overall softness of the pinky beige walls and blue door sharpened by the dark seated figure on the left and the artist's shelves on the right. And again a touch of green through the doorway and above the shelves.

I think I see a pattern developing here for my ongoing pursuit of living room decoration.

Vase of Flowers courtesy of the National Gallery of Art; Madame Hessel courtesy of The Athenaeum.