An Array of Pillows? Yes? No?

So often throw pillows are thought of as a mix and match way of bringing color and pattern to a room, AND so often, that is exactly what the room needs.  Which is why most people have oodles of extra pillows floating around the house.  Easy to buy, easy to change out, and relatively inexpensive.  However, sometimes a room needs a different direction.  It needs the pillow as an accessory to have a more structured and planned presentation.

For example, take this room from Mia Malcolm, the pillows are displayed in a very structured format, and isn't it perfect?!

Mia Malcolm Design

Would an array of mumbo jumbo pillows work above?  Not as beautifully as the precisely placed gold and white rectangle pillows do.  I love this room.  It is classic yet cozy  -- why is that?  I mean, it is very minimalist and clean.  It's the curves.  Curves have a way of making a room inviting, and this room is a perfect example of that.  There are so many arced angles playing off of each other with the sofa, the cocktail table, the side table, the small glass balls in the table lamp, the soft curves of the glass vases, the round shag rug, and the round marbleized sculpture in the left corner.  Yet with all that, it doesn't feel overwhelmingly "rounded".  Mia did a fabulous job balancing the minimalist style of furnishings with soft, curved lines creating a beautifully, balanced environment.

You ask:  what if my furnishings are more slouchy or traditional and not quite so contemporary?  Use the same principle but make sure the pillows reflect the softness of your furniture.  In the living room below, I used the same concept with four large pillows, but their soft style transitions well to the softness of the sectional style.

Susan E. Brown/Lisa M. Bond Photography

If you like Mia's casual clean California style, check out more of her work by clicking here.

Now that you've got a whole new way to look at pillows and their placement, have fun accessorizing!!

Cheerio!  Susan

New Project Photography!! Master Bedroom!

I've been photographing interiors at a clients home with an incredibly talented photographer friend of mine, Lisa Bond.  It's amazing how much time and detail goes into one shot, and yet, so humbling to work with someone who can be just as consumed with the smallest of details as I am--until it is just right!  Below is a sampling of both of our work.  We did a lot of shots of various spaces, so I'll focus on specific areas for different blog posts adding "before" and "after"pics.  Stay tuned for more rooms!

Before

After
Photo credit:  Lisa M. Bond Photography

One of my most enjoyable design strategies is looking for "found" objects to use in alternative methods within a home.  It adds incredible personality and a "collected overtime" feeling -- (if done well--huge key point!).  In this master bedroom photo, I found the wood headboard piece, and knew immediately it was perfect for this bedroom.  It is an old architectural piece from Afghanistan that had blown off a house.  I got it, as well as many of my finds, at Alsadu, an import company that helps support economic independence in developing countries.  They purchase products from artists and sources making sure it is at a living wage and within safe and healthy living conditions.  Gotta love that sourcing!  I knew when the empty arches were upholstered in a fuchsia silk from our color palette, this piece would just shine!  The bolster pillow was made from a textile piece from the Swat Valley area and the throw at the end of the bed is made from a wonderful old Suzani from Kazakhstan.

Before

After
Photo credit:  Lisa M. Bond Photography

As you can see in the before pic, the bed was centered in the room with a huge built in bed frame creating privacy from the entry/bath doors.  Because I decided to move the bed against the wall, the entry and bathroom doors are now positioned to the side of the bed, (behind the turquoise silk curtain--you can only see one of the doors in the after photo).  I wanted to give the couple a stronger feeling of cocooning and privacy that they previously had, so designed the ceiling cornice board (see 1st after pic) with the turquoise silk draperies to hang down creating a tented feeling at the head of the bed.  There is also soft lighting within the ceiling cornice board that lightly shines down onto the draperies creating a warm glow at night.  In addition, the walls and ceiling are covered in a light carmel colored grasscloth to intensify the ambiance of coziness.

Before

Batik Art Room Inspiration

After
Photo credit:  Lisa M. Bond Photography

Within the seating area of the room, you can gaze out the floor to ceiling windows at the beautiful lake or chat with someone in the bed.  To the right of the seating arrangement, I decided to remove one window that was not part of the larger grouping for an oversized Asian inspired bookcase which holds mementos and books.  The wonderful art piece overhead was our inspiration for the room hence the turquoise, fuchsia, and yellow grounded by the light caramel on the walls, ceiling, and luxuriously thick wool carpet.

Truly a bedroom to crash in at the end of a day!!