I can tell you right now, with absolutely no hesitation, that this is my favorite room. Of. All. Time. Styled by Emily Henderson for the lovely and creative Joy (of Oh Joy!), it’s just the epitome of perfection. You can read up on the process (including tons of source i.d.’s) here and here on Emily’s blog, but today, I’m going to get into the details of why I think this room works so well. P.S. Sorry that I’m not sorry for this post eventually turning into a slightly uncomfortable love letter to Ms. Henderson…
FURNITURE
Emily always knocks it out of the park when it comes to furniture. Most of the pieces she uses are vintage, either cleaned up and left in their original materials, or re-purposed, recovered and given a whole new life. Oh, what I would do to have the chance to shop where she does…The mid-century vibes here are given a little glam with chrome details, but the wood touches in the side table and coffee table balance it out so that it’s not so WOA in-your-face metallic.
COUCH
What can I say about the couch, other than it’s G-O-R-G-E-O-U-S? Again, it’s that period-specific mid-century style (although actually a Big Box Store purchase from Room & Board) with a hint of something unusual in the slight slant to the arm. Love the clean lines, love the color, love the simple touch of pattern in the accent pillows. I’m glad that the legs are simple too – It’s all in that careful balance again. This room could so easily shift into “too much,” but the colors/pattern/texture are styled juuuuusssssssttttttt right to remain calm and collected.
WALLPAPER
This wallpaper, a design actually by the homeowner herself, has this fabulous metallic sheen. You can get a slight sense of it in the first photo in this post, right over the couch – See where you can hardly even see it anymore from the light shining on it? I think that’s what makes it so easy on the eyes despite the wild pattern. Sometimes you see it, sometimes you don’t. It also comes in a silvery blue color, which would be even more of a visual play. I love it. I can’t afford enough to cover even one wall in our home, but I bought a swatch and framed it just to have a little piece of this room in our house (as seen in this photo).
TEXTURE
We’ve got pretty much every type of texture there is in this room – Metallics (trunk), fluffy (accent pillow), wood (coffee table), polyester/cotton blend (sofa) and wool/cotton blends (rug and carpet). In my opinion, the more the merrier when it comes to texture. It’s a subtle way to give a room interest without having to resort to a crazy color pallet.
ART
I’ve already gone ahead and pinned my favorite pieces for future purposes…Which means that much of the art in this room is attainable for “normal” people like me! That lemon print at the top is under $30 – Awesome. But if you wanted to get the same eclectic look for even less than that, just hop over to your nearest thrift shop and start digging. Don’t get bogged down with finding pieces that have to be so special that they can hold their own – This type of multi-piece gallery wall is meant to make ho-hum pieces look amazing as a collection. One of my favorite ways to hang art…
STYLING
Emily always manages to group objects with what seems like no effort at all – as though they’ve been that way forever. Fundamentals behind her groupings: unlike heights, unlike colors, unlike textures. Asymmetry seems to be the secret to styling success, and I’m more than happy to follow suit. You can too!
So what are your favorite details?
For all of my top inspirational spaces, click here, and for the whole slew of “All in the details…” features, click here.
