529 kitchen
While she does have a few 100%-custom pieces—the round, white coffee table in the family room—she likes to “customize” basic furnishings with special accents. To visually tie the seagrass rug in the family room to the drapes, she added an eggplant-colored border to it (many vendors offer a select-your-own border option).
Because sofas can be costly and children can be pretty hard on them, the designer used three modular pieces (as well as an armrest) from Ikea’s Söderhamn collection to construct a sectional in the family room, and then she covered it with a large assortment of pillows. Found at a Turkish retailer online and at various vendors on Etsy (see spilledpaintdesign.etsy.com), the pillows on the sectional feature an array of textiles from around the world, including kilim, indigo batik, and mud cloth. “I try to discover things that are unique and that my friends aren’t all going to have,” says Lonergan.
A full kitchen renovation wasn’t part of the Lonergan’s plan. Instead, she made small decorative tweaks to add some fun to her functional kitchen. Chalkboard paint applied below the island’s counters keeps her children occupied, but close-at-hand when the family is in the kitchen. A single bamboo shade, rather than two, hung straight across the pair of windows makes the cabinet wall look less choppy. Lonergan, a Louisiana native, shows off her roots and her eye for collecting with the oyster plates displayed on the stair wall.
Wood is primed for a comeback thanks to the revival in all things "rustic." We think paneling is no exception. Here, wood paneling brings incredible texture and character to a kitchen in Austin, Texas, by Architects Clayton & Little. A little bit goes a long way, so consider this treatment for a feature wall rather than a whole room.
Lighting and cabinets
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