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Room of the Week: Clever Styling Gives a Rustic Library a Modern Twist
A rainbow of colourful books gives this traditional Nashville library an uplifting mood
Not everyone knows what their décor style is. The professional athlete who recently purchased this Nashville home had no clue how he wanted the inside to look. He didn’t even own a single piece of furniture. He handed the reins to interior designer Hannah Crowell, who worked with the owner and his girlfriend to home in on a fun, contemporary look that’s one part Hollywood glamour and one part traditional turned on its head. Blue velvet chesterfield sofa, anyone?
Crowell’s husband helped her colour code the library. ‘It took about 14 hours to get the ombré effect that goes through the whole rainbow,’ she says. ‘At the end of that day, I was like, “Get me a drink."’
Check out 10 more ways you can turn your books into works of art
Check out 10 more ways you can turn your books into works of art
To figure out the style the homeowner and his girlfriend would like, Crowell began by sending them images from Houzz and narrowing things down from there. When they responded enthusiastically to a blue velvet chesterfield sofa, she built the room around that.
While the bookcase was already wired for lighting, the medieval-style fixtures that were in place didn’t sit well with Crowell, so she replaced them with modern, candle-like sconces.
She and her clients also didn’t like the Santa Fe-style plaster finish on the walls that had been installed by the previous homeowners. So the first thing she did to the space was add drywall and paint. For the walls, she chose Cornforth White by Farrow & Ball. ‘It’s the perfect light grey,’ she says. ‘I probably use it in every single house I do. It doesn’t read blue, green or purple, which can easily happen with grey paint.’
She used Lamp Room Gray by Farrow & Ball, which has a little bit of green in it, to darken the bookcase backing.
Through the back and forth with Houzz images, Crowell knew the homeowner’s girlfriend liked Hollywood glamorous style, so she brought in a couple of noir dome chairs.
The rest of her approach focused on mixing. A marble-topped coffee table with silver legs is mixed with brass side tables. ‘I just love mixing metals like that,’ the designer says. Meanwhile, a cowhide rug is layered on top of a jute rug. ‘Jute is so inexpensive,’ Crowell says. ‘I like to do something inexpensive and then something nice on top.’
She chose simple, neutral curtains with studded fabric at the bottom that wouldn’t dominate the high-ceilinged space. ‘I didn’t want to have 20 feet of pattern,’ she says.
Surf coffee table, Worlds Away. Sconces, Currey & Co. Side tables, Gabby.
While the bookcase was already wired for lighting, the medieval-style fixtures that were in place didn’t sit well with Crowell, so she replaced them with modern, candle-like sconces.
She and her clients also didn’t like the Santa Fe-style plaster finish on the walls that had been installed by the previous homeowners. So the first thing she did to the space was add drywall and paint. For the walls, she chose Cornforth White by Farrow & Ball. ‘It’s the perfect light grey,’ she says. ‘I probably use it in every single house I do. It doesn’t read blue, green or purple, which can easily happen with grey paint.’
She used Lamp Room Gray by Farrow & Ball, which has a little bit of green in it, to darken the bookcase backing.
Through the back and forth with Houzz images, Crowell knew the homeowner’s girlfriend liked Hollywood glamorous style, so she brought in a couple of noir dome chairs.
The rest of her approach focused on mixing. A marble-topped coffee table with silver legs is mixed with brass side tables. ‘I just love mixing metals like that,’ the designer says. Meanwhile, a cowhide rug is layered on top of a jute rug. ‘Jute is so inexpensive,’ Crowell says. ‘I like to do something inexpensive and then something nice on top.’
She chose simple, neutral curtains with studded fabric at the bottom that wouldn’t dominate the high-ceilinged space. ‘I didn’t want to have 20 feet of pattern,’ she says.
Surf coffee table, Worlds Away. Sconces, Currey & Co. Side tables, Gabby.
To fill the expanse above the adjacent fireplace, Crowell framed a large piece of what she says was ‘crazy expensive’ wallpaper on a piece of bluish-green silk. ‘[It would have] cost me a kidney’ to do the whole room in it, she says.
In the nearby dining area, she changed the lighting and added a large wooden dining table surrounded by white chairs. The host and hostess seats are backed in metallic Osborne & Little fabric. ‘It gave a subtle shimmer that I liked,’ Crowell says.
Crowell is a big fan of using photography for art pieces, and suggested the artist Danny Clinch to her clients. They bought three pieces, one of which was of Ringo Starr. Crowell learned that Starr had to approve the sale of Clinch’s image to Crowell and her clients, so she spent two anxious weeks waiting to hear whether they were approved. ‘It was like, “Oh my God, are we going to be cool enough for Ringo to let us hang his artwork?"’ she says. He approved, and the piece now hangs at the bottom of the staircase.
Table, Z Gallerie. Chairs, Lee Industries. Chandelier, Currey & Co.
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Crowell is a big fan of using photography for art pieces, and suggested the artist Danny Clinch to her clients. They bought three pieces, one of which was of Ringo Starr. Crowell learned that Starr had to approve the sale of Clinch’s image to Crowell and her clients, so she spent two anxious weeks waiting to hear whether they were approved. ‘It was like, “Oh my God, are we going to be cool enough for Ringo to let us hang his artwork?"’ she says. He approved, and the piece now hangs at the bottom of the staircase.
Table, Z Gallerie. Chairs, Lee Industries. Chandelier, Currey & Co.
Read expert advice on buying original art
TELL US…
What do you think of this colour-coded library? Share your thoughts in the Comments below.
Location Nashville, USA
Who lives here A professional athlete and his girlfriend
Size About 20 x 40ft (6 x 12m)
Hannah Crowell, of Crowell + Co Interiors, recently finished the couple’s library, where she battled soaring, 20ft arched ceilings and a massive bookcase with 120 shelves. The latter she filled by buying books by the foot from New York book shop Strand and colour coordinating them in ombré patterns.
She had started buying really nice art books to fill the space, but quickly realised it would take thousands of dollars to fill it. Ordering 500ft of books – 50ft of white books here, 30ft of orange books there – seemed more economical, with one caveat. ‘You’re not getting the best books; who knows what you’re going to get?’ she says. ‘It becomes completely about filling the bookshelf. You don’t want to look too closely, or you’ll find weird mystery books, Oprah’s biography and stuff you might have bought at an airport in the 1980s.’