get the look: hamptons guest house

Great things come in small packages and this Hamptons pool house-turned-guest house/couple's retreat is a fabulous example.  I've loved this little slice of heaven, which was actually part of Traditional Home's 2009 Showhouse, since it was first published...I still have the dog eared issue amongst my hoard of magazines! Comfy, oversize furnishings, a blue, gold and gray color palette, plush rugs and soft patterned fabrics create a charming, dreamy feel, perfect for a little getaway (without actually getting away!)  I featured the bedroom in my headboard roundup yesterday and just couldn't get enough of it, so I thought I'd post the rest of the house today, as well as a few picks to recreate that dreamy bedroom:

Get the look:

Kelly Wearstler Katana pillow / Bronte lamp / Colin club chair / Souk rug / Chesterfield bed

Driftwood sculpture / Campaign desk

Have a wonderful weekend!

5 amazing headboards/beds

The furniture in our master bedroom was a purchase my husband made right before we started dating - I remember the first time I saw it, in all its knotty pine glory (eek!) - I wasted no time painting it black the day he left for deployment right after we were married!  The time has come to get rid of it (halleliuiah!) and get something more "us" and less matchy-matchy.  Needless to say, I have major headboards on the brain!  Here are five beauties I can't get enough of lately:

1.  Ingrid.  I can't express how much I love this bed - between the shape, the nailhead trim and the raffia upholstery, I am completely smitten.  Unfortunately, she comes with a pretty hefty price tag that far surpasses what I have to spend on a headboard, dresser, end tables, bedding and accessories COMBINED, so, for now, all I can do is admire her from afar:

Phoebe Howard / Tumblr

Alice Lane / Bunny Williams

2.  Chesterfield. What I love most about this English-inspired design, aside from its gorgeous tufting and dramatic rolled ends is the fact that it works with so many different decorating styles and is equally beautiful in both masculine and feminine spaces.  (I happen to love it without the footboard):

 

Traditional Home / Lee Ann Thornton

3.  Seagrass.  There is a fine line between "beachy" and "kitschy", but this woven seagrass beauty gets my vote for it's clean, modern lines and, of course, beautiful texture!  Pair it with crisp white monogrammed bedding and black lamp shades like this Nate Berkus-designed bedroom below and you have sophisticated elegance!

4. Canopied.  We have vaulted ceilings in our bedroom and I think a modern, canopied farmhouse bed would be a fabulous way to draw the eye up and make use of all that extra space.  Adding some beautiful linen panels to each corner for softness - perfection:

Traditional Home

Mark D. Sikes via Lonny

5.Colette. Ah, Colette....your subtle curving and nailhead trim are classic and so elegant.  Just when I think it's a little too dressy for my style, designer and blogger Erin from Elements of Style shows how well it works with bright colored bedding for a casual feel or with simple black and white bedding for a more sophisticated look:

Which is your favorite?

color cues from amanda nisbet

As much as I love and gravitate toward neutral spaces and color palettes, there is nothing like a bold pop of color to make a room feel fun, fresh and crisp-especially as the weather gets warmer.  I've admired designer Amanda Nisbet's work since I saw a Hamptons home she designed in Coastal Living a few years back - she is a pro at using color in unexpected places like the trim on a seagrass stair runner, pieces of art, bold curtain panels, striking lighting or even a bowl of brightly colored flowers to amp up her otherwise neutral spaces.  The result is fun, sophisticated and so fresh.  Here are a few of my favorites from her portfolio:

To see more of Amanda's work, check out her portfolio here.

glossy black front doors - anything but boring

Picking paint colors, furniture, accessories, art for OTHER people is what I do best.  But when it comes to making sometimes even the smallest design decision for myself, forget about it.....I will go back and forth over making a final choice on most anything when it comes to my own home.  Take, for example, my front door.  I posted months ago about wanting to paint it pale blue/gray.  Then again, a few weeks later about wanting to paint it black.  I procrastinated for another few weeks because of all the pollen, but the pollen is now long gone, so it's time to put paint brush to front door and I am going with.....glossy black! 

I think I wavered so long on this one because I was afraid that black would be boring, but after I saw the first coat going up, it is anything but!  It's simple, classic and sophisticated and it's going to look amazing with the ginormous green ferns flanking my door! I'll be sure to post before and after pictures once I'm done, but in the meantime, here are a few images that got me on the glossy black bandwagon in the first place:

Wendy Posard / Gil Schafer

Thomas O'Brien via Domino

Tumblr / Birgitta Wolfgang

BHG

Tim Barber / Hammersmith Atlanta

via

Andrew Skurman

Need I say more?

benjamin moore whale gray + gray bathroom cabinetry

After posting this gray cabinetry shot in my portfolio last week, I got a TON of emails asking what paint color was used (it's Benjamin Moore Whale Gray, one of my absolute favorites!)  Going darker gray was a pretty big step for my client, but once she saw how well it picked up the grey veining in the honed Carerra marble countertops, not to mention how gorgeous it looked with a white bowl sink and fabulous lucite drawer hardware, she was so excited she did! 

I think making the decision to go with Whale Gray was a bit easier for my client, since this was in a downstairs guest bathroom - a perfect place to go gray on your cabinets if you love color but are scared of making a color commitment in your kitchen.  From pale, wispy gray all the way to bold charcoal, you just can't go wrong with gray cabinetry in the bathroom.  Here are a few beautiful examples:

via

Urban Grace Interiors

Tim Clarke via Coastal Living

2012 Southern Living Idea House

Classic Casual Home

Urban Grace Interiors

Urban Grace Interiors

Hope you're off to a great start this week!