November 2, 2010

Warm Brown

With all of the pretty limewashes & grayed finishes we’re seeing everywhere, I find myself appreciating beautiful warm aged wood all the more. With the internet/ blogs/ high-speed pace of trends these days, it’s easy to get “sick” of trends. It’s kind of sad to me because (at least in my world) before I was so over-exposed to everything, I appreciated things longer. It feels as if trends are just taking a hold of us so strongly and then as soon as they become mass-marketed (i.e. Restoration Hardware) we start to dislike them. As I’m sure we’ve all heard before, if you go with what you personally love and with what’s appropriate in your home, your design choices will withstand the test of time. (Although, just like a wardobe, lots of homes need tweaking to stay fresh.) So, I think that there are lots of homes & decor where the introduction of gorgeous weathered woods & gray finishes is perfection, but there are also lots of houses that just look contrived when these finishes are placed en masse inside.

Almost everything’s a trend when you get right down to it… so they can’t be avoided. Just be sure your decisions are based upon you & your home and forget about what’s “fashionable” in homes right now. (this doesn’t mean that there are no out-of-date treatments- because there definitely are- but just be aware of why you’re doing what you’re doing… i.e. Do you love it because you’re seeing it everywhere or do you love it because it hits your gut?)

Anyway, I thought I’d share some of my favorite inspiration images with you of rooms that feature warm woods… (And some include warm leathers because that bit of layered warm richness feels the same to me.) I love just about everything in the image below… Black & white mixed with warm woods is a recurring trend in many of my favorite spaces. The pair of antique dressers is what makes this space for me. (Okay, and the old saturated oil painting in the back room.)

{Image via Sarah’s Fab Day}

I’m crazy over Donna Brown’s work, whom I read about on Cote de Texas. Her rich patinated spaces just look so warm & elegant.

{Donna Brown’s home, via Cote de Texas}

The warm yellowy brown “odd” chair in this room proveds the warm visual relief from all of the cool tones in the room. (The little leatherbound on the table does too!)

{Nate Berkus & Associates}

In the image below there are warm & cooler woods. I love the relaxed, rustic raw-feelling combination:

{image via Cote de Texas} ooooooh how i LOVE this

This old, perfectly aged farm table warms up the room and makes it feel like a home:

{Southern Accents}

You know how much I love this room:

{Nina Griscom’s home featured in Elle Decor}

I love the shock of warm orange wood on the bed here… Lots of people are “over” this wood tone but I think this space just goes to show how wood tones & finished can be fresh & up to date as long as they’re done well.

{eeeek, I can’t remember where I got this}

Ok, and this looks like a torn leather (?) chair but I love the flash of depth & warmth it provides in this ad:

{I think this is a Ralph Lauren ad?}

Mmm mmm mm.. love the grisaille wall but check out the barley twist console…

{House Beautiful}

In the room below the trunk & antlers are what keeps it from feeling too sterile to me… They add that little layer of warmth the room needs. so crazy fun & fresh…

{Nuevo Estillo via My Notting Hill}

Again, the warm woods in this room by Vicente Wolf are the necessary yin to the cool blue yang:

{Vicente Wolf}

And, since Novemeber is here (can you believe it?) check out this beautiful Thanksgiving table setting by Eddie Ross for Lonny Magazine. Eddie does warm woods so well in his NY farmhouse:

Any thoughts?

If you’d like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.

ps- How was your Halloween??! We had so much fun & I’m so glad we did our party.

{One quick pic before the party… I forgot to really take pics- eek.}

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