Traditional Updates
This week I’ve been working on a couple of traditional homes with the goal of respecting the tradition and adding a young, fresh, and fun vibe. This is one of my favourite type of jobs. I grew up around very traditional homes and have a true love and respect for them.
Here’s a highlight from job one:
A client’s stairs in a formal Edwardian home need a runner. The client want’s something bold!
The stripes at the top stand out as the obvious choice, they’d work perfectly. Bold yet safe.
That’s what makes me want to walk on the wild side with the zebra stripes from Stark. I’m leaning toward the darker of the two. Sexy and classic. The zebra stripe as a decorative element has been around for a long time and as long as you don’t use two much it never really goes out of style. Mind you I do think the Edwardians would be shocked to see zebra outside the trophy room.
The stripe below is the same as the more muted one in the above photo but it’s luscious colours make it an even bolder statement.
When closely examined the colours in this carpet are found in the traditional rugs throughout the house but in different concentrations. A less surprising choice than one might initially expect.
It’s going to be interesting to see what the client thinks!
Highlight from Job TWO:
A client on the other side of town has a new home with a very traditional aesthetic. A sitting room open to the kitchen also opens to the living room so all of these spaces need to work together. The living room is done in rich mossy greens and browns. The drapes are bold brown on brown horizontal stripes. I wanted the sitting room to feel like a lighter extension of this space.
A home with young children can be as traditional as you like but should have some sense of whimsy.
The flowered fabric above is for simple drapery panels. The green is for chairs and shown with giant scale ric-rac as a skirt embellishment. A fun stripe will liven up an English style sofa with long legs and a single long down filled seat cushion.
Traditional, updated homes are a lovely warm place to be and I’m happy to be a part of making that so.
