An all-access, nothing left unshared look at our new hearth room after a refresh. All sources shared and linked.
Earlier this year we refreshed the first floor of our home. We completed our addition and renovation of the entire house almost 10 years ago, and while I still felt like it was our “new house,” in reality it had started to show some wear and tear. The kitchen needed a fresh coat of paint and the furniture needed an upgrade. It turned into a bit of an “if you give a mouse a cookie” situation.
Lesson Learned
I had scheduled our trim carpenter to install built-ins in the dining room (more on that later) the first week of January and our painter to come the second week of January. A few days before the trim carpenter came I decided on a whim to have him install picture frame moulding in our entire hearth room/dining/kitchen. I also thought, while he was at it, add it up the stairs and into the upstairs hallway (which was also getting painted).
This was where the wheels started to fall off. After the trim was installed, our painter informed us that we’d have to skim coat all of the walls if I wanted a satin finish to mimic painted paneling (which I did). To add insult, it would take more time (more money) to skim the walls now that the trim was already installed. Our walls were a flat finish before, so they had been rolled, not really a texture, but enough of a bump to notice with a satin paint. Learn from me! Skim the walls first, then apply trim.
JSH : Pillows, Emma in English Blue & English Green Linen | Botanical Artwork & Frames
Paint Color :
Carrington Beige (Benjamin Moore) is a color we had used in our house before. It is a step “more” than our previous Navajo White. A little more beige, a little moodier without being too dark, pink, green or yellow. It is perfectly beige.
Walls & Trim in Satin, Carrington Beige (Benjamin Moore)
Ceiling in Flat, Carrington Beige at 50%
I wanted to decorate with less contrast in our home and concentrate more on the middles. Medium beige, medium woods, medium gold, medium blues and greens. I also wanted to be able to use white and ivories as colors without them blending into the walls.
We love how the color turned out. Colors seem lighter when in a big space and honestly it doesn’t feel too terribly different – just warmer. In this big room the extra cozy factor is welcome. This summer I’ll add more bright whites, blues and greens to make it feel a little fresh and bright. Of course pillows and flowers are always in constant rotation around here because of my day job.
Pillow Layer
Adding a new layer of pillows each season is part of my job, and another reason why I love keeping the paint and furniture neutral, allowing me to switch it up often.
On the left is our newest collection, The Amanda in Natural Gold. This color palette of soft greens and golds looks so beautiful with the new sofa and paint colors. I had this room in mind when I selected the colors. On the right, we have lighter colors on the same sofa with our Charlotte trimmed in English Green + Emma & Claire Reversible in English Blue.
JSH : Pillows left to right, Smoke Linen Solid, Amanda in Natural Gold, Emma in English Blue | Botanical Artwork & Frames
New Sofa & Chairs
Our Pottery Barn Slipcovered Sofa was comfortable, but gosh the slipcovers were expensive, and before I invested in a third set I realized that maybe the scale just wasn’t quite right for that room. I kept looking at this main wall and sofa thinking I needed to add another table, or another lamp to help fill the space, then it dawned on me – it needed a larger sofa. Because I am a matchy-match girl, I needed the chairs to match the sofa… and down the rabbit hole we went.
Because I have an account at our local designer showrooms, I was able to order custom furniture at a really great price. Unfortunately, it makes it difficult to share links with you all. However, if you have a designer friend they can look into these pieces for you. I will tell you, I LOVE this sofa. It is my spot each night and I couldn’t be happier. They were investment pieces to be sure, but I am confident that we will have these pieces for the rest of our life (what we tell ourselves when we make “investment” purchases…). I decided against a perennial type fabric in favor for the linen because I just couldn’t resist it. My designer friend assured me that natural fabrics can be easier to clean and get stains out of because they don’t discolor with spot treatment. I’m keeping my fingers crossed and food in the kitchen.
We upgraded to the premium down fill and it is the most comfortable thing in the world – aside from the chairs. They both sit well without being too slouchy, but I love how deep and long the sofa is for stretching out and watching TV or reading. Taller arms were a requirement since I like to prop pillows up on the end to lie down on. This might sound particular, but after testing our roll arm sofa in here for scale (from our living room), the lower arms really bothered me.
I have found some similar style and scale options here :
Sofa : Custom CR Laine, “Julian Sofa – Long” Libeco Linen in Oyster, 94.5W x 41D x 37H
Similar Sofa Styles : Jenny Kayne | McGee & Co. | Amazon
Chairs : Custom CR Laine, English Roll Arm Chair with Skirt, “CD86 SERIES” (CD8605E), Libeco Linen in Oyster, 35W x 38D x 38H
Similar Style : Restoration Hardware
Similar Style Dupes : Amazon | Amazon
Our ottoman is older from Pottery Barn, but I DIY-ed upholstered a new cover on it. I love this fabric (Wellsely Hall Heisman in Celedon), it is indoor/outdoor, which is good news for us that there is still a place to sit on in the living room and eat chocolate ice cream. It is a to-the-trade source, I’ll keep you posted if we decide to order some yardage. It inspired our new Grosgrain Stripe Paper Suite in the shop, you may have noticed. Below, an embarrassing moment when the cocktail napkin matches the ottoman… and the wrapping paper, gift bags, placemats & booklets.
New Botanical Art :
I created a new Botanical Studies Series especially for this room. When we were in Italy this summer, I took note on the art everywhere, especially the interiors of the hotels. Often times it was soft and subtle, adding more to the overall feel than standing out and distracting.
I wanted the art to feel like a botanical sampler – something in progress and a little rough. Sprigs and leaves, petals and seeds practiced, repeated scattered. I used the color palette of the room, soft in-betweens focusing on the greens, golds and blues.
Many of these are favorite flowers or foliage : Dusty Miller, Viburnum, Forget-Me-Knots, Violas, Rosemary, Lenton Rose (hellebore), Marigold, Boxwood. The frames are very reminiscent of what we came across in Europe with carved leaves running around the perimeter.
The art is available in our shop as prints and framed, here. These are 11×14″ frames and canvases.
Lamps
We have these lamps all over our house. I like a tone-on-tone color palette. Clearly. I didn’t care for the shade they came with (a trend…), so I ordered these Pleated Linen from amazon. We ordered these lamps from a wholesale site, but I’m having trouble finding the exact online from a retailer, but here is a close dupe.
Lamp (similar style) | Pleated Lamp Shades (Eggshell Linen)
Lighting
We had sconces added above the fireplace and on each side of the French doors. These styles are now available in rechargeable battery/non-wired options (!!!). I wish we had been able to do that, it would have saved us a good deal on electrical work.
Double Sconce (wired / non-wired, rechargeable battery), Antique Brass
Single Sconce (wired), Antique Brass, Sconce Shades (I wanted a softer white than what they came with)
Baskets
Baskets add instant warmth to a room. We have three large ones in this room and without them the room feels empty and cold. Feel like you need a layer in your room? Add a basket or three – I can’t tell you how accurate it is. These are from Mainly Basket and (again, sorry) fall into the investment catagory. They are worth it. Ask for them as a gift. They will last a lifetime. Perhaps we should start throwing parties and order one or two a year like our moms did with Longaberger?
Basket Trays (above, comes with a nested set of two, this is the larger pictured)
Mudroom Basket (squared, on the side of the sofa), we keep puzzles and games in here, with a throw on the top.
Log Basket (round with favorite quilted throws from Tessa’s shop)
All Sources :
Lamp (similar style) | Pleated Lamp Shades (Eggshell Linen) | Mudroom Basket | Log Basket (with throws) | Basket Trays | Mudroom Basket | Log Basket | Quilted throws | Botanical Paintings in Gold Frames | Pillow Covers | Sconce Shades | Double Sconce (wired / non-wired, rechargeable battery)