Collection of Pieces ... Living Room 2.0
I asked myself the same thing when I put the striped fabric up in the bedroom. Is this too much? Later I decided that it wasn't and that it was surely one of the most beautiful spaces I'd ever put together, still, in the process of putting it all together, I had lots of doubts.
I'm feeling largely the same about the living room, now. Is it too much blue? There's a blue sofa, a blue tabriz rug (which is HUGE and covers nearly the entire room), blue walls, blue curtains, blue pillows, blue blankets, blue accessories ... it's a bit like walking into a smurf. The pieces individually are beautiful, well made, high quality - but the collection of them all together is a bit different, to say the least.
When I put together the last room it was largely made up of neutrals. The Chinoiserie cabinet was really the "loudest" piece in the room. Now, everything has a certain vibrancy, and while they all work well together, it's so ... different! Different can be a wonderful thing, really. We all need a jolt of "new" sometimes, and this room is certainly loads more playful than the last. Here, checks are paired with stripes and ikat and les indiennes and African indigo mudcloth. I've got blue and white chinoiserie porcelain and brass accents pairing up with vividly colored photography of people, places, and things. Slipcovers next to upholstered pieces with perfectly placed nailheads, rattan lit by antique brass pharmacy lamps, and more pillows than I can count.
There's an ease to it, you walk in and think, I'm comfortable while still thinking it's beautiful ... if you like blue. There's no doubt about it - for those of you who aren't fans of blue - you're gonna hate this room. But for those of you who are, there's still the question of is it too much? I myself haven't even answered that question. It very well could be.
The room is 48% complete. An arbitrary number, I know. But there really is more than 1/2 of the to-do list left to finish. I need to make the curtains, the slipcovers for the chairs, and the cushion cover for the new rattan sofa that lives inside of the nook. (Oh, yeah! There's a nook!), I need to buy a table, actually a few tables, and I need to upholster a little bamboo ottoman that is just darling and gilt, with the scraps of Scalamandre Leopardo I have left over, which will be shamelessly sectioned together like a quilt.
I need to do a few paint touch ups on the navy, and then repaint the upper walls in their dover white. The front door needs paint, and the art needs to be framed. I've had my eye on two folding screens, black with beautiful gold details ... not really Chinoiserie, but similar. Perhaps a bit more French, just in traditional Chinoiserie black lacquer and gold.
Of course there's the styling and primping, perfecting the collections of things atop tables, and making sure that everything else is just so. I've got flooring to repair, and walls to patch. There's talk of building a fabric fireplace screen (like I need one more project) and If I don't find some lamps for the wall you may never see pictures of it finished because it's a bit like walking into a cave at night.
There's got to be more to do ... but I think I've blocked everything else out of my mind. So for those of you who were wondering what progress has been made ... very little. But the plan is in place, and they're on the way! Keep checking back - and follow me on instagram for more!
