Seattle Victorian Design Recommendations
Consultation Notes My clients live in Seattle, WA, with their 3.5-year-old son, cat, and dog. They like to surf, and they visit Hawaii every year. She is a perfumer who works from home, and her son is very active and utilizes a lot of space while playing in the home. Their home is a two-story Victorian built in 1906. They describe their style as a mix of modern & vintage, and they like most of their color to come from textiles, wallpaper, art, etc. My clients would like a home that feels finished & lived-in, yet still clean and open. They like black, blue, orange, and yellow as accent colors to their white walls. She is inspired by animal prints, Kate Spade, feathers, mid-century, crystals, rustic tables, etc. but isn’t sure how to make them all work together (although she knows they can!) The rooms we are focusing on are the Master Bedroom & the Playroom/Office.
Designer Goals & Beliefs My goal is to provide inspiration, recommendations, and the steps to make my client’s current home match their future aspirations. I will do this through listening to their needs, investigating their personal style, researching the best options for them, and pushing them to think of ideas or options they may never have considered. I believe for a home to feel “lived-in” yet clean & inviting, one needs to find a balance between “old” & “new” furnishings. I will try to utilize the pieces my clients already have in addition to providing recommendations for new & vintage items to add to their home collection. Homes where furniture and colors match perfectly feel less natural & lived-in than those that have a more “collected" or curated pallet. Finally, to make a home feel warm/comfortable without feeling too sterile, I believe one needs to incorporate a variety of textures (wood, linen/textiles, etc.). I will keep this in mind with all of my recommendations.
Master Bedroom Mood Board
Master Bedroom: General Recommendations Your bedroom should be a place that feels clean, calm, and serene. I love the natural mix of black, white, and brown. It is earthy and provides a great canvas for unique pieces to stand out. I think the color pops should be more muted/natural as opposed to bright & cheery. You don’t want the room to feel too graphic/stark with bold color choices, but instead curated, lived-in, and comfortable. Since you don’t have much room in the alcove for a headboard, I recommend putting black & white striped wallpaper (or painted stripes) behind the bed to give visual interest and “anchor” that view. I recommend doing a corresponding wallpaper or paint to the wall that you look at FROM the bed (the wall with the walk-in closet). See next page for bedding recommendations. I would add two side tables with a similar height & lamps for task lighting (perhaps swing arm lamps that are put in on the walls to the right & left of the bed- NOT the wall with the white/ black stripes). I recommend adding a black trunk to the foot of the bed to add depth & visual interest (it will also connect the alcove to the rest of the room a little better). The wall your walk-in closet is on should be the place for the most visual interest (see comment above about black/ white wallpaper or painted stripes). I would recommend moving out your son’s bookcase/chair & replacing it with a teepee (like on your Pinterest). This still gives him a place to be, but it is more contained & adds height to the corner of the room (put a soft rug inside or underneath it- like sheepskin- for his comfort). To the left of the teepee is where art/etc. should be hung (and filter over the door and to the dresser area). I would keep the dresser where it is, but possibly replace it with one that has more interesting features & natural wood tones (still a high boy). I would add a mirror and art above (see recommendations to follow). Remove the bench from under the window, and instead add a house plant to the right corner (the trunk at the end of the bed will take some of the space up that the bench used to take up). Add curtains to accentuate the height in the room, and anchor the floor with a more textured rug (see next section for examples). I also recommend switching out the ceiling light fixture to a larger piece since it can really fill that awkward center of the room. Between the two doors in that 31” spot, I would add a chair or stool (in a comfortable white cotton or linen) & a piece of textile art or shelf to fill the space/add interest to the otherwise plain “door heavy” wall.
Master Bedroom: Specific Recommendations
+ onefortythree
Alcove/Bed Area Recommendations Target If you wanted to warm up the alcove, you could put this Nate Berkus rug under the bed that peeks out on either side. It doesn’t need to fill the whole space, just add visual interest & coziness.
Wallpaper- Rosenberry Rooms (or paint) Etsy Any lumbar Kilim pillow will work since the pallet is neutral
Overtock.com (2 Shams)
Bedding All white sheets/duvet (two regular pillows) with the exception of the shams (see left) & a kilim throw pillow.
Side Tables- Vintage I recommend the side tables be vintage. They should have space for some storage, be the same height, and a rectangle space to fill the sides of the bed. Make sure it has at least some wood element (even if its just a figurine or tray on the table) to warm it up and contrast the brass swing-arm lamps.
Master Bedroom: Specific Recommendations Large Wall Recommendation (walk-in closet wall)
West Elm Landscape mirror adds visual interest.
Etsy
Wallpaper- Rosenberry Rooms
Ikea Both the lamp & throw rug
Dresser- Vintage I recommend the dresser be vintage, dark wood, and visually interesting. See examples on the left.
Artwork- Vintage I recommend using vintage landscapes & portraits in similar color tones to fill the wall. All pictures used here are ones we have in our shop.
Master Bedroom: Specific Recommendations Window Wall West Elm
Floor & Ceiling
Crate & Barrel Sumba Indigo (or just white)
or
Rug- Cowhide Real or fake, it adds depth and texture to the floor (Flor or Ikea)
Houseplant Anywhere, this is a ficus lyrata.
or
Etsy
or
31” Space
Trunk- Vintage In front of bed
West Elm
Office/Playroom Mood Board
Office/Playroom: General Recommendations The office/playroom should be functional & cozy (since you and Johnny both spend a lot of time in there with you working at home). I want it to feel fun & inspiring (since work doesn’t always feel that way). First of all, I would recommend painting most of the room white. The only exception would be painting the entire south wall (wall with the door that lead’s to Johnny’s room) in a black chalkboard paint. This will be where he (and you) can get creative. It seems as if you are using that corner to also be his play area. I agree with this set-up. The wall with the window should be for starting a gallery wall of your son’s art in white frames (like your Pinterest inspiration) below, to the side, and even above the window- fill the space! You can also utilize the chalkboard wall where your son can’t reach to display his art. Under the window, however, I recommend adding a trunk or some type of storage for toys that are accessible to your son. You can put honeycomb shelves (again, like your Pinterest board) at his level to store smaller toys. If you still need more toy storage, but corner shelving between the chalkboard wall and the window wall (see example on next page). Directly to the right of the built-in bookcase, I recommend building an L-shaped desk that wraps to the other (east) wall. This will allow you to better utilize the corner space, as little as it is, and it will be pleasant to the eye with one clean, continuous line (as opposed to an awkward gap). Build your desk all the way to the ironing board (since this is custom, I will show you my recommended finishes/legs/etc., not an actual desk). Keep your lucite desk chair (so great!) and add a portable storage unit underneath (right aligned with the desk). The built-in bookcase should be cleaned up/reorganized. If possible, put the printer on the new desktop. You can add boxes/closed storage to the bookcase as well (to hide smaller items). The rest of the colors/accessories in the space should pop & be vibrant (or lucite). I think adding art/shelving on the wall above your desk will give you more workspace & inspire you (mostly white frames with a few exceptions to make them cohesive). I also recommend two rugs (even though it is a small space) to help visually differentiate the work/play areas (your son’s can be on an angle since he is taking over a corner space).
Office/Playroom: Specific Recommendations Custom Desk Finishes
Wall Color
White Lacquer Top
Desk Legs Hairpin or Brass (from an Ikea Desk Hack)
Custom Corner Shelving Storage for your son if needed
Etsy Storage for your son if needed (natural wood tones or white)
Ikea Above desk storage; you can even deck out the edges of the shelves to add interest (see toe kick on the kitchen counter on the mood board).
CB2 Under the desk storage for work stuff Storage
Office/Playroom: Specific Recommendations Additional Furniture/Accessories LampsPlus
Assorted White Ikea Gallery Frames for Kid Art Etsy/EbayAssorted wall art for desk wall/shelves
Etsy
West Elm
Anthropologie
Ikea
Anthropologie Lucite Desk Accessories
Vintage Leather Pouf
Anthropologie