Replacing generic brown with a cool, elevated palette wins husband’s approval, wife’s delight
Reclaimed Rooms
One of the biggest compliments for an interior decorator is to get a callback from a previous client. This was the case when Matthew and Jenessia Cunningham contacted us about designing their master suite. Two years earlier I had worked on their nursery, and now it was time for “Momma’s” makeover.
We always ask our clients to provide us with inspiration pictures for the rooms they want us to decorate. Jenessia had one! It was a beautiful room with a “reclaimed” wood focal wall which had an overall shabby-chic vibe. We took the idea of the reclaimed wood focal wall and literally gave it an “update” by putting it on the ceiling in the form of wallpaper. Using actual wood would have been insanely expensive to mill and install, so we selected gorgeous chipped-paint wallpaper. This ain’t yo’ momma’s wallpaper! Today’s paper is digitally printed and is photorealistic … truly, it has shadows and everything and can fool your eye even while standing beneath it.
Like a lot of homes in our area, their bedroom was bathed in brown and tans with dark wood furniture. It was oppressive and bland. We call them “Brown Bettys.” Our goal was to lighten it up, add a sitting area and give the room a calm, relaxing feel. The first thing was to paint over the browns with a crisp palette of whites, greys and blues (from the wallpaper). Matthew was very reluctant to have his bedroom painted white. When we explained/promised the white would absorb and take on the adjacent colors, his objections subsided, but he was still a bit leery.
Next was finding the perfect bed. After an exhaustive search regionally, we decided to create our own with the help of Casey Dávid at the Headboard Studio. We found a gorgeous fabric at Milling Around, designed the shape and picked out the finish of the nail heads. Two weeks later it was finished, and we absolutely LOVE it!
I always prefer to shop locally/regionally, and our area provided almost everything in the room aside from the bench beneath the mirror. We found some beautiful bedside tables at Designer’s Showroom; a great, clean, lined chair (on sale) plus two faceted lamps (also on sale) at Yarbrough’s; a great rustic buffet from La-Z-Boy furniture; a rug from Tuesday Morning; and a perfectly distressed mirror and lamps from Paul Michael-Monroe. The chandelier was found at Henson’s in Bossier and looks as if it were made for this room.
Almost everything was in place, but we were lacking art. We looked to Vanicka Terhune to provide us with a gorgeous abstract in metallic gold, grey, white and varying shades of pink. It turned out stunning and added just the right amount of modernity to the space without overwhelming it.
The end result speaks for itself. What once was a generic “brown” room is now a relaxing, romantic oasis to retreat after a long day of kids/ work/life. A high compliment was paid by Mr Cunningham when he said, “I like it, looks nice ... I even like the white now.” Matthew, we will take it and can’t wait to start on your “man” room. Jenessia, we thank you and hope you are enjoying your new Refined Rustic suite; it complements you.
Myron Griffing is the owner of Space: interiors. Contact him at 464-6254.
