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Living Room
Before and After: From Scary to Shabby Chic
Côté Maison reader Serge purchased a dilapidated retirement home in the Bordeaux region of France after leaving a duplex in Paris. The exterior had already been partially restored but the house still needed a lot of work. Two years and thousands of euros later, he and his wife had redone the roofing, floors, bathrooms, bedrooms, electricity, tiles, garden, pool, and even planted 360 saplings!
Get the Look: Molly Sims's Lovely Living Room
Interior designer Kishani Perera designed Molly Sims's former Hollywood Hills home, and it's always been one of my favorite celebrity spreads. There's a lot going on in this corner of her living room, but since Perera cued the palette to cool blues, greens, and purples, it's not overwhelming. Her arrangement of black ornate framed mirrors really makes a statement, and the black beaded chandelier plays off of that, bringing in even more glamour.
Get the Look: Bright Modern Living Room
It's a bold move to choose a large checkered print for your sofa — that's a lot of pattern. But when you keep your palette otherwise simple, with just a couple other principal colors, it works! I absolutely love the daring sofa in this room.
Love It or Hate It? A Wall of Mismatched Mirrors
In this very eclectic living room, which I think belongs to photographer Debi Treloar, one wall is adorned with an arrangement of mismatched ornate gold mirrors in varying shapes and sizes. In general, I feel like it's hard to go wrong with a mirror. Here, I think the disparity of the mirrors works with the room's sort of lost-and-found vibe.
Cool Idea: An Easel as TV Stand
Since I don't watch much TV, updating my hefty idiot box to an ultra slim HD flatscreen is not very high on my list of priorities. But if I did own the latest and greatest in television technology, I would love to use an artist's easel as a stand, like this one featured in House Beautiful. Tech gadgets are always difficult to coordinate with décor, but that's especially true when your design scheme is earthy and traditional.
Love It or Hate It? Cary Leibowitz's Pop Pink Pad
The Harlem home of American visual artist Cary Leibowitz (aka Candyass) is a melting pot of sorts, juxtaposing objects from different eras. Louis XIV furniture lives with psychedelic '70s lamps, optical wallpaper, neoclassical busts, and Victorian secretaries. Pop art is the lowest common denominator, as Leibowitz is a collector of Andy Warhol's works.
Get the Look: Brad Ford's Lovely Lime Living Room
I'm still swooning over this living room designed by New York-based interior designer Brad Ford. It's light and airy, comfortable, great for entertaining, and well-balanced. There's also a good mix of eras here: the Saarinen side table and swivel head floor lamp are very midcentury, while the quilted white leather ottomans and exposed metal legged sofa are undoubtedly contemporary.
Before and After: Vicente Wolf's Living Room Design
If you've ever hired an interior designer, you probably received renderings, floor plans, and fabric and surface swatches before your designer made orders and had everything installed. A good designer will give you a very thorough sketch of the space, and all the swatches to help you get a feeling for the colors and textiles. New York-based interior designer Vicente Wolf recently shared a rendering and photo of this space he designed, which I thought might be interesting for you to see if you've never hired a designer.
Crave Worthy: Jane Lounge Chair
If I lived in a world where I didn't eat takeout with my feet on the coffee table, occasionally work from home in my pajamas, and wear the same pair of jeans three days in a row, I'd most definitely welcome the Jane Lounge Chair ($3,300) by Reagan Hayes into my living room. As it stands, my life is too casual for a dapper thing like this. But oh, how beautiful it is with its tailored silhouette and rich cherry stain and subtly lustrous upholstery.
Su Casa: Ndchristine's Smartly Arranged Frames
After moving into an old farmhouse a few months ago, Su Casa member ndchristine and her husband have slowly been updating the place, as time and money allows. I love how she has hung the frames behind her television. The organic arrangement works with the low placement of the TV, rather than fighting it — as a single, large frame or painting hung above it would.
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