Design Happens

Neo-southern modern scottish re-belle. Really Emily? That title was long but it totally made us laugh. Nick was terrified that i was going to do all their furniture in plaid. He works in TV so he knows that a lot of these shows try to create conflict and do so by going really over the top for the audience (If you missed it, you can watch or rewatch the full episode of Southern Roman Scottish Charm: Secrets From a Stylist). I totally messed with him about it off camera, with little ‘hope you like neon plaid’ comments here and there.

And Clark liked her title but i think she was thinking it would be super traditional matchy-matchy, where the drapery matches the sofa which matches the pillows kinda thing. So she was a little scared, too.

They sent me their inspiration pics:

She liked light and airy and clean, but with pops of color. Traditional but modern. He liked rustic, worn old world country – he was raised in the Scottish countryside.

For the color palette i wanted to do whites, light blues, with pops of green and darker blues. And to warm it up, bring in a lot of woods and some grays.

My favorite pieces are:

The wood bench. I saw it at the flea market (bare, without a pad on it) but it was already purchased. Turns out it was purchased by my friend, Staci, who owns 45 three modern vintage, so i ended up buying it from her. I wanted the upholstery to feel old world and appropriate to the era but fresh and modern. So i chose a large scale ticking stripe that reads better on camera than the small scale and i had them make it like an old ticking stripe mattress – with large box piping and deep tufting. Its super comfortable, keeps the room really open and is a great scale for the room. Anything much wider would have been huge.

I Also LOVE the dining room table. Second look. It was the insane old piece that was THE HEAVIEST TABLE EVER. It sat up to 12 people and just looked so grand. And it was a total steal at $400. I got it from Hernandez, which is a vintage store on Santa Monica blvd in Hollywood.

The dining chairs are from HD Buttercup and were on sale for $85 a pop, but they are always stocked at i think $115 each. The mirror is Ikea, and the green antique desk was from the flea market for $40. i know, so cheap. The hyde came from the flea market but you can get them at West Elm or Ikea, these days.

And what you missed is a big DIY segment on how to mix and match new and old dinnerware for your table setting. It got cut for times sake. It ended up being a pretty mix of old and new, and high end and low end pieces that all looked really pretty yet not pretentious or fussy.

I finished the table off with a couple maiden hair ferns (my favorite, so pretty and airy and delicate) in antique white stoneware, a couple porcelein antler candlesticks (from Z Gallerie) and a cloche with i think a faux-taxidermied pheasant in it.

Things i don’t like:

i over -pillowed in both looks, but especially the first look. I will use more restraint from now on. So annoying. But that is an easy fix. Second look i paired it back a bit.

Other than that, i think it turned out to be a really pretty room that felt warm and inviting, but looked modern and not granny. And they LOVED IT, truly. Which makes me really really happy.

If you missed this episode (or heck — you just wanna watch it again!), check it out here.