Month: January 2012

Unusual color combination interiors Steven Gambrel living room via belle vivir

Peach with magenta or pink with mango are colors that not always come to mind when decorating.  Leave it to Muriel Brandolini, Jeffrey Bilhuber and Steven Gambrel to teach us how.  Muriel Brandolini does it in a very subtle way, everything kind of blends in.  Her colors do not have much to do with nature as much with her own creations.  Jeffrey Bilhuber on the other hand does it in a more contrasting way.   Steven Gambrel selection of blues is not any kind of blue and the outcome is always uber-sophisticated.  They are all master at doing it.  I love their result.

Unusual color combination interiors steven gambrel belle vivir blog
Unusual color combination interiors belle vivir blog
Steven Gabrel
Unusual color combination interiors
Unusual color combination interiors muriel brandolini belle vivir blog
Beige baseboards and moldings is not nough for Muriel, she rather paint them in either dark or saturated reach colors.
Unusual color combination interiors Living room muriel brandolini belle vivir blog
Pink, peach, raspberry and light green make this room look like a piece of cake.
Unusual color combination interiors Jeffrey bilhuber belle vivir
 Here, Jeffrey used purple, lilac, bronze.  Beautiful!
Unusual color combination interiors Jeffrey bilhuber belle vivir blog
Purple paired with mango comes easy out of Jeffrey Bilhuber’s hands.

It’s what they say…?  I think that makes more sense when it comes to snow.  People around me, excluding myself, would be perfectly happy with seeing snow only in ski destinations, were complaining about the East coast having not seen enough snow this winter.  So, mother nature heard them and today it is snowing outside our window.  A truly beautiful vision, especially when you’re lucky to see it from above, but glad there is only 3 to 4″ maximum expected.  Cuddle up!

images via Pinterest.

My hubby was telling me the other day “how come you don’t post much for guys?”  and he is right.  I have neglected the masculine side of this blog, which could also be very elegant, chic or beautiful.  I went moody today in color selections.  “Because they’re worth it!” Enjoy!

In my opinion, fabric is the most tangible and visual of all results in interiors, it can reveal a lot about how much thought was put into each decision during the entire design process that takes to decorate an interior.   My current client is a City lady with a very traditional taste, so we decided to use fabric that would stand the test of time.  The sofa, purchased at ABC Carpet, went from dull to lively after replacing the very antiquated rough silk with a depressing color for a bright blue velvet from Kravet.  The pillow fabric is by Thom Filicia which we are also using on two fauteuils.  It’s amazing what a change of fabric can do.  Her existing  bench was a keeper but the prior fabric was not letting the beautiful piece shine by itself, so it was recovered in a beautiful leopard that has a hint of blue.  As many apartments in the City, this one is a little bit on the small side, so it was crucial to find pieces that would not overcrowd or weigh the room down.  When looking for counter stools for the kitchen island, these ones from Anthropologie came to my mind.  They look so artistic and light, they look like Cristian Astuguevieille rope furniture. To make them more suitable for a city apartment and also to make them more comfortable we added a seat cushion and upholstered them in a branchy-like fabric, also from Kravet.

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 Love the friction between modern sculptural furniture and the traditional architectural elements.

Who ever tells you is a collector, send him/her here or better yet let’s redirect them here, to see the the world’s largest collection of plaster casts, many of which were formerly sold off by the Metropolitan Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.  James Perkins, event organizer and property developer is the owner of the restored Aynhoe Park which is full all kinds of Architectural fragments you can possibly imagine from capital columns, huge rosettes adorning the walls, statues, busts, corbels, brackets, pilasters and you name it.   Stuffed animals sit on tables or stand on floors.  The impressive country house in the Oxfordshire countryside of England dates from the 17th Century and it’s furnished with a mixed of sculptural contemporary and traditional furniture.  The detail of the disco balls hanging in the orangery, which looks almost like a museum, is a completely unexpected one. This incredible mansion is available for events, just be careful and don’t go and smash anything.  Enjoy!

The huge Acanthus leaf ornaments hanging between Ionic Columns.