Entry Foyers for Mini Spaces

James Michael Howard. Perfection in a foyer.

Entry foyers are an important space in the home. They set the tone for the rest of your living space. They should be welcoming but also say something about you. I have an extremely mini entry hall and as you may know I just set up/restored a chest to go in it. After much research, I have come up with some great ways to maximize your space and still have it look gorgeous!

The first element is the mirror. Mirrors have an amazing way of making the room look larger than it is--crazy right??! You can do one large mirror like I did, or several arranged in a fun way!

Pamela Banker used an octagonal mirror here which works quite harmoniously with the wallpaper!

In this foyer by James Michael Howard, he used many small mirrors and arranged them around pieces of art.

This is my sister and BIL's foyer in her apartment in Chicago! The gorgeous console is from Gumps, and I appreciate their symmetry here. Perhaps they could add something under the console? A bench or a ceramic stool?

Another important factor is storage. The entire reason that I needed this wardrobe chest was so that I could store my fabrics and other craft/design supplies. You might not have a chest, but a console. This is okay too because there so so many attractive storage containers out there now! Nobody likes clutter so you can easily store shoes or other things that might have a way of "living" in your foyer.

Robert Stilin put an oversized basket under this console--great for mittens and scarves?? Or maybe tennis raquets?

From Country Living, this designer used vintage suitcases as attractive storage.

Secondary elements should be added to your foyer as well to add interest to the space. I'd love to add this adorable little caned seat chair I saw at an antiques store but I don't have a lot of room. You can also add something functional like a cute umbrella stand or a plant stand.Amanda Kyser placed an intense red modern chair next to her console table. I love the contrast of modern and antique--the table is swaying down because it's so old!

From House Beautiful, Schuyler Samperton placed a stool (on an angle) to counteract the perfection of the scene. Having things look natural is also super important because the front hall is actually a very busy space!

The last part to this is adding objects to the console or chest or table in your front hall. I've decided to put some stacked design books (some of my absolute favorites), an etched brass bowl next to a ceramic candle stick, and possibly a plant. I'd love to add some green to the room. Right when you walk in you say, "Alicia loves design and she sure knows how to kill a spider plant!" See below.


This is just a sneak peek at my newly restored chest! I am quite pleased with what I've done, but it's a work in progress. I have three of my fave design books including Mariette Himes Gomez's Houses, an antique white enamel pitcher, two brass antique candlesticks, and a mirror. I know, the mirror is LEANING and not hanging, but I seem to be handling the trauma of it well. Deep breaths.



Alicia B.

Painted Furniture Adventure

In my quest for the perfect color for my new painted wardrobe (I can't very well call it my "new chest," can I?), I thought I'd take you on a little painted furniture quest. I actually am a bit of a painting nerd as I have a green painted kitchen table and chairs, and a blue distressed dresser! I have also painted my desk a light green and is has distressed naturally on it's own due to a life with me! Many designers use painted furniture. I think it can be a very chic look, but also quite relaxing looking.

Martha has a project here where she painted this pretty/traditional pattern on this caned head and foot board to a bed. So very country and sophisticated. I am so jealous of those wide/irregular floor boards.

Marshall Watson shows us here in this sitting room that with this painted end table, you can create a modern look with a painted piece! Gorgeous drapery fabric on the right, too.

I was thinking of painting the wardrobe a cream color but the walls are also cream. This tone on tone is quite nice and soothing though. By Gunkleman Flesher.

I just adore this little nightstand painted yellow with wire mesh on the doors. By my hero Jamie Drake. I also love the purple from the flowers against the yellow.

This is the color I'm going for, but more blue and lighter! This gorgeous antique chest would be perfect in my fantasy Tuscan kitchen. From Country Living.

Oh! Look who else has a light green kitchen table! I love it with the different colored chairs. It looks like a light and relaxing country kitchen. From Country Living.

I think I've narrowed down my colors to two now. I'm deciding between Swan Sea, and Lotus Leaf, which I can't find online. Sorry. Any opinions? Can't wait to paint it tomorrow!

It's between the one alllll the way to the left (Lotus leaf) and the one on the left in the top row (Swan Sea).

Alicia B.

Spring Trend: Butterflies

Butterflies are everywhere! I've noticed them in magazines, on the blogs, and everywhere I shop (window shop). They are whimsical and colorful and definitely a sign of spring, I'd say. Many accessories are covered in butterflies, from throw pillows, to decoupaged plates, but here are some examples in interiors!

What a sweet kitchen inspired scene by Trevor Dixon via gogoabigail.com

This room from Southern Accents is very garden-inspired with framed butterflies up on the wall. I really love that mini stool under the table with the blanket draped over it.

This is a from good old Domino mag featuring Schumacher's Birds and Butterflies wall paper. Not entirely sure where the larger than life butterfly on the wall comes from...I'm scared. Definitely adds a focal point to the room though, right?

In this super luxurious bedroom by Nancy Boszhardt, she uses framed butterflies on the wall. I like these--they're very close together and all the same species. Very pretty and a great punch of color in this mostly neutral room.

I like this one the most, I think. It looks like a little horticultural study; perhaps there are books on gardening on the other wall and a beautiful garden outside? By Monique Keegan from Country Living.

This exotic garden room is from a Kips Bay showhouse, so is of course very over the top. The chair in the corner is actually in the shape of two butterflies. By David Barrett.

This Freeze Frame Butterfly Chandelier by Lladro, is very whimiscal and looks like a swarm of butterflies around a light. Only $3200!

John Willey had these duvet covers custom made with Holland and Sherry butterfly fabric! This room is super springy with the green painted ceiling and nature inspired fabrics (roman shades, grass cloth walls, etc).

Want some of your own butterfly decor? Here are some small framed drawings from Ballard Designs. Cute!

Read more about this new spring trend HERE in Elle Decor. Personally...I'm not loving it. I know I'm supposed to but all I can think of are glittery butterflies from the mid to late 1990's and I'm uncomfortable. I do love the framed drawings and the horticultural side to them, but the giant, out of scale butterflies are somewhat inappropriate. What do you all think? On board? Hate it? Love it?


Alicia B.

Collectable Collections

My budding collection of demitasse cups.

Lately, I seem to have started a mini collection of these cute demitasses and espresso cups. The one in the middle is from Anthropologie back in the day and the other two I by accident (not really an accident) won from Ebay. This got me thinking about displaying collections and having a collection in general. People collect things from china, pottery, or art, to the more quirky and eclectic to Navajo blankets and globes.

Apartment Therapy shows a collection of globes set up on this sideboard.

I love this fun mix of mirrors in this bathroom. It really satisfies my needs for vanity and each one is different and beautiful. From Martha Stewart.

Here, Martha his used different sized aquariums to display glass globes. I love the colors and the different glass reflecting off of each other.

In this DeMattei and Wade kitchen, like colored dishes are displayed on open shelving. The whole spread is here in House Beautiful.

Many people collect art which can be a great investment, but something more affordable is to collect prints. These framed botanical fruit prints are especially lovely from Country Living.

I am absolutely swooning over this display of hats by Myra Hoefer.

From a Tom Scheerer house in the Bahamas, here is another collection of hats. Not as arty as the above picture, but I am really loving the idea of a hat collection. I super love the texture of the straw all together.

This was kitchen of the month a few months ago in House Beautiful! Susan Dossetter designed this kitchen and displayed china and pottery in this antique cabinet what was originally used for store display.

Rebecca Bradley displays her client's white pottery and cake stands throughout her whole kitchen on top of the cabinets.

Aren't these books amazing? I'd love to be an antique book collector. Designed by Nicholas Pentecost.

This is by Nathan Egan, who displayed a mini collection of copper cake and jelly moulds in a cabinet. Displayed by size!

After a lifetime of collecting, one of my fave designers, Keith Irvine was forced by his wife Chippy to get rid of some of his most prized possessions. Read about it HERE in the NY Times. Sometimes it is hard to know what to do with small frames as they can get lost very easily but Irvine displayed them all around this mantle to make a larger display out of many small objects.

This amazing collection of blue and white and then yellow pottery and china is displayed in this large Nantucket kitchen by Hilary Musser.

I love the striped banding on the little pitchers on the open shelves and how they are pushed so close together...so cute! Also Hilary Musser.

Collections are super personal. Also, the fact that they are something that you acquire over time makes the very special. Organic. Each object could remind you of where you were when you found it; like a time line to your life, or your decorating life. There are many tips also provided by Martha and on Point Click Home, such as arranging objects in like colors and don't try to hide your collections! Be proud of them! What sorts of things do you all collect? Anything weird?


Alicia B.

Nautical Living

From Country living Mag, this refurbished beach house in NC uses lots of browns and blues in the living room. I love the storage chest used as a coffee table here.

Okay, so I guess I rallied and got it together to do a blog even though my life is consumed with packing slash moving slash painting. I don't know if you can tell but I've become obsessed by this water/yacht theme of late. Every now and then I see houses with many nautical motifs and I just love them! I think some of them are over-done and in bad taste but I love the theme and find it charming, nonetheless.

The banister here may be slightly over the top but a creative idea by designer Suzanne Kasler, anyway. The mirrors on the wall are really what drew me to this room, all round and chunky.

I found this adorable old world nautical map wallpaper from Stark. This would be so cute in a powder room or a small cozy den.

By Savoie Architects, this kid's bedroom looks like bunk beds on a ship. As my friend, Sarah, who basically grew up on a boat said to me, in terms of space and storage, there is not one place on a boat that is not used. You need to use the space efficiently and as you can see here, it definitely is: bunk beds, and storage underneath is those cute baskets.

In the same house, Savoie takes the nautical theme into the master bedroom; but in a different direction. Clearly inspired by the idea of sea glass, the color palette is centered around the sea glass mural behind the bed, then taken to the lamps, shades, and pillows on the bed. How beautiful is that? LOVE IT.

Photographer, Matt Albiani designed his entire city apartment around this nautical theme. The wall paper is actually old maps. I love the case on the dresser with a rope handle. His entire place is in Domino mag HERE. His style is a little more DIY than your typical beach house with lots of space, which I appreciate.

Boston based designer Gary McBournie designed this house on Nantucket. I love the chest flanked by the two antique chairs, but the ship's wheel over the bench (with a storage drawer!) is a little too obvious for me. Sorry. I still love you though Gary McBournie!

I SUPER love this kitchen! I love the white cupboards with holes and the unfinished ceiling is KILLING me. Nice touch with the patriotic American flag, too. Ahhh.

One of my favorite things about going to the shore is the shells. The starfish and coral in this bedroom are so cute!

This house on Cape Cod designed by Foley and Cox is also very beautiful, and perhaps that dog is what made me choose this one. Anyway, as a lighting lover, I couldn't look away from those two ship's lanterns above the sofa.

Which was your favorite? I like elements of each one; the glass balls in the knots above, the coral, the colors of blue, white, and mahogany, etc . It might be a few days before I post again so enjoy this one; savor it. I'll be really busy and stressed SO BACK OFF. Just kidding, love me!


Alicia B.