Displaying posts labeled "Grey"

A heritage frontage and a public lane to the side, the desire for modern living with privacy and light. Courtyards and high windows, concrete blocks and polished floors warmed by banks of rich timber storage. Sleek and stylish urban living. Highbury Grove by Ritz&Ghougassian.

Photography by Tom Blachford

An elegant mix of old and new is at the heart of this home by French-born Californian-based interior designer Florence Livingston of Florence Choux Livingston Interiors. It is a home with soul, a serene oasis for family and friends with its neutral palette of greys and taupes and those beautiful limed floorboards.  What a wonderful home to come home to at the end of a hectic day.

All prim and proper, solid and traditional out the front, slick and modern out the back. I’m stalking a renovated home in the Melbourne suburb of Malvern and it’s my favourite type of renovation … a sensitively restored facade with a fun open plan family addition to the back. A small back yard isn’t so much of a drawback when stylish landscaping and easy sight lines in and out through expansive doors and cleverly placed windows blur boundaries. Link here while it lasts.

Floor to ceiling windows, bespoke cabinets with a waterfall marble countertop, brass accents and rich wooden floors. What’s not to love about this stylish Baltimore kitchen by Bria Hammel Interiors? Add the cutest little corgi and well, it’s just about perfect. If you love the look then you can see more of this stunning house here.

Photography by Jennifer Hughes

I was at it again a few weekends ago, going to town on my living room walls. As much as I love some dark paint, having a dark grey living room after about 3 years was getting to me. The cave-like effect had lost its initial appeal. Here is what it looked like before the transformation:

That was Downpipe by Farrow and Ball – high gloss on the trim and fireplace and estate emulsion on the walls (and Plummett on the ceiling) . Luckily I didn’t need to change anything but the walls (gawd I hate painting trim – and it’s high gloss so I may be stuck with it forever!). I am not a faux-finish gal but I have always loved the plaster walls the talented duo behind Jersey Ice Cream Co. always use in their projects. So I thought I would give it a go. Due to my busy schedule and general laziness when it comes to painting projects, I came up with a plan. I went to Home Depot and bought a couple of cans of Rustoleum’s Chalked paint – a medium grey (Country Grey) and a concrete coloured grey (Aged Grey). Then I bought many packs of cheesecloth, at Jo’s suggestion. I did a rough, thin coat of the medium grey over my dark grey walls, letting a bit of the dark grey show through. Oh – chalk paint dries almost instantly so I added a bit of water to it. Then I brushed on the lighter grey in small sections and immediately started dabbing with the cheesecloth. And voilà! It looks like concrete/plaster!

Here is a quick snap I took on my phone during the process:

And here is how it looks now! (I know some people may think the dark was better but trust me, a room with larger windows that let in more light would have been much easier to live with)

I was inspired by a photo I saw recently while doing blog research and found this simple solution for hanging art in a not-so-average way. I bought some small black chain at Canadian Tire which I attached by little eye hooks into the bottom of the molding left it hang down (I might hook it into the baseboards to straighten it out a bit). Those beautiful frames I found at Highjinx. They had awful still life paintings in them so I painted over them with some leftover paint I had stashed away.

(I really want to sell the awesome leather sofa under those tablecloths and get a new one more suitable for this space. Maybe this? Or this?)

Sources: raspberry vintage sofa + brass base side table + pink tufted chair – The Pale Blue Dot; Moooi carpet by Marcel Wanders – The Modern Shop; sheepskins – Cowboy Kate Outpost; Knoll tulip table + black tall plant stand + blanket over back of sofa – Alteriors; floral pillow on raspberry sofa – Wild Rice Designs; knitted pillow – Hana Waxman; embroidered bat art – Caitlin T. McCormack; large portrait over sofa – photo by Amanda Margareth; ceramic cat + black base side table – Highjinx; pink blanket and remaining pillows – Homesense; FLOS aim pendant by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec. Everything else random vintage finds.