As I mentioned last week, I went on the annual house tour sponsored by the Charlotte Homebuilders Association. While I have to remind myself that that these homes weren’t necessarily decorated for “real” families, I did see some great ideas that could be used in anyone’s home.
One of the highlights this year was the beautiful lighting. It seemed to be the trend from house to house.
How this makes me want to rip out our ceiling fan! But, if I want my husband to sleep in the same room, it’s not going anywhere.
I loved these pendant lights against the dark cabinets.
There were also alot of great tablescapes:
Other ideas & rooms that I liked. . . .
This was one of my favorite rooms, and such an attainable look. I like the idea of framing maps (or other artwork) and floating a large gallery wall behind a bed. It makes such a statement without spending a lot of money. . .
This open entertainment unit is a great solution for those of us with a big bare wall in the family room. It fills alot of wall space visually without being too heavy. I also like how they used the lamps to flank the TV.
I really liked the textured rug, but the bright artwork really stood out. This could be a great art project for your kids.
More bright framed art in the same living room. Again, how easy it would be for your kids to recreate these pieces with scissors and construction paper.
I really liked this flower medallion bedding from Crate and Barrel. Perfect for a guest room!
Maybe not the prettiest but definitely the most practical idea–an ironing board countertop, right above your washer and dryer! We saw several laundry rooms contained in the master bedroom closets on the tour.
I loved this little lucite table in the powder room.
This silver bamboo chair (in a girl’s bedroom) was too cute! There was also a matching etagere stand in the bathroom.
This was my favorite living room on the tour. It’s casual, yet all of the mirrored accents give it a little sparkle. And, the curtains mounted on the chrome rods were really striking.
Hope you enjoyed the tour!
thanks so much for the look, Emily. I do like those b&w maps with that black bed – stunning. what did you think of the washer and dryers in the master closets? an interesting idea…..
These are gorgeous rooms! I absolutely love the drapes in the last living room – do you have any idea where they are from? They are amazing…the shimmery silver, chocolate, and grey! Ah! thanks for posting!
I am intrigued by the wainscoting lining the wall behind the bed, between the two windows! It looks great, and would love to see an upholstered headboard here, perhaps to soften the look? Very inspiring images! Janell
Beautiful, beautiful, inspiration. I was trying to summarize these rooms as a whole to determine the trend that is going on. What I see is a lot of black and white/cream, mirrors, metals, glass, with a few cottage-style accessories brought in for warmth. I would love your take on that. I did see some pops of color, but not as much as I’ve seen in the past, and I notice the absence of color on the walls, except for the very neutral white/creams/light gray. Do I have it right?
Loved the tour!!! Thanks for all the inspiration.
Loved the tour! So many ideas that you can apply in your own home!
Great tour! I’ve seen the collage of circle mirrors by Martha Stewart at Home Depot. They were very affordable. Somewhere around $12-15. This would be easy to use to add a bit of sparkle without going over the top.
http://www.imperfectnest.com
I wasn’t going to go, but I’m rethinking after seeing your pics. You going to the after show sale next week?
Fantastic! I love home tours, and with the economic downturn, we haven’t had our annual “Homearama” for two years! Thanks for giving me my fix – great ideas to take away from your photos. Love that first bedroom!
What wonderfully well done rooms. I love going on home tours. So many great ideas to copy. Thanks for sharing.
Emily, that first shot of the beautiful light fixture just got to me. I also have a ceiling fan, right over our bed, and it is supremely ugly — all white and shiny brass, a relic of 1993. I would love to replace it with a gorgeous light, but my husband would never survive the summer nights without the fan. We could get a nicer fan (and I suppose we will) but we will still have a ceiling fan there. What do you do when you have something really icky that you absolutely have to include in the room?
Wow, so many pretty rooms! I love the circle mirror gallery. And I definitely laughed out loud when I read your plight about the bedroom ceiling fan- even though I’ve asked and attempted to bribe with beautiful fixtures, the removal of the ceiling fan has been vetoed in my house too!
I did enjoy the tour, very much. I have some framed vintage maps in my office – we love maps and I have given them as gifts. That lucite table has me swooning (curtain rods as well).
I loved every room! All of the details are fantastic.
What gorgeous spaces!! Thanks for sharing!
All of the lighting is great. Any idea of their source?
thanks for taking us along…it looks like it was a beautiful sunny day! great ideas too!
xo, cassie
Those are nice houses. Love the lighting too
What great pics. I loved your comment about wanting to rip out the ceiling fan. I am in the same boat, if I want my husband to be comfortable and use our bedroom I have to kiss that idea goodbye :)
Yeah! Love these pic Emily! I’m totally inspired! Thnaks for the eye candy!
More! More! What great spaces. I really really like the chrome touches and silver side table in that living room. Got me thinking
Wow! Every single room you showed was FABULOUS!! I loved all of the lighting too :)
We have a ceiling fan too in the bedroom, myself I couldn’t survive without it, I have to have air moving around:)
Beautiful home tour…loved the lights with the black cabinets oh, and also the crome curtain rods!
Some great ideas! Love the framed maps and the window treatment in the last photo.
i’ve been looking at a light that’s very similar to the first one in your post…check it out:
http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/5-light-Chrome-Chandelier/5133490/product.html?rcmndsrc=2
cant beat the price!
Love, love the silver bamboo chair and the curtains. These are both my style. Thanks for sharing the great pics!
http://www.anurbancottageblog.blogspot.com
The maps above the bed are super neat….and the bathroom , of COURSE i love…! :))))
http://www.madebygirl.com
madebygirl.blogspot.com
Emily…great shots! You are right, that dark kitchen with the pendents…swoon!
THose are some fabulous rooms! I particularly like the bedroom with all the molding between the windows!!
Wonderful– love the variety in the lighting. And the chef’s garden is charming. Thanks, Emily!
Thanks so much for the great pics. I loved every one. Lighting for me is one of the things that completes a room and takes it to the next level, but a bad fixture can completely ruin an otherwise nice room for me.
Next best thing to actually being there! Thanks so much for posting. I love that mirror in your “favorite living room”.
Angex
Hi Emily, I can’t get over the incredible amount of Ethan Allen furniture in many of these rooms — some pieces are just as shown on the showroom floors. Was this home tour sponsored by different manufacturers, or was it all private? It all looks simply gorgeous, and I mention the Ethan Allen thing because some of your readers might want to know where to get some of the pieces — hope that’s helpful!
Hey, Carol. Yes, the furnishings on the tour were sponsored by several manufacturers – including Ethan Allen. So you were right on!
Emily – awesome photos and recap! I still haven’t been — can you believe it? I’m hoping to go on Friday. LOVE those light fixtures. I’ve used a couple of them in clients’ homes, including the incredible one in the first picture (LOVE!) and the chrome kitchen pendants (also LOVE!). We bought the chrome ones online, and the first fixture was purchased from Lee Lighting.
Wow! What great homes you got to see. Thanks for giving us a glimpse inside. I’m wondering where all of the decor came from . . . seeing such cool tables and curtains(from your fave living room). But my fave is that detail behind the bed in the first photo. I’ve seen that in other homes and always love it.
Thanks for sharing the tour with those of us who don’t live anywhere near it! Yay!
I’m sending this link to my husband, because I’ve been having a hard time getting him to understand what I mean when I talk about certain fabric patterns, and this will totally help!
LOVE that grey/white/black kitchen with the pendant lights!! thanks for sharing!
Loved the tour! And so much of my favorite aqua!
Great inspiration, I loved the lucite table and I’m obsessed with lighting so this was great! I had to laugh because I’ve been forbidden to get rid of our ceiling fan in our bedroom too!!
Thanks for sharing! I missed the tour this year, much to my dismay, but now I feel like I got to go after all:)
Does anyone know what paint colors were used in the bedroom with the wainscoting behind the bed or in the dining room with the white drapes and rectangular shade light?
I didn’t end up going & this weekend will be crazy so it isn’t going to happen this year. Thanks for the tour though – the Cliff Notes version is almost just as good. :) I keep seeing laundry in the master closet on newer houseplans. Not sure what I think about that. I don’t know if I would want everyone’s laundry in my closet. Ours is in our bonus room which is actually pretty nice.
Are you going to the “after” sale?
You are so lucky to live in a big city! What great inspiration! I’m with you on the ceiling fan thing–I’ve been dying ton replace ours but my husband would kill me.
-Sarah
http://www.sarahbohldesigns.com
This post was truly inspiration overload! I found so many details I love in these pictures, and I agree with you, that bedroom chandelier is out of this word!
xo Linda
I have two sets of the round mirrors from Target. Looks just like these.
http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/183-6067666-7830326?asin=B003P5I05E&AFID=Froogle_df&LNM=|B003P5I05E&CPNG=home%20decor&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=B003P5I05E&ref=tgt_adv_XSG10001
I’ve been trying to figure out the perfect placement for them. Found it! :)
Do u know where the white circle mirror ..one of the last pictures..came from? Thanks
Emily – I know this is an old post but I have searched everywhere to try to find the wall paint color of the gorgeous blue gray bedroom with the white board and batten wall treatment and black headboard. Do you have any information as to how to contact the designer from NC Homebuilder’s Association? I can’t find it on Houzz or Decorpad or anywhere. Help!!!
Does anyone know where to get the canopy bed?