colonial Archives - Emily A. Clark

Our Colonial House: Blue and White Entry

Apr262018

As a follow up to my earlier post on choosing artwork for our blue and white entryway, I’m sharing pictures (and sources) of the rest of the space so you can see how it all works together. In our colonial style home, the front door opens to a small area where you can directly see the stairs, the living room, dining room/office and (green) kitchen. That’s a lot of pressure for one little spot so I did my best to make it colorful, fun and hopefully, welcoming.

And before you ask, I did use faux topiaries on my front porch. ;)

I found the pedestal table at an estate sale shortly after we moved in. (Apparently, similar styles are hard to come by, but I did link to a round one that’s close in size below.) The patterned stair runner has been one of the best decisions we’ve made. It shows (almost) nothing.

Further proof that decorating a house takes time. This was shortly after we moved in three years ago:

Another “before” shot. Removing the carpet and replacing/painting the railings instantly made the house look younger. (So many of you have asked for the black paint color name and I don’t have it. . . We had our contractor paint it as part of the upstairs renovation last year, and that was one of the details I left up to him.)

The view from our kitchen (shortly after we moved in and now). . .

I included this mostly just so you could admire my dad’s ‘stache circa 1976.

Pairing Art with Our Entryway Wallpaper

Apr112018

Nearly three years later and I think I have our small entryway wrapped up. I might not win any awards for speed, but sometimes getting things “right” is worth the wait. I (well, mostly my dad) wallpapered our entry early on and while I love all of the pattern, finding artwork has taken some time.

This is the little wall that’s been in limbo. It’s literally the first thing you see when you come to our front door. (I’m sure the pizza man has been worried about it on his weekly visits.) Although it’s a tiny space, there’s a lot to consider: the trellis pattern, the silhouettes leading up the stairs, the patterned stair runner and the fact that you can see three other rooms from this spot.

I finally decided on this red and pink abstract from Minted that doesn’t compete with everything else while still tying it all together:

By the way, Minted continues to be one of my go-to sources for art. I love that you can find unique pieces from independent artists all over the world. You won’t find work that you see in mass production everywhere else.

A few tips for pairing artwork with patterned wallpaper. . .

White space is your friend. It helps to break up the patterns visually so that the art and paper aren’t in competition. Minted offers both matted and unmatted framing options. (Since I needed a very specific size for this wall, I ended up ordering just the print and framing it myself. So nice to also have that option in lots of sizes!)

Abstract art works well with a busy geometric wallpaper since the patterns “flow” differently.

I like to keep the frame simple. Often a sleek, modern frame will work best. A more ornate design adds another element to what may already be a busy space. (Minted now offers extra thin, matte speciality frames and non reflective UV plexiglass options.)

Row 1: Garden Lush // Lula // Rambo Relay Navy

Row 2: 3 Bottles // Orange Rush // Study 33

Row 3: ode to rothko // Magnetic Field 1 // Ananas

Row 4: Farenheit // Composition 2 // Big Egg

I’m working on editing more pictures with different angles so you can see how this space all works together. I’ll source everything for you next week, too. :)

Thanks to Minted for sponsoring this post.

Snapshots Around Our House

May112017

I feel like half of our house is really coming along, and the other half is completely turned upside down. We are currently three weeks into an overhaul of the upstairs, including a bathroom renovation. I walked through the house snapping pictures to give you a glimpse of the good—and the stuff that eventually will be…

I changed out the chest that was by the back door for a lighter console table.

I’m in the process of framing lots of botanicals (from this book) for our powder room.

After a long search, I finally found a pair of lamps for our living room at Homegoods.

Small changes to our bed. These pillows have been in every room in our house.

Choosing a paint color for our side door. Thanks to the feedback on Instagram, I think I’m sold on blue.

Adding more framed pictures around our house. (I found the lamp also at Homegoods.)

Meanwhile, the other side of my “office” is wrecked. I cleaned out our attic and brought down a bunch of things that haven’t found a place just yet.

Experimenting with pattern here. Not sure this rug is staying in this spot…

On to the upstairs. . . These will be the entrances to the girls’ and boys’ baths.

Don’t be sad but we’re getting rid of all of the carpet—yes, even the mauve.

Behold my new laundry room (which was previously a closet). I requested a pocket door—with a lock. ;)

I’m having a vanity built for the boys—and am 97% sure I love this paper.

Outside, I added a lemon tree. We’ll see what happens! (My Home Depot has them for $44.) We also changed out the light.