Whats up EHD! Rashida right here! It’s been a minute since I’ve written on the weblog. For a bit over a yr now, I made a decision so as to add Inside Designer as one in every of my titles. What I believed would take me an additional few hours every week (how naive), has really taken over most of my time. Though the schedule shift wasn’t what I deliberate for, making a particular haven that improves my shoppers’ well-being and their household’s well-being is actually the reward of this profession. So with that being mentioned, I wished to indicate off two properties I’ve completed. The primary one is a feel-good makeover I did for a pair that actually provides again to their group, so I wished to do the identical for them. The second is a design I did for a gentleman who likes to prepare dinner and entertain. These two shoppers are completely different, however there’s one theme shared throughout each designs, and that theme is BLUE (properly, the colour lol)!
Blue is not any stranger to the EHD weblog. In reality, I might go so far as to say, it’s a signature colour right here! However for me, I by no means really used blue when designing. I’ve at all times admired the colour however by no means had the chance to make use of it in my private designs. After experimenting with completely different hues of blue, I’m discovering it to be a flexible colour that may be paired with different cool tones, or with sizzling fiery colours like pink or orange.
Venture One
In my feel-good makeover, I designed a front room for my mates. The problem with their house was that the room was huge and slender in addition to a pass-through room. This meant there wasn’t a lot alternative for furnishings format choices. So, to maximise the house I made a decision to do an enormous U-shaped modular sectional. I like a modular design as a result of I get to configure items that work for the house I’m designing. We determined to go together with the Homebody 6 seater sectional. In reality, we really configured our personal couch with 4 seats and two ottomans to make the U form. I most popular the 2 ottomans over the 2 finish seats to maintain the house extra open. The ottoman is a spot for my mates to place their toes up when it’s simply them lounging on a day after work, however once they have dinner events, company can make the most of the ottomans as seats. They like to calm down with their canine Ziggy, so the seamless recliner (in one of many heart seats) is ideal.
This couch sectional is extraordinarily snug. Even when you relaxation your again towards the arms, it’s like a pillow! We selected the colour Gloomy Day In, as a result of we like it, but additionally as a result of they’ve a dark-colored canine, and his hairs present up much less (the pups take over our lives). Now that the anchor piece was within the room, it was time to finalize the remaining particulars. And the query that challenged my thoughts was, what paint colour? I wished a colour that might maintain the large sectional. It wanted to be daring, and likewise fascinating sufficient to play up the grey couch. And in got here my grand concept to do indigo partitions. Indigo to me is sort of a violet blue. It has hints of purple combined with navy blue. It’s what makes navy blue extra fascinating. I selected the colour Blue Gaspe by Benjamin Moore. You really do gasp once you stroll into their residence and the depth of the colour pulls you in. You crash on the couch and really feel such as you’re underneath the midnight sky.
Now I need to say that the colour is way more appreciated in individual. It’s a kind of colours the place it’s exhausting to seize the true hue on digital camera.
Wall Shade | Sectional | Rug (discovered mine on FB market!) | Nesting Espresso Desk | Drink Desk | Tan Pillow | Black Woven Lumbar Pillow | Velvet Ball Pillow
To heat issues up a bit I added pure wooden tones, brown and even black. That they had overhead lighting however layering in secondary gentle is one in every of my favourite issues to do. So I put in plug-in wall sconces which can be wrapped in woven cords from Troy Lighting and a large semi-flushmount brass gentle from Corbett Lighting.
Venture Two
Subsequent up is my consumer’s residence. We labored on 4 areas: the kitchen, powder room, basement, and basement moist bar. He initially had a white kitchen that didn’t have a ton of cupboard storage. He wished so as to add a pantry cupboard and a trash can cupboard. The issue was, I couldn’t discover his actual cabinetry. The answer was to purchase cupboard bins for the brand new cabinetry areas and reface all of the doorways for a cohesive look. And since we had been doing new cupboard doorways, I urged why not change the white to… you guessed it, BLUE. He was nervous, however after some convincing, we determined to go together with Sherwin-Williams’s “Within the Navy”. And let me inform you, the colour is divine and fully reworked his residence.
We purchased in-stock, off-the-floor cupboards from The Residence Depot, and simply eliminated the doorways. The brand new cupboard bins supplied pantry storage, pull-out trash can storage, and we ended up altering the entire higher cupboard format as properly. It was less expensive to purchase ready-made cupboards versus getting somebody to construct customized bins. All the opposite cupboards we stored the identical, and simply tossed the doorways. Switching out simply the cupboard doorways just isn’t new for me. When you recall, I did it in my kitchen just a few years in the past. There are just a few cupboard door corporations that present a customized product, and for my consumer’s house, we used cabinetdoors.com. The title speaks for itself!
Brass Cupboard Pulls | Brass Cupboard Knobs
To essentially ignite the blue cupboards, we changed all of the {hardware} with unlacquered brass knobs and pulls from Rejuvenation. After which we changed all of the lighting with new over-the-counter pendant lights and a brand new gentle over the eating desk that sits off the kitchen. Each lights are from Hudson Valley Lighting.
Brass Faucet | Cupboard Fronts | Cupboard Shade | Woven Roman Shade (in golden poppy) | Vase | Pendants
For the powder room, my consumer had his coronary heart set on the Bequia wallpaper by Malene Barnett completely bought at Lulu and Georgia. And naturally, it’s BLUE once more. We eliminated his present sink and added an all-black wall-mounted console sink.
Now let’s transfer downstairs. My consumer has a group of typewriters that he makes use of for his thanks playing cards, and he additionally has a group of Thurgood Marshall photographs. He likes to entertain and loves wine. I feel he really has a wine membership. I instantly thought…let’s go together with a speakeasy vibe.
We went with giant format tiled flooring, within the asphalt matte colour. Then it was time to decide on the paint colour, and sure we went blue once more. I beloved the colour Britannia Blue. It’s a moody shade of blue enhanced by a darkish grey shade. The ceilings in his basement are lower than 8 toes. So to distract the attention from the peak, we painted every thing that colour. The ceiling, the partitions, the doorways, and all of the trim.
Wall Shade | Woven Roman Shade (in golden poppy) | Battery Operated Sconce | Flooring Tile
The camel colour curved couch, paired with Romare Bearden’s “The Fall of Troy” artwork he bought at an property sale actually provides the blue-gray partitions some curiosity.
Media Cupboard | Couch | Job Flooring Lamp | Black Metallic Nesting Espresso Desk | Black Pillow | Brown Pillow (comparable)
Material | Tall Candlestick Holders (classic) | Rug | Accent Chair
Once I first noticed the moist bar, the phrase “uneventful” got here to thoughts. It was nice that he had one in such a small basement, however you may inform it was an afterthought from the earlier homeowners. Initially, I used to be going to do a deeper blue that went properly with the blue-gray partitions. However I felt that there was sufficient blue. I had reached my blue restrict. I made a decision to go together with wood-grained cupboards stained in black. These cupboards are literally from Ikea’s Lerhyttan assortment. We did the highest cupboard in a glass entrance and the complementing base cupboard. I inspired my consumer to go together with a daring countertop. This granite materials known as “Black Rivers”. It has a lot motion! Now, I wouldn’t use it in a big house like a kitchen, however it was good for this small moist bar. We additionally tripled the scale of his wine fridge, added a faucet I discovered on Etsy that’s made in Morocco, and located a black hammered sink from Amazon. All the main points pulled collectively created an expensive space in his basement.
I’m so happy with each blue areas. Though blue is a cool tone, the depth of the colour hugs you once you expertise the house. It’s subtle and comfy! The blue tones pack punch and boldness but additionally present a way of calm. So don’t be afraid to make use of it. Pair the colour with grey. Pair it with wooden tones. Pair the colour with orange tones. It’s such a flexible colour that may take your house from uneventful and “protected” to an area that’s tailor-made and feels designer. So the subsequent time you concentrate on portray, attempt blue!
* Designs by Rashida Banks
**First Residing Room Images by Antwon Maxwell
*** Second Residence Images by Raul Rivero