In case you aren't already sick of this room, I still have more to share. The built-ins at the far end of the living room are a project that I've been working on since we moved into this house in September. Lately, I've been trying to interject a bit more of my fresh traditional style and I'm finally liking what I see.
Besides, if I waited to share these when they were perfect, I'd probably never share them…
When is anything ever perfect anyway?
I know a lot of people literally shy away from styling shelves, but I really enjoy it. Today, I thought I'd share some of the ideas I've used to style the built-ins with my new signature style, fresh traditional.
1. Symmetry.
Symmetry is super traditional, but I love it. I wanted to play on the idea of symmetry by mimicking shapes and patterns, but not necessarily using the same items in each built-in. This keeps the overall scheme traditional but with a fresh twist.
2. Cohesive color scheme.
To keep the built-ins from looking too hodgepodge I kept to a cohesive color scheme. In this case, I choose green, metallics, and a touch of black.
All green would seem too traditional, the black keeps it fresh, and well, the metallics are just something I can't get away from. I love to mix my metals!
3. Pairing traditional with modern.
Fresh traditional is all about pairing traditional items with more modern items to create a fresh look. In our built-ins I incorporated a lot of our existing items like books, vases, urns, finials, and architectural details - all of which are fairly traditional. Then, I peppered the shelves with more modern accents like the capiz spheres, the black and white vases and the brass urchins. Together they work to create the fresh traditional look.
I'm planning on leaving the built-ins for awhile.
How can you really tell how you feel about something unless you let it percolate?
Plus, John told me this room is risking over decoration.
Ah, the horror!
I have been concentrating the most on the living room,
(only need a piece for under the wall mounted TV)
a little break from this space will do us all some good.
until next time,
