Designing Domesticity: foyer

Showing posts with label foyer. Show all posts

Foyer Contrasts {Client Work}

I recently had the pleasure of helping a sweet family of 5, the Hendrix, transition homes here in Charlotte. We were tasked with paint and lighting selections, furniture layout and tackling their biggest sticking point, the stone accent wall in the foyer. The wall isn't coming down anytime soon, so how do we work with it…

Contrast is the name of the game. To counteract the rugged, natural wall we upped the femininity and glamour to provide balance. A simple curvy, ladylike demilune table beneath an antiqued mirror flanked by a pair of super useful slipcovered chairs provide the basis. A couple of throw pillows in her existing neutral and blue scheme, and an orchid (my favorite!) for the finishing touch.

Here's what our clients had to say about the whole experience:

After four months of diligently searching, my husband and I finally found THE house for our family of five. We were (are) elated! Elated AND a bit overwhelmed with multiple cosmetic changes of the home - changes and updates that needed to be tackled

sooner versus later (read: procrastinated out of fear of messing up). These seemingly separate projects needed to be tied together and planned out by a trusted professional...I have learned in the past that mistakes actually cost me more than asking for help and investing in expertise.Well, mistakes and struggle be gone---

In steps Brass Pineapple Interiors and Liz Flinn, out steps my feelings of being insanely overwhelmed with interior and exterior paint colors, furniture placement and over-all flow of our new home. Can you hear the exhale and relaxation in my words?

Let me just say that working with Brass Pineapple Interiors resulted in a seamless, organized, stress-free, beautifully designed project. The personal attention and focus on detail cannot be replicated by another designer. We are beyond pleased and will absolutely be working with Liz and Brass Pineapple Interiors again!

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We feel so lucky to be helping others while we do what we love. And, of course, we'd love to help you, too - contact us to get started. Now taking reservations for May.

hello@brasspineappleinteriors.com

Our girls have Spring break next week, so we'll be taking time away from the computer, to spend quality family time. See you next Monday.

until next time,

An Updated Foyer

One of our main goals for this year is to ramp up the curb appeal of our home. While we wait for the plans to come together, we've been focusing on a smaller, more manageable project also dealing with first impressions - a foyer update. Over a series of months we've been making small changes as we find the right items, hoping for an overall larger "wow moment" in the foyer. We're starting to get there and I, for one, am loving the look we've created.

It should be noted that this space is ridiculously hard to photograph at the best of times, so imagine how I struggle now that we've added the massive French inspired gilt mirror. Oh, but it's worth it for the amount of light that now bounces around the previously dark space.

Next we swapped out the lamps, exchanging the previous distressed turned wood baluster style lamp for this whimsical bird and branch gilded lamp. The antique English chest and gilt mirror are both large imposing pieces, the new lighter lamp keeps the whole space from feeling too heavy.

Finding just the right pieces for the vignette was a seriously time-consuming affair, but there's nothing I like more than a collected look, so it had to be done. I especially love how the ultra feminine covered urn with button finial contrasts with the black and white bone in-lay tray. The unique orchid was a gift for Valentine's Day, still going strong. And, of course, a brass pineapple to bring it all home.

linking in with:

Savvy Southern Style

until next time,

Going Bold

I am so excited to share our new foyer paper with you today.

You may remember that I blogged (here) about this paper way back when (July), before we even moved into this house. Truth is, I loved it back then. I was set on saving my pennies, biding my time and making it happen, eventually. Wallpaper isn't a small commitment after all.

Some where along the line, I chickened out. We primed the foyer in anticipation of painting. Then I changed my mind again.

I wanted it.

Looking at these images and living with the paper for about a week now, I am so glad we did it!

It's bold. Really bold.

It's changed the whole look of our home and raised the ante for the rest of our space.

So, what's the moral here: listen to your gut, be bold in your decisions, take your time, and invest in what you truly love.

As much as we love it, it's not all sunshine and rainbows. We are two rolls short, the color run is sold out and the new run is on backorder. We have an unfinished wall crying out for more paper. I've learned some lessons along the way, which I'll be covering in more detail over the next couple of weeks.

But, what we do have, we love. Hope you do, too.

until next time,

DIY Statement Arrangement

I made some progress on our entryway this weekend, not as much as I would have liked, but progress all the same.

After my inspiration post, I decided that creating a statement arrangement was the direction I wanted to take our entryway. It turned out so well, if I do say so myself, that I thought I'd share how I put it together.

1. Choose and prepare your container. I went with our twiggy reindeer, as it couldn't be more perfect for this time of year. I lined the bottom of the basket with a plastic bag then placed a plastic dish on top to hold the oasis (floral foam). If you've never worked with floral foam, you're missing out. It makes creating long lasting floral arrangements so easy.

2. Create the foundation of your arrangement. In this case, I chose three types of faux greenery to create the base.

3. Add in feature greenery. Think 3 dimensional - something hanging, something tall and something to fill. I used all real greenery, each of which was poked into the floral foam to ensure freshness throughout the holiday season. Fraser fir as the tall element, boxwood as the filler, and pine as the hanging element.

4. Add in your accents. Following on from our mantel, I accented with fresh magnolia leaves and pinecones. As well as a couple of sprigs of red berries for color.

Now, sit back and enjoy your great smelling, long lasting, evergreen arrangement!See what I mean, so easy.

I'm hoping to finish off the entry this week, so definitely check back for that. We also enjoyed a family morning decorating the tree, which I'll be sharing later in the week. Hope you had a great weekend.

linking in with:

Between Naps on the Porch

until next time,

Christmas Entry Inspiration

Now that I finished my mantel (and shared it here), it's time to turn to the decorations in the foyer. Keeping with my natural, casually elegant theme I pinned quite a few inspirational images on my Pinterest board to get me started.

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This year, I'd definitely like to tackle the stairway. Greens, ribbons, natural elements...lots of things to consider.

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I love the idea of adding a series of wreaths too. You know how I like everything in three's.

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Or maybe a tree of some nature.

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At the very least, I'd like to include a statement, natural arrangement.

You know where I'll be this weekend.

Have a good one.

until next time,

A Fall Welcome {foyer}

Ever since I shared my new mantel-scape, I am sure you've been dying to know what happened to my hand painted, PB inspired, round, wooden mirror. Well, you'll be happy to know that it's found a new home {at least for now} in our foyer.

Playing with all the open space on my sideboard has been one of my favorite aspects of moving it into the foyer.

{Moving the sideboard out of the dining room was the first step, of many, that I have taken to make our dining room less formal and more approachable.}

I just can't seem to get enough. Some people, like my Mom, think it's too big for the space, but not me. I love seeing the slightly more formal sideboard, usually accessorized with more rustic pieces, when we first walk in. It's a little unexpected, which is always a good thing.

The only downside is that it covers the pretty wood moulding fronting the switchback staircase, but it's a compromise I'm willing to make. Clearly.

Anyway...

Changing this little vignette came together pretty organically, seeing as I needed a new home for the mirror {previously on the mantel} and lamps {previously in the dining room}.

And really, these sweet little buffet lamps do belong on the sideboard, so that was a no brainer.

The beautiful orange mums were given to us as a gift by our sweet neighbors. They joined us for dinner over the weekend - the last meal in the dining room before makeover magic is set to begin.

Stop back later in the week to see more plans and inspiration for our upcoming dining room project.

linking in with:

It's Fall Y'all - Thrifty Decor Chick

Between Naps on the Porch

The Polohouse

The Inspired Room

until next time,

New Spring Welcome Basket

Yesterday I shared the secrets of my homemade moss decor balls - check it out here - today I'll share where they ended up!

A new spring welcome basket in my foyer.

I also added the little pillow to the chair - what do you think, too much?

I kinda like it.

Anyway, back to the basket - it features all three variations of the moss decor balls, a lovely purple African violet, and a simple candle.

Surprisingly, this little violet doesn't seem to mind the dark and coziness of our front hall.

He seems quite happy to be warmed by the light of the lamp...who knew?!?

So, there you have it - my new spring welcome basket. I hope you like it!

Thursday is the last day to enter my giveaway, don't miss out!

Click here to enter.

Until next time,

Creating a Welcoming Entry Piece

As you probably know by now, we are hosting our annual cocktail party this weekend, so I have been on the lookout for a special welcoming piece for our foyer.

I've scoured magazines, blogs, houzz, etc all in an attempt to get a bit of inspiration.

Unfortunately, it was all for not - as true inspiration struck while out shopping over the last two days.

Wanna see how it all came together?

I started with my basic materials - basket, bird, bird nest, moss, and hyacinthia.

I knew I wanted to incorporate a bird and my bird nest as they symbolize the coming of Spring and I settled on hyacinthia because they have the most amazing scent! And the purple works well with my outside planters and wreath.

I had a general layout in my mind, but it really only came together when I started placing the individual pieces in the basket. Dealing with all the various heights was the trickiest part - here you can see how I propped things up.

After fooling around with it for a bit, I realized the basket wasn't feeling full enough so I decided to incorporate a couple of moss balls I had. That's looking better.

I stuffed the remaining holes with burlap.