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Gwyneth's "Phoenix Rising" Living Room

Phoenix Rising



Name:

Gwyneth

Location:

Melrose, Massachusetts

Division:

East

Colors Used


Greens, deep yellows, and coral red with pops of blue

Color Inspiration


Two years ago, we had a house fire and lost almost everything. When the house was rebuilt, we were presented with a challenge: pristine white walls and the memory of seeing our house for months on end charcoaled, and then in various stages of construction. This is our way of fighting back that awful time, reclaiming our house and at the same time, energizing ourselves.

Color Tips


Be brave, be bold, have fun. If you make the wrong choice, do it over. Nothing is permanent.

Posts on Apartment Therapy



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Comments (18)

Oh wow. Love love love it (and the story about how you came through disaster to triumph)

posted by idontdobeige on October 11, 2010 at 9:16am
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Terrific.

posted by kschaff on October 11, 2010 at 9:32am
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I really like this room, and your furniture is great. I have to say I wish the wall wasn't two colors, but I'm just glad to see a room that looks put-together and stylish.

posted by le_mond on October 11, 2010 at 11:35am
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Love the colors!!!

posted by yellowgiantgiraffes on October 11, 2010 at 2:15pm
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I wish the entire room was painted that lovely coral color...

posted by bepsf on October 11, 2010 at 4:15pm
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Love. And I have that same circle chair, so..... double love.

posted by creative license on October 11, 2010 at 7:35pm
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bepsf: we thought about that, but the living room is 27 feet long and we were concerned it would look like an abattoir. The room also has a dining area and reading area in it, and the colour-blocking helps define those areas.

posted by k2yhe on October 11, 2010 at 8:33pm
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I adore all the color! Such a beautiful space and it looks so comfortable too! And thanks for my new mantra "Be brave, be bold, have fun."

posted by ghostgirl on October 12, 2010 at 12:48am
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Gorgeous color!

posted by suzy8track on October 12, 2010 at 2:41pm
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I loved the story, the two-different-colors on the same side, the "color tips"!

posted by tulpoeid on October 13, 2010 at 4:08pm
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This is great! You'd never think these colors would go together, but they create a very warm, inviting environment.

posted by Kelliente on October 20, 2010 at 3:20pm
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This is really neat... I love your use of colour. And the artwork... that series of 6 above the cabinet. Do you have online source you go to? Would love to know!

posted by nomadchicky on October 24, 2010 at 3:02pm
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nomadchicky: thanks! The artwork are actually reprints of old Cuban cinema posters. We found ours on ebay, although there are other sources for them. Originals are fairly pricey, but the reprints run about 10-20 dollars each.

posted by k2yhe on October 25, 2010 at 12:33pm
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The way the colors are "blocked" on the walls is so cool.

posted by chelojelo on October 27, 2010 at 9:16pm
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Darn it! I missed the voting, otherwise I would have voted for this one. The color blocking is pretty cool and is something I'm considering for my own house. Do you have pictures of the rest of this room? I'd like to see how it all ties in together.

posted by milo_mass on October 29, 2010 at 5:20pm
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Thanks for all the nice compliments everyone!

Milomass: I have a flickr feed that has a number of house pictures and a tour. There aren't a lot of pictures of the living room in it's present state, but here is the link anyway. Good luck with your apartment!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/22363146@N02/sets/72157623784874757/

and some older pictures of the house:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/22363146@N02/sets/72157623938569198/

posted by k2yhe on October 30, 2010 at 10:53am
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Uh, milomass...? Nice try TC! I get it now. But thanks anyway.

posted by k2yhe on October 31, 2010 at 3:01pm
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astounding use of color! it all works so well when the furniture is added. i could never be so bold!

posted by queenyellowsun on April 13, 2011 at 12:59am
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