jillelizabeth's Profile

I just received a laminated cotton tablecloth from Etsy, and it's fantastic! It looks beautiful, hangs nicely on the table, and wipes off very easily. The dining room table used to be covered with a cotton stain-splattered, cat-haired, crayola-ed tablecloth, but now I can keep it looking fresh daily by just wiping it down. Highly recommended!

I love the first picture of your bedroom. It's so cheerful, crisp, and bright, as well as open to the outdoors. It must be a glorious place to wake up each morning. Gorgeous!

I like virkv6's idea of using planted trees. A large one to the left of the TV that ends up being higher than the TV -- a ficus, rubber plant, etc. -- in an attractive pot would be ideal. You'd need to move the globe on the stand to do this, I imagine. Balance out that plant with another one on the other side of the windows, perhaps smaller, but a similar variety of plant and/or similar pot.

Since you have so much white space and neutral furniture, I'd carefully plan out a way to add purposeful bits of color -- a rug, some pictures, throw pillows, etc. -- that tie together really well and make the room feel warm and inviting.

As for the ceilings, what about some suspended or track lighting?

You might take a look at the most recent IKEA catalog for brainstorming ideas. In that one, they tend to use vertical space very intentionally and something you see there might give you some good ideas you can incorporate into your particular space.

Good luck -- I know how it can be to have a partner with rather firm ideas about decor :)

Taking a slightly different angle, I have a kitchen that is reasonably spacious but that has a major problem -- it's all island. The previous owners installed a huge island (more like a continent) in the middle of the room and there is very little room for other things like walking, a table and chairs, etc. For this reason, I am wary of the idea of packing kitchens with islands and warm up more to the idea of incorporating flow/free space and a generously sized table.

What confuses me about AT and the 20/80 color rule is that so many of the house tours featured on AT enthusiastically showcase homes specifically because they are so free and bold with wall colors (and are beautiful homes as a result). So what makes an 80/20 many-hued home a success rather than an eyesore?

This is a really beautiful home -- nice job! I love that it feels full and rich while being sparse and minimal. I also love how uncluttered it is. Inspirational!!

PS: If you do go with a red door, make sure you use a *tinted* primer or else it will be pink.

I also think that adding some flowering perennials and painting the railing black will be nice and hopefully not too expensive additions.

This house is in the suburbs of Philly? What neighborhood?!

Even if you did strip the paint off, would the color of teak go in your dining room? (Just noticing the dark wood piece in the background.)

I don't know ... I'm inclined to say don't force it if you don't feel it's going to work ...

Nice job! And nice shade of blue!