One of these fresh patterns is actually a 1930s icon. Guess which one.

Powder rooms and small baths are great places to use wallpapers based on motifs taken from nature. In these spaces, which are often small, repetition and fanciful imagery adds a kind of quirky charm that can be easily embellished with an extravagant mirror. The result is what I call a personality powder room.

Animals, fish and trees are represented in these spaces which shows how enduring nature themes are and how their depiction changes over time. Two are contemporary patterns and a third is actually an iconic paper that dates back to the 1930s and was made famous in another colorway by a New York City restaurant. Can you guess which one?

Brightly colored fish on a neutral taupe background [top] is enhanced by a stylized white faux-twig-frame mirror and stylized sconces. I adore this paper, which was shown by Waterworks founder Barbara Sallick on her recently refurbished blog.

Leaping zebras dodging arrows is the classic Scalamandré paper though it looks every bit as contemporary as the other two. Gino’s restaurant, on Lexington Ave. in New York City, made it famous with a red background, which can be seen on the link.

Swaying palm trees, paired with a beachy sea-shell-encrusted mirror is a great background for the handsome white pedestal sink. Flanking the sink with a  pair of ebonized stick shelves (which pick up the dark tone in the paper) also provides ample space for hand towels.

(Source: Bonesteel Trout Hall, The Perfect Bath)

An overabundance of stainless steel is successful due to the balance of details.

Sometimes less is more. On the other hand, sometimes more is better. Such is the case with this stainless steel range wall. It’s not unusual to see a sheet of stainless used for the cooking area backsplash – something architect Ken Linsteadt often does, as shown earlier this week in Modern Farmhouse Kitchen.  Custom inset cabinetry was sheathed in the material and paired with Mockett cylindrical knobs and rod pulls. The stainless steel flows from the counters up the side walls and onto the ceiling area of the niche.  Even the stained concrete floor color resembles the metal. While a Wolf range usually becomes the main focus, when the entire area is covered in stainless the elements seamlessly blend together, creating a brilliant configuration.

(Sources: Cultivate, Remodelista)

“You gain more when have less – more space, more time, more light.”

For twelve years I lived in a one-bedroom, 20th floor apartment in New York City. The living room faced south, with a sliding door that opened onto a small terrace. Due to the arrangement of my bedroom door and the existence of the slider, when I lay in bed I had a view of the Empire State Building framed by the doorway. My kitchen and bedroom windows faced East, offering a spectacular view of the East River and Long Island. So if the glass wall that separates this bedroom [top] from the remainder of this 900 square foot apartment looks radical, trust me when I tell you that when you’re up high enough and the views are panoramic, you’d kill for an interior glass wall like this one.

The New York designer Jennifer Post, who designed this apartment is well known for white interiors similar to this one and her minimalist style. “You gain more when have less – more space, more time, more light,” she commented to Architectural Digest about this apartment that serves as a pied à terre for an art-collecting couple. When privacy is needed a motorized shade, concealed near the ceiling but operated from the bed, descends to screen off the bedroom (a corner of the track can be seen, top right in the photo).  Otherwise, the glass partition lets the outside all the way in.

(Source: Architectural Digest)

Design styles merge to retain character in the house while adding updated amenities.

One would never guess this modern-traditional-rustic kitchen belongs to a 1895 Victorian.  Its airy farmhouse design began by San Francisco architect Ken Linsteadt taking down the wall between a narrow kitchen and adjoining dining room.  An original pair of French doors was kept to bring in natural light.  The double hung window between the glass cabinets was also original, and plays with us visually to create an uninterrupted wall of glass.  Upper glass door cabinets stop at 10 feet, but lead eyes toward the 12 foot tall ceiling with its unfinished edge planks.  This ceiling finish is a more rustic look than bead board or tongue and groove would have provided.

Notice how the island goes all the way to the floor with only the working side not touching.  Plain posts at each corner deliver visual and structural support for the Calacatta marble counter.  Three sides of the island are finished with wood planks – the same wood used on the ceiling, but left wide.  Industrial Tolix stools were selected for counter seating.  From this angle, at the far end of the island, we catch a glimpse of the small built-in seat under the window – a nice addition for this family kitchen, as it’s a great place for the children to feel more connected to Mom while she cooks.

Left over oak floor boards were crafted into a to-die-for range hood.  This simple custom hood grabs the attention of everyone – present company included.  The Wolf range is flanked by a pair of base drawer cabinets with bracket feet and stainless steel counters.  I hesitate to call the stainless wall in the cooking niche a backsplash, given its more wall-like appearance.  The contrast of the rustic oak and shiny metal creates a striking focal point.

The box bay breakfast nook’s built-in bench seating and Eames wire chairs offer space for casual dining and glorious views, not to mention storage underneath.  While the right side of the nook has a window [2nd picture, above], the left end has recessed display shelves.  This family kitchen renovation is a wonderful example of how to keep that old house charm while adding modern day conveniences.

(Source: Cultivate)

Four electrical features on a 64-inch wall made this a tricky arrangement.

Reshuffling the cards of your life takes time. Often it’s necessary to go over things more than once to decide what stays and what goes. I began that process last Fall with My Final Yard sale. Recently, I tackled where to display the art I’m keeping, particularly the set of six antique Bivort fruit prints I purchased at auction in 2010 at the suggestion of designer Jeffrey Bilhuber, when I interviewed him for AOL. Those had occupied a dining room wall in our apartment and have been on the floor in my home office for the last seven months. Then my dear friend and design school pal, Jewel Umansky, spent the day helping me work out (IOW telling me) where to hang what. This was the first little project.

One of the last remaining pieces of modern art was a double-panel Roy Lichtenstein Pop Art print hanging on the wall in the kitchen that leads to the pantry and laundry room. “That doesn’t belong there,” Ms. J decreed. Mr. AM never cared for it and the style never suited the kitchen. It’s now in the basement and eventually will be sold.

But the Lichtenstein handily concealed two unfortunately located wall plates that cover defunct electrical boxes (does anyone remember wall phones?) so this was to be a tricky arrangement. Plus there is an electrical outlet 10-inches from the floor and a light switch on the wall.

Jewel suggested the fruit prints for that space – the same ones I’d hung on my dining room wall in the apartment, three across in two rows. In the kitchen they needed to hang two across in three rows. Meanwhile, Mr. AM and I put the six pictures down on a rug  and adjusted the order until we though they looked right. Three of the prints are single fruits and three are doubles. I hadn’t even noticed that the last time around!

To figure out how to pull it off, I took measurements then made a to-scale sketch on graph paper with one inch equal to one foot. I placed all the electrical features on the sketch and cut out six pink paper rectangles to-scale so I could “arrange” the 19 x 16-inch pictures as necessary.

What worked out was that the two rows would fit evenly between the door and the light switch with five inches on each side and 5 inches between the prints up and down.

But when we got them up, I realized I had not measured perfectly from the right side so they are not as even as planned. And instead of 5 inches between them, there is only 4. That is barely noticeable and they always can be adjusted. Plus there was a big bonus: filling most of that strongly horizontal wall with a set of prints, and less aggressive images, makes the kitchen look larger!

You also might like to see a picture wall in the Vintage Gumwood Cabinet Kitchen.

Linking up with Met Monday.

Drama can take many forms in the kitchen but usually it’s on the stove – not the walls.

The colors of coffee and fine wine are artistically blended in an astonishing contemporary kitchen with one show-stopper visual element: a theatrical mural in the style of the controversial Baroque painter Caravaggio.

Not everyone wants the gigantic muscular back of an unclothed man splashed on the wall behind the cooktop but someone for whom historical imagery is a passion certainly did. It’s unforgettable and pitch perfect in this kitchen by London’s bespoke master Janine Stone. Elegant Java-tone paneling throughout the space continues into the kitchen cabinetry. With this and other minimalist rooms, everything is smooth and concealed. All edges are square, including the mirrored hood. Despite the über slick look, serious cooking can be done here since the kitchen is fitted with a  cooktop, a sink on each side, double Gaggenau ovens and a built in Miele espresso maker.

Opposite the business side are long, low cabinets with toe-kick lighting and claret-hued glass paneling along the wall above. The super dark color scheme appears to be lit from below by a glossy white floor creating a high contrast look that any Baroque painter would love.

(Source: Janine Stone)

Artistic interpretations of nature become creature comforts when adorning our walls.

Animal motifs always have and always will be used in decorating.  Maybe it’s because most people love animals, or maybe because it adds a bit of fun.  This hand blocked felt menagerie just makes me smile.  They are perfect for a nursery or little girl’s room.

Or choose one from this whimsical junk yard trio for a boy’s room.

Hand carved basswood trophies are on the higher end, but just one does the trick!

These beauties are found in galleries and exhibits, but can also be custom ordered.  Artist Rachel Denny covers deer and more in cozy cashmere cable knit woolen and the like.

I personally like the more realistic deer better than the white lacquered or shiny aluminum versions available.  Although the flat white paint makes this one more modern, it’s the intricate details that make this baby stand out.

In our home, it’s usually vintage.  I purchased this 1940′s faux stag head online.  He is covered with a soft, fuzzy material and has glass eyes.  His nose and antlers are metal.  The wooden plaque is stamped “The Little Deer Company Saxon, WI” on the back, but I haven’t been able to find any information in my research.

Be sure not to miss the framed cardboard taxidermy in my grandson’s Eclectic Gender-Neutral Nursery, and the exotic papier-mâché trophies crafted by Brandy for her son’s Sophisticated Safari Nursery.

(Sources: Pop Deluxe, At West End, Tuvaluhome.com, Rachel Denny, etsy-mahzerandvee)

A lacquer look gives popular wall paneling fresh sophistication.

We’ve seen a lot of bead board wainscoting in bathrooms because it adds a defining architectural element to walls at a moderate price. Usually it’s painted white or ivory and sometimes gray or green. But ebonized bead board – painted high-gloss black – kicks it several rungs up the style ladder as a category. Black, as we’ve seen, can have a modernizing effect on walls. In this California bath that quality has been applied with stellar results.  Instead of adding color above it, the jet woodwork is crowned by mirrors. Sconces are mounted over the glass and, centered above the Restoration Hardware Gramercy marble washstand, there’s an ebonized Regency and bone mirror which adds to the elegance of the paneling.  A white and black-dot marble mosaic basket weave floor and correspondingly white ceiling completes a simple but dramatic scheme. The bathroom is styled to a fare-thee-well by owner Mark D. Sikes, with objects he and his partner collect plus a charming Victorian bamboo tripod table. Glimpses of a Roman tortoise bamboo window shade as well as a stylish drapery style shower curtain are reflected in the mirrored walls which give us a deeper look into this inky spa.

(Source: House Beautiful)

Displaying plate collections is centuries old, what is new are their locations.

No longer is the dining room or kitchen the only way to go.  Case point, white ironstone and black transferware above a headboard.  They contrast nicely with the bedroom’s charcoal walls.  Crisp hotel-style linens, a zebra rug and gingham chair repeat their colors.

Decoupage plates and trays by John Derian are displayed en mass in this modern bathroom.  The pieces become frameless art that add color and visual interest in an otherwise dull space.

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I’ve had a collection of decorative plates hanging over the vanity in our master bath for years now.  Several were painted by my maternal grandmother and one of her friends.  Another was a wedding present to my parents and the largest a Christmas present from Mr Shops.  When a friend, that happens to be a decorator, saw them he was appalled.  I was told they were inappropriate for the bathroom and I should move them to the dining, “where they belong.”  Really?!  The plates are still above my vanity where I enjoy seeing them several times a day.

Are these unusual places? Maybe to some, but as long as the collection delights the homeowner they are refreshingly offbeat.

(Sources: Decorpad, Nirmada Interior Architectural Design, Atticmag, Addicted2Decorating)

The current baby boom has thrown a spotlight on children’s spaces.

Once an afterthought, children’s rooms are now considered part of the overall scheme in the house.  I love to see what designers think up for little people and I favor rooms based on ideas rather than themes since I feel they are easier to update and modify as time moves on.

A Cozy Nook [top]
Barney purple and built- ins took an awkward second-story landing (note a bannister on the right) and transformed it into a snuggly window seat and library area that helps relieve some of the usual bedroom clutter. The animal-print cushion also can double as an extra sleeping space when cousins come to visit.  And as time goes on, all that needs to change is the wall color and the collectibles.

Gender-Neutral Color
If someone has a name for the color in this nursery, please let me know! I wavered from sea green, to aqua – it’s certainly not mint. Happy, crisp and workable for either a boy or a girl, the color is a terrific choice that can withstand a long evolution.  What’s genius, however, is the very grown up Venetian plaster wall treatment that sets off a beautifully refinished old floor.

Sleeping Compartments
It takes a minute to see that this very small space will actually sleep four — like an old-fashioned railway car. It’s a great solution for a guest room at Camp Grandma though geared for older kids who can navigate the flexible ship’s ladders, especially in the middle of the night.

Whimsical Wallpaper
Dots? Colored bubbles? Escaped balloons? Fun wallpaper adds even more atmosphere than a mural and can help keep the need for wall art to a minimum.

Twin Set
These bunk beds fit perfectly into their corner but are not built in. So, in theory, when the occupant of the top berth grows too tall to scramble up there easily, they are a cinch to move. Meanwhile, what could be sweeter than the white-painted bed, ladder and shabby sheets.

(Source: Smith & Vansant Architects, Melanie Turner Interiors, NY Magazine, Lonnymag)