Kelly Parkinson
Shortly after we hired Kelly (above) as my personal/design assistant a little over one year ago, she bought a new house with her husband Mike.
They did the same kind of renovation I did with my house, replaced all the floors, moulding and the kitchen. You’ll see the full before and afters in the new year, but we did post the before pics here when they first bought the house.
After Kelly had worked with me for a while and really started to understand the world of colour trends, she confided that she was not very happy that they had (quite recently) invested in an espresso brown leather sofa, loveseat and chair.
I told her not to worry, we would make it look fresh in her new house!
Here are four ways to do it including the holiday tour of Kelly’s entry and living room:
When you choose new flooring for your house, keep it consistent throughout and choose a timeless colour
Kelly’s dad and brothers were the contractors for the renovation. Her Dad had some simple black spindles from another job that they used for the new contemporary staircase. Kelly also selected a classic and timeless pale engineered flooring with no grey in sight. As it should be.
Related post: The New Timeless Hardwood Floor
This is the entry table located across from the staircase. Kelly said this cutting from a Laurel shrub outside has been in this urn for three months!
Replace your old and dated area rugs with seagrass for a light and fresh look (and the price is right)
Kelly loved my flocked tree so she bought one as well. After the renovation, they were on a budget for decorating so I told her to get some seagrass rugs, and layer a cowhide on the top along with some leopard pillows and off-white cushions to keep the look fresh and clean.
The paint colour is SW Shoji White.
I specified the herringbone subway tile on her fireplace surround (see the before pic here).
After Kelly had watched me assemble many a vignette, she went out to a used bookstore and bought a bunch of coffee table books to use as pedestals. I loved her penguins!
Leopard prints pick up your existing gold beige/earthy tones so even if you don’t have the budget to paint out your dark tuscan walls, you can add them along with some white pillows to create a fresh look.
Kelly added the oval mirror, along with other wooden accessories to repeat the warm tones of the leopard pillows. We also added fresh Eucalyptus to the faux garland around the fireplace to make it look real!
The dyed cream poinsettia repeats the turquoise accents.
Drapery does not have to be expensive
Kelly added some inexpensive off-white IKEA curtains to soften the windows throughout the main floor. Keep in mind when you are using grommet drapes they CANNOT puddle. The look is contemporary, so make sure you hem them so they are custom to your interior.
Photos by Maria Killam
Creating a fresh look with your espresso brown furniture is easy to do, here are the links again:
source: 1, 2, 3 4
Hope you enjoyed the tour! Christmas is so close, have you finished your shopping yet?
PS. I have a favour to ask! I would love it if you’d post a review on Houzz if you’ve done business with Maria Killam Inc in the past here. That would be a great Christmas present! Thanks so much!
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The post 4 Keys to Fresh Christmas Decor (Even with Brown Furniture) appeared first on Maria Killam – The True Colour Expert.
