Do you know what sets a designer apart from the rest? His/her trained eye! Today, I am thrilled to introduce you to my dear friend Darlene from Fieldstone Hill. She is going to take you on an inside look at how she trains her eye! She will also teach you how to “ditto” a magazine-worthy picture to get the same look at home. Take it away Darlene!
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Hello. So nice to meet you! My name is {darlene} and I blog over at the interior design and style blog: Fieldstone Hill. I am also the owner and principle designer for Fieldstone Hill Design, an online-interiors firm.
I am so honored to join Beth today. It is a joy to know her in blogland, but the truth is… I love her even more in Real Life. I treasure our monthly coffee dates, where we probably blab a bit too much about decorating & blogging to be considered sane people…
Today I have a FUN treat for you. Every Monday, over at Fieldstone Hill blog, I write a series called “Ditto,” in which I thoroughly analyze a magazine-worthy room, and I break it down into design elements and ideas that are worthy of “stealing” … or Ditto-ing! So that YOU can add some of these elements into your own home.
Well, guess what? Beth sent me one of her FAVORITE rooms ever. And that is what we are going to Ditto today! Feast on this beautiful space that was pulled together by homeowners Cristi and Jessi Safsten:
{photo by hiya papaya, via House of Turquoise}
DITTO :: {WHAT I WOULD STEAL FROM THIS SPACE}:
1. PLAYING WITH SHADES OF THE SAME COLOR.
In this room, the main color is turquoise. They employed turquoise around every corner, without it feeling matchy-matchy! How were they able to achieve this? By selecting a specific tone of turquoise, and then cranking the shade up or down a few notches. The palette ranges from pale aquas to sea-glass to deep turquoise. This use of analogous shades is a great idea to ditto if you have a color you adore and want to utilize it to the max!
2. MIXING MULTIPLE PATTERNS.
Sometimes mixing patterns can be so intimidating. But it really is a fantastic way to add character to a room. If you are just getting started in pattern mixing, this room is great inspiration: simply start by using different patterns that are all in the same color shade. We can see that employed in this space. The two side chairs both have an overall pale turquoise color, but they use very different patterns. By keeping the color the same, you eliminate at least one element that could potentially “clash.” This frees you up to have FUN with pattern mixing.
3. ROOM TO BREATHE.
Many of us fill our rooms to the brim {or don’t clear the clutter!}. We fill each corner, or every wall. I am here to say: breathing room is a wonderful thing. Look again at the space above. See how the air and the light can move from one end of the room to the other freely? The room is comfortably filled with furnishings, but there is plenty of floor space for the “living of life.” We think that we need really big rooms to create a feeling like this; but the truth is, what we really need to do is EDIT our stuff!
4. A LIGHT-FILLED SPACE.
This has more to do with the architectural design of this space, so if you are building or doing construction, take special note: everywhere you look in this room ends in light! When this room was designed, they made sure that every view leads to light! This is a concept very worthy of ditto-ing.
5. PLENTY OF PLACES TO SET YOUR COFFEE.
Have you ever been in a home where there is no where to set your drink? Just a little bit of careful planning can add so much comfort. That is certainly the case in this living room, where every seat has a place to get comfortable and stay a while. Ditto!
6. ONE HEARTH.
The American Living Room is divided. Do we center our seating around the TV or around the fireplace? Well, many people are choosing to have it both ways, now that flat screens are more accessible. This room gives a simple example of a television that is simply mounted above the fireplace. The caution is that you need to have proper ventilation for your fireplace, so speak to your building experts if this is in your plans.
7. TWO SOFAS.
If your room has the space to allow for it, I love the idea of two sofas in a room. Sofas are the best for comfort, conversation, and cuddling. So why not have two? There are lots of ways to add two sofas to a room, whether it be two caddy-corner sofas for entertaining, or two intimate and small sofas facing each other.
8. A DEFINED ROOM THAT IS OPEN TO HERE, THERE, EVERYWHERE.
This room has clear boundaries; it is clearly a living room. And yet, every wall opens to another room. Architectural elements such as transom shelving in the kitchen entry, and thick trim surrounding the piano room entry, help to define the spaces. Also, a shift in paint colors help give the living room distinction from the surrounding rooms. The living room is clearly defined as a separate space, and yet, it is truly one with the rest of the home. A heart center. Ditto!
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Love anything I did not mention? or…WHAT WOULD YOU DITTO {STEAL} FROM THIS SPACE?
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I hope you loved pouring over Beth’s dream room as much as I did! Oh, and I invite you to join me over at The Fieldstone Hill Blog, for regular interior design lessons and inspiration.
Thank you, again, Beth, for allowing me to chill and decorate with your fun readers! Now, when are we gonna do coffee again?
Hi Beth,
I am super excited to find your blog. What a great post this is. I love all the ideas. Also I looked at you home tour. I just love your style.
Great post! The variety and blend of textures is worth mentioning too. The rugged Fireplace mantel, the sleek silver floor lamp, the “shabby”time-worn turquoise end table, the reflective mirror, all make for an interesting room.
I definitely need to steal form this. I love the lightness of it, would be lovely to come home to after a tough day at work 🙂
Love these tips! And love that family room. My family room needs a do over badly. I’m going to try and implement some of these ideas. 🙂
Wow, I do love this room, it has great space and its open, light, and airy! perfect perfect!
Love this room and I LOVE Darlene! You can learn so much from “ditto-ing” a beautiful space. Thanks for sharing your smarts, friend!
I love this ditto concept. I don’t have a designer’s eye and have trouble envisioning a room from mood boards. This totally helps break it down for me and piece it together! Hopping over the follow the other blog now!
I love this room too! I’m pretty sure that I pinned it after dreaming of living in this gorgeous space. These aren’t my current colors, though I do very much like the aqua feel. I’ve been a fan of Darlene’s for some time. It’s a treat seeing her here on your blog. You’re right! She does have a fabulous eye. Great tips!
P.S. Beth, that share button that floats on the side….I’m sorry to tell you this…but I find it annoying.
Great post! I love Darlene and her eye for design.
I think part of why the pattern mixing works on those two chairs is that they are the same shape.
It helps me to remember that you need a place to put down coffee because our living room has a buffet and a couch, but nothing else. No coffee table, no chair, no end table. We always sit on the floor, and the kids aren’t allowed to eat or drink in there anyway, but I realized how necessary those things were the first time we had guests! (So that’s a super helpful tip!)
I like how the eye travels back behind the green sofa to the ceiling and the contrast between the ebony grand piano and the light from the windows.
I LOVE THIS POST!!! Such a great point about stuffing rooms to the brim. It reminds me that I really need to downscale and choose pieces that are right for the space (and more room to live!). Thanks so much Darlene and Beth!
I never would have thought to cover those chairs in different fabrics but it totally works! Great ideas!
I have always loved this room as turquoise is my friend. The two chairs in different patterns and same hue are ingenious.The whole room (and house) is crisp, inviting. A little pop of a warm color could be fun too. Thanks, Darlene, for your good analysis and observations.
I love this room especially the two chairs in different patterns. What a great color. Great tip about keeping the color the same but different patterns. I think I could do that 🙂 Thanks for the lesson!
I love the comment about breathing room! This is something that I’m struggling with, but slowly I’m getting rid of stuff that we just don’t need or use. We have a small old home that is the exact opposite of “open concept”, so it’s definitely relieving to edit out some stuff!
Love Darlene! Great post chock full of fabulous information and ideas. Thanks for sharing this with us today Beth!
Heather
Oh, this is a beautiful snap of a lovely room. Thank you for introducing us to your friend and now I’ll go and visit her blog! Great tips!
Be a sweeetie,
Shelia 😉
Beth thank you so much for featuring Darlene! She is so very talented.
I also love the painted furniture, the tables; it gives a fresh modern look to this gorgeous room!
I hope you will come see my Annie Sloan Projects revealed!
xoxo
Karena
Art by Karena
Beautiful light-filled, happy room..thanks for posting the “ditto” map…constantly rearranging furniture over here, so this is wonderful inspiration.