THE color this fall:  Blue.  A little navy, a little peacock, and lots of dusty, soft or muted blues.  Spa or mineral blue.   Blue accenting naturals and neutrals was the predominant look if it wasnt all blue.  Warm tones were spice tones; paprika, cinnamon, etc.  Not as much red, but the red I saw was the color of tomato paste. Orange is definitely on its way out except burnt orange.  Saw glimpses of the return of the four horsemen of the apocalypse: purple, mauve, lavender, and fuchsia, but you’ll have to read the long version to get the details.  Very little green.

The overall trend:  French laundry is everywhere.  Script fabrics.  Casual comfort, simplicity.  The word ‘Paris’ used frequently to describe collections.  Lighter tones overall.

Fabric trends: 
Some movement toward pattern in upholstery body cloths which has been very plain lately.  Geometric patterns, Greek influences, neoclassical, lattice, fretwork, scroll.  Saw lots of fabrics with large birds and open space.  Large patterns.  Fewer florals.  Animal prints still popular, cheetah seemed to provide the spots of choice.  Sunbrella fabrics…amazing offerings that can be used for anything (upholstery, bedding, window treatments) all made of solution dyed acrylic that WILL NOT fade and can be cleaned with bleach.  The color is all the way through the thread. Unreal.  Fabulous.

Wood finish:  Driftwood and anything natural is HUGE.  Weathered, distressed, painted and sanded, worn and rustic, silvers and grays.

Window treatments:  Simple panels, casual and sort of intentionally imperfect.  Grommets.  Simple pleats, but longer…6-8”.  Fun blends of traditional and contemporary:  Wooden poles supporting linen panels with large grommets.  No puddling, but sometimes a simple break on the floor.
Paint colors:  Muted, natural.

Bedding:  Solid colors, simple, neutrals with pops of color provided in the pillows.

Interesting style trends: 

-Banding, banding on drapery panels, sofa and ottoman skirts, chandelier drum shades.
-Any mirrored finish was antiqued.
-Upholstered headboards were seen with wood trim.
 
Chairs:  Spool chairs were in just about every showroom.  Lots of tall, sleek, ‘swoopy’ (thanks for that technical term, Veronique) accent chairs.   Details on backs of chairs…good for floating in a room.

Sofas:  Track arms of all different sizes, but we saw a lot more narrow armed sofas.  

Lighting:  Chandeliers were large and simple (again, simple!) and not as traditional.  Less crystal.  Drum shades.

Area rugs:  Contemporary, large pattern, geometric, open.  Traditional rugs had large scale offset patterns, in other words it was not centered.  Not good for symmetrical folks, but interesting!

Let me know if you have any questions.  The long version is coming soon!

One of our favorite clients had this mostly empty sunroom that was adjacent to the breakfast area and kitchen.  She wanted to furnish it in a way that allowed the room to be used on its own but also be able to accommodate an overflow crowd when entertaining.  She found a magazine photo that she liked which we used as a reference.  The photo had antique style occasional pieces surrounded by fresh and bright upholstery that kept the room from looking dated.  The client likes greens and golds with pops of red and these colors flow throughout the house.  Given the open nature of the floor plan, we had to select fabrics that would blend nicely with the nearby living spaces.

Suzanne, our design consultant on the project, suggested the bench seat in order to accomplish the goal of seating in the room that also allowed seating facing the kitchen during parties.  The paprika bench with barley twist legs is fun, functional, and does not block the view of the open room.  You can’t see the doors on either side, but the bench can be moved against the wall on the right, between the drapery and the door, if the client wants to open up the room.  Click here for a full size photo.

The rug is a banded grass cloth, which keeps the room casual and is consistent with a sunroom theme.  The lamps on the rich walnut console table are shabby chic, with distressed bases and contemporary brown shades.  The side tables are available for drinks or books and complete the desired eclectic look.  The client didn’t want the room to look “matchy matchy” (a designer term!).  The nonfunctional drapery panels are intended to add color and frame the windows without heaviness or blocking the view of the outdoors.  They are hung on wrought iron poles that bring in a touch of black but do not draw the eye up or conflict with the molding.  The chairs are covered with a large scale apple green contemporary botanical which also reinforces the sunroom theme.  Notice the little leaves?

The client is thrilled with the fun and casual yet elegant results, and come to think of it, the room really reflects her personality.

To learn more about Suzanne, click here.