The Scheme of Things

Living room of Frist house in Nashville - McAlpine Booth & Ferrier via Architectural Digest

When I look at pictures of homes, I love analyzing all the different layers of the decor: the furnishings, the colors, the use of light. But one thing that is so important - and such a hallmark of good design - is the basic layout of the room.

Bonesteel Trout Hall

It is a real challenge to make a space functional for those who live there (determining what its true purpose will be, optimizing the flow of traffic, etc.), while creating an environment that is aesthetically pleasing.

Home of editor Deborah Needleman - via Domino

When faced with the blank canvas of a large room or one with multiple uses, the task can be that much greater. I love to see rooms that succeed at it though: carving out spaces to curl up by the fire, play music, or have a casual dinner.

Phoebe Howard

This is a smaller room, but it is laid out so beautifully. I imagine it as a guest room and I don't think it could be anymore thoughtful or gracious. There is cozy bedding, a vanity area, attached bath, side chair for tossing items or putting on your shoes, extra towels, plenty of light, and a soothing color scheme. Perfection.

Chris Barrett

Alice Lane Home

The folks over at Alice Lane Home in Utah have a great formula for floor plans: 1 sofa + 2 side chairs + 1 statement chair. They use it in most of their projects and why not? It looks so put together and classic.

Jeffrey Bilhuber

These last two rooms are the epitome of comfort and grace. Just look at that custom, double-sided sofa above!

Victoria Hagan

Hope y'all are having a great day!

Klismos

Dining room by Thomas Hamel

Today I wanted to feature a piece that is so graceful and striking: a chair called a klismos that comes from a centuries-old Greek design. Ancient form translated into modern use? Classic!

Klismos chairs are typically seen in black, as above, but I'll feature a few twists on that tradition in this post, as well as some classic examples. (Don't you just love all the contrasting materials Hamel uses above: the pale wood fretwork against chunky stone floors, the almost dainty glass and chrome chandeliers above the slab-top table and deep black of the klismos?)


Living room by Jeffrey Bilhuber

Bilhuber goes in a completely different direction with his klismos: painting them white, upholstering them in a plush fabric, and placing them in a traditionally designed country house! (I love how he always keeps me guessing!)

Seating area in New York loft by White Webb

Isn't it amazing that this chair's design is so old, yet it looks perfectly at home in such modern digs?

Design by Courtney Giles

I love how fellow Southerner (and fellow Auburn grad) Courtney Giles uses these gilded-back examples in this hearth-side arrangement. They seem to mimic the gold of the Louis Philippe mirror above and the black fireplace surround below. Great design!

Dining area by McAlpine Booth Ferrier

Here are two photos that show the design range of klismos chairs... and of McAlpine's interiors as well!


Outdoor dining patio by McAlpine Booth Ferrier

Goodness, this picture gets me every time. It is from an Atlanta home that was featured in Veranda some years ago, and it is still just as gorgeous to me now as it was when I first saw it gracing the cover!

Patio seating area by Paula + Martha

Dining room by Martensen Jones Interiors

What an elegant space. I love how the klismos chairs help anchor all the pale and pastel tones in this room.

Living/dining area by Jackye Lanham

This last photo absolutely takes my breath away: so warm and, yet, so intriguing. Interiors like this make me wish I could just wander all over this home to take in all the fabulous details!

I hope you all have a great weekend!

V for Vignette

Vignette by Jeffrey Bilhuber

I thought we would wrap up the week with the simple beauty of tabletop arrangments. Creating vignettes is like having a real, evolving still life in your own home: an opportunity for artistic expression and a place to showcase your treasures!

Vignette by Dan Marty

I love Dan Marty: his interiors are exotic in that Colonial sort of way, perfectly curated, and yet so comfortable and warm.

Bedside arrangement by Scout Designs



Photo courtesy of Victoria magazine



Vignette by Paula Caravelli

Caravelli uses artwork by her uncle, Augustus Mino, to give personal meaning to the arrangement on this lovely secretary.

Vignette by Perch owner Caroline Robert

And last, but not least, some fabulous New Orleans style by Miss Robert to end our week.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Heaping Spoonful

Sitting area by Steven Volpe

I love to see how various (and quite different) designers use the same piece of furniture. Here, I am featuring just a few photos of graceful spoonback chairs. They are so lovely and, as you can see, quite adaptive to their environments.

Living room by Barry Dixon

What an eclectic assortment of pieces here. (Love those touches of yellow combined with a gray-toned base. Isn't that just one of the most perfect color combinations?)


Seating area by Alessandra Branca

Here, Mrs. Branca uses a more dramatic, black-painted chair to complete a fireside arrangement.

Living room by Jeffrey Bilhuber

I love Bilhuber's use of unexpected items in a room. He manages to create interest, without overwhelming the viewer. The room above is actually quite serene, despite the bold, oversized artwork, touches of saturated color (LOVE the purple chair), and sharp angles of the star accessory.

Living room in home of designer Paula Caravelli

Sorry for such a quick post, but I am getting my wish and heading to the beach today! (Yay!) I hope you all have a great remainder of your week and I will be back with more beautiful rooms on Monday!

Saladino Style

Living room by John Saladino

Always comfortable, sometimes minimalist, and typically enhanced with unexpected colors like lavender and apricot, John Saladino has such intriguing style.

Living room by Saladino - photo courtesy of House Beautiful

With interiors so classic and elegant, he is certainly a designer to be admired..... and emulated.

Great room by McAlpine Booth & Ferrier

The folks over at McAlpine, Booth, & Ferrier certainly have a soft spot for Saladino-style interiors. Even Bobby McAlpine's upholstered pieces for Lee Industries (aka, McAlpine Home), such as paneled screens and high-back, knole-style sofas, give a nod to traditional Saladino design.

Seating arrangement by Susan Ferrier of McAlpine Booth & Ferrier

 

Living room by Eleanor Cummings

Miss Cummings also puts her own, slightly more feminine, spin on Saladino.

Bedroom by Eleanor Cummings

 

Design by Barry Dixon


I love the ceiling-height, upholstered bench and how the pressed flower panels conveniently conceal a flat screen TV: grandeur combined with liveability.

Vignette by Amelia T. Handegan



Seating area by Phoebe Howard


Neutral, cozy, classic. Certainly rooms to live in.

Design by José Solís Betancourt

Note the scale of the various pieces in this room: from the visual weight of the wall hanging, lantern, and stone table down to the diminutive bench tucked underneath the coffee table.

Living room by Birmingham native Melanie Pounds

Melanie Pounds also has that Saladino touch. She actually worked for Circa Interiors here in Birmingham at one point, which has a definite McAlpine/Saladino vibe.

Living room by Melanie Pounds

Isn't this room just fabulous? Pounds says that she likes to live with things that are "quietly beautiful", and this room well illustrates that idea: so serene and warm.

Design by John Saladino

Whether real Saladino or Saladino in spirit, these designs are sure to last a lifetime.

Bedroom by Jeffrey Bilhuber

I hope you all have a great week ahead!

We did it!

Bedroom by Amelia Handegan

Hello, all!

Well, it is official: as of late last night, Luster Interiors finally hit (and surpassed) the 10,000 pageviews mark!

I'm sure it is not so amazing for seasoned bloggers or successful websites, but, since it is just me, Emily, sitting at a desk, trying to bring you all the most beautiful rooms I can, it is more than enough cause for celebration!

I want to thank you all for visiting my site. Whether you're an inveterate follower or a newcomer, I am so happy you found me! I will continue my quest to bring you the most elegant, creative, colorful, and cozy spaces that I can find!

Here's to a great week and celebrating all our successes (big or small)! 

Sincerely,
Em

Bedroom by Jeffrey Bilhuber

For the birds



One of my favorite rooms of all time


I love it when designers have a signature: that piece of furniture, fabric, or accessory that they turn to again and again that puts their creative stamp on a space. One of my favorite designers is Tom Scheerer. His interiors are always bright, full of texture, and inventive. Since I spend so much time going through his portfolio, I began to pick up on a certain avian influence in his work.

Personally, I love the exotic, yet almost Victorian style the bird prints bring to his interiors. I have always been fond of Audubon and other botanical and natural history prints, and these Olof Rudbeck prints used by Scheerer are no exception.

What a difference these prints can make in a room! Try to imagine botanical prints or landscape paintings in their place, and you begin to see the atmosphere that these curious and novel prints impart. I think the scale of the prints also adds to their dramatic effect.

But, Mr. Scheerer is not alone... Apparently Jeffrey Bilhuber enjoys birds too!

I hope everyone has a good week ahead of them!

Classic Colors: Gray-Blue

Foyer by Daniel Sachs

My sister was recently pining away for a beautiful gray-blue paint color for her "grown up" living room, and, as any good design-obsessed sibling would do, I began to do some research into rooms shrouded in this sophisticated, yet moody, color. The shade above is Knoxville Gray by Benjamin Moore, and I think it complements the dark wood of the entry table and mirror and the striped dhurrie just perfectly.

Bedroom by Phoebe Howard

The fabulous Mrs. Howard creates a casual, yet textural, feel to the bedroom above with a striped coverlet, woven window shade, and, again, dark wood furnishings. (Check out the bobbin, or spool, canopy bed. I think it well matches the historical feel of the wall color.)

Study by Ben Soleimani

This was actually my first photo find in my search for this beautiful color. It is in a study in the home of Ben Soleimani, one of the talented designers at Mansour Modern (the newer, more modern branch of the venerable rug company, Mansour). I love the masculine look of this room, which is filled with beautifully structured antiques.

Design by Jeffrey Bilhuber

I love the door surround shown above. It, combined with the golden shade in the curtains, creates a interesting and welcome contrast to the cool blue walls. (And aren't those painted floors wonderful?)

Another great Ben Moore shade in this color family is Jamestown Blue, which I have seen used in photos and real life, and is a perfect option for those looking for something that is neither too dark, too gray, or too blue.


Bedroom by Chad Eisner

This bedroom, like that by Mrs. Howard, uses wood furniture and interesting textures to create warmth in this room. Eisner's designs, in general, are masculine and textural, and his website certainly deserves a look!

I especially love the pattern on the curtains; similar styles can be found at John Robshaw on beautiful, blockprinted linen.

This last photo is a gorgeous, whimsical dining room by the ever-inventive Charles de Lisle. I love the scale of the objects in the room: the huge evergreen trees, the shimmering chandelier, the black armoire, the gleaming white table. A study in contrasts for sure!

Here's to the beginning of the end: the first day of the last week of 2010!