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!

Welcome to the Jungle

Hello and welcome to Luster Interiors! The blog I started and then sorta kinda didn't post anything on for a really, really long time. Ha! Well, here I am and I've got soooo many pictures saved up, it's ridiculous.

So it's that time of year where I think non-stop about tropical locales and swaying palms and all that good stuff. (If I'm being honest, this is the whole year.... but I digress.) Well I was digging around the other day for pictures of non-traditional landscape design and I hit the jackpot: Raymond Jungles.

As the name would imply, he and his firm tend to work in jungle-like atmospheres, such as this amazing compound outside Miami. I love all the texture: the concrete and the pebbles, the trees and Spanish moss. Each cluster of leaves and foliage looks like a perfectly arranged vignette, yet it still appears so natural.

I think one of my favorite things about it is the lack of a traditional grass yard. It seems like he works with plants that are native to the area and don't require heavy care to survive. The firm's website talks about stewardship of the land yet the execution of these projects doesn't read as limited, but lush and beautiful.

In my head, this garden would be surrounding my glorious little tucked-away beach house where I would pad around the place barefooted, tropical drink in hand. I think in some places, a kitchen like this one by McAlpine Booth & Ferrier would seem a bit cold with the concrete and angular furnishings. But, I tell you, in Florida, in the summer, cold is exactly what you are looking for! The modernism and cooler shades are a perfect foil for the warm temps and riot of color outside.

Heather Chadduck via At Home in Arkansas

I think I would keep that cool, neutral feel going in the rest of the house too. Although I typically use more color, I really love this bedroom. It could be looking out over the garden through big windows or french doors. I'd probably add just a hint of blue as they did in the living room of the same lake house.

Love the stone and the pitched ceiling (and the bar). So great. I really have SO many more ideas for a variety of vacation homes. Maybe I'll have to post some more soon!

Until next time!

A Woman's Touch



Dining room in home of Raina Penchansky - Photo courtesy of Lonny


I don't want to be too prejudiced here, and maybe it's just all the time I've been spending with my sister and her precious new baby, but I think women have a different outlook on a home and, therefore, cultivate it in a different way... a softer way.

Living room by Madeline Stuart

Whether it's using a hint of pink, a cozy furniture arrangement, or accents that soften sharp angles (like pillows, lots of upholstered items, or billowing curtains), women can create warmth in myriad ways (and recognize the importance of that creation).

Home of Erin Fetherston - Photo courtesy of Vogue

So, with that in mind, here are a few examples of interiors that have that woman's touch. Enjoy!


Foyer by Susan Ferrier

An antiqued mirror reflecting the warm glow of light from underneath pink silk lampshades? Who wouldn't love to come home to an entryway like this one!

Living room by Chris Barrett (who is a "she")


Looking at Miss Barrett's portfolio, you could confuse her work with some of her male designer counterparts like Martyn Lawrence Bullard or Jesse Carrier, but, if you look closely, you can find softness in even the most modern of her projects, such as in the floral fabric on a banquette or the curved leg of a metal stool. She is amazingly versatile and you must give her website a look!

Living room by Barbara Westbrook of Westbrook Interiors

Another fabulously talented designer (and fellow Southerner) is Miss Westbrook. The room above is one of my absolute favorites. It is structured without being overbearing, and engaging even when done in a neutral palette.

Foyer by fellow Alabamian Melanie Pounds - Photo via House Beautiful

I cannot say enough good things about this foyer. I am a big fan of juxtapositions and this space is full of them: the stone floor paired with the pale rosiness of the rug, the solid structure of the chair upholstered in soft velvet, and the dark plaster of the walls contrasted against the cool damask tablecloth. So lovely!

Living room by Suzanne Tucker of Tucker and Marks

This last photo of the day is another one of my faves. It is so well-blended with its plush upholstered pieces and graphic modern art, layered mirrors, and tidy layout. To me, it's just one of those rooms that grabs (and holds) my attention.

I apologize for my extended lag in posting, but I am back on track now, so check back often for more fabulous design!

I hope you all have a great week!

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!

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!