Before and After.
This kitchen, with it’s handsome dark cabinetry and smart stainless steel appliances, is open to the living room. The living room walls and furniture are mostly tan, with natural stone in tans and greys surrounding the fireplace.
The homeowners, a young newly-married couple, wanted something that would not go out of date, and had originally selected a cabbage rose sort of floral pattern. They had the wallpaper selection books at their home when I came to measure and bid the job. Now, my deal is, if people have already bought their paper, I find something neutral to say, like, “Oh, it goes nicely with your tile.” But if they have not yet ordered their paper, if they ask me, I will give my honest opinion.
These folks hadn’t ordered that cabbage rose pattern yet – thank goodness. So I (tactfully) tried to steer them to something else.
Yes, cabbage roses will always be in style. But they are better suited to a bedroom – your grandmothers’ bedroom. I suggested a soft colored geometric, but the couple thought that would be too trendy, and soon go out of style. Probably true. I threw a few more suggestions out there, and showed a few samples that I carry with me, then left them to decide for themselves.
When I arrived today to do the installation, I was pleased to see that they had given up on the idea of a floral, and instead chosen this classic fleur-de-lis pattern. It’s a traditional design that will never go out of style, yet it’s modern enough to fit in this young couple’s new townhome, the pattern and scale fill the space well, and the brown and tan tones are spot-on to complement both the dark cabinets and the paint and stone in the adjoining living room. Honestly, they couldn’t have picked a better choice.
They also had me paper the 3′ high area below the bowed breakfast bar. This helped distinguish the eating area from the living area, carried the pattern through to different parts of the room, and added texture and color to this often-overlooked area. The paper is one of the new “non-woven” materials, so it should hold up well to kicks and scrapes that could occur as people sit at at the bar.
The finished room looked fantastic, and the homeowners were very pleased.
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