Pillows | bossy color blog

How big are YOUR pillows?

May 21, 2013 2 Comments

They’re getting bigger. Throw pillows, I mean. Time was, accent pillows were discreet. Small, modest, tucked away…never taller than the back of the sofa or chair in which they nestled.

Those days are over: throw pillows are GIGANTIC now! I don’t think I’ve specified a 16″ square accent pillow in a year. Even 18″ square can feel small to me.

I just ordered 22″ throw pillows from Sparkmodern via Etsy for our family room sofa. Granted, the sofa itself is 37″H, but still. Two 22″ pillows, two 20″ pillows, and one long lumbar. That’s a lot of fluff.

Layering patterned pillows is still a white-hot trend, especially if your taste runs to the eclectic. (The fact that these pillows are in matching pairs saves the room from becoming a crazy mess.)

The sofa in this Thom Filicia-decorated living room is so long it NEEDS the bigger pillows. Again, using pillows in matching pairs is a plus. (Am I the only one who still refers to him as Thhhom, as I did when Queer Eye for the Straight Guy reigned? Yes? Ah, well. God, I miss that show.)

Don’t these pillows look skimpy to you now?

As opposed to, say, these by my hero, Jamie Drake?

If not, give it time. Soon you’ll be turning your nose up at anything smaller than 24″ square. It’s happening, people.

Cococozy, you saved my bacon this post with your excellent pictures — thank you! Quoted in publications from The New York Times to The Washington Post to Real Simple magazine, Annie Elliott is an interior designer in Washington, D.C. Her firm, bossy color, delivers distinctive, curated interiors with professional precision.

Filed Under: Accent pillow, Accessories, Color, Jamie Drake, Living room, Pillows, Thom Filicia Tagged With: Jamie Drake, large accent pillow, large throw pillow, matching accent pillows, oversize pillow, Thom Filicia, throw pillows on sofa

Pantone’s Color of the Year 2013, Emerald Green, in action!

January 29, 2013 3 Comments

Who knew I’d end up embracing Pantone’s Color of the Year so wholeheartedly?

Emerald Green, I apologize! I’m sorry I doubted you! I was counting on a liberal interpretation of the color — grassy green, yellowy green, limey green — to get me through 2013. Turns out I don’t need to!

I mean, look at that bedroom up there! Love the green on green with the lamps and the wall color. Please don’t carry the green into the adjacent bathroom, though…funny things can happen when you paint a bathroom green. Ask me how I know that.

And how awesome is this stair runner with black and white? We did a green stair runner last year — we’re SO ahead of the trends — and it was smashing.

We’ve been deep into tile-land lately…these green tiles are fantastic, aren’t they? Look carefully: they’re just hexagonals, but the pattern and installation make them so edgy. Love them with the tub. (Note to self: layer the same color via different elements in a room.)

Here are a few ideas for incorporating Emerald Green into your home this year:

Pantone's color of the year 2013: Emerald Green small changes

Convinced? If you’re still on the fence, stay tuned. Post coming soon of my very own, brand spanking new dining room rug. Guess what color it is?

1. Etsy Decorative Pillow Cover; 2. Emerald Isle Pillow Cover; 3. Jonathan Adler Zebra Pillow (I’ve been wanting one of his needlepoint zebra rugs forever. Maybe I’ll do a pillow instead); 4. Etsy Vintage Style Sign; 5. Case Glass Table Lamp; 6. Ovo Table Lamp; 7. South of Market Loveseat; 8. Glass Charger Plate; 9. Glass Votive Holder; 10. Baccarat Water Glass. The splurge item, obviously!

Quoted in publications from The New York Times to The Washington Post to Real Simple magazine, Annie Elliott is considered an expert in color, residential space planning, and telling people what to do in the nicest way possible. Her interior design firm, bossy color, has been serving residents in the greater Washington, D.C. area since 2004.

Filed Under: Accent pillow, Accessories, Antiques, Color, Lamps, Pillows Tagged With: 17-5641, Emerald green, emerald green glass, emerald green lamp, emerald green pillows, emerald green plate, emerald green settee, emerald green votive, Pantone color of the year 2013

Bossy color’s high/low living room – finished!

April 21, 2012 33 Comments

Hello, Gentle Readers! It’s taken seven years, but I believe I’ve finally cracked the code on my living room.

I mean, why rush?

Laugh if you must (guffaw, even), but I maintain that it’s infinitely easier to work on other people’s houses than your own. Especially when you’re getting paid to work for others and not for yourself. (Quite the opposite, in fact.)

Anyway, here’s the finished — you heard right, darling husband: I actually said, “finished!” — living room:

Yellow living room

I was feeling good about everything, but as the day of the photo shoot grew near, I felt something was missing. Can you guess what the “finishing element” was? The very last thing I did to the room (except the flowers)?

The green Crate & Barrel pillows on the sofa.

Isn’t that crazy? But everything was matching a little too well….it was, Yellow! Pink! Blue! And again! Yellow! Pink! Blue! Which I love, but I needed that kind of unmatched color. I needed some green.

Sound familiar? This is kind of what happened with the powder room. Maybe it was a vitamin deficiency.

And the green does match, of course: it pulls out greens from the artwork. But it doesn’t match any of the furniture.

Here’s where everything is from:

**Paint color** (added 4/25): Benjamin Moore, 343 Sunrays

Rug: Safavieh Soho collection, from some horrible online source

Drapes: custom, yellow faux silk from Stroheim & Roman, blue silk stripe from a discount shop in VA. Drapery hardware is Robert Allen

Sofa: Craig’s list, reupholstered in Robert Allen velvet

Small sofa: Mitchell Gold’s Mona Sofette, reupholstered in Schumacher fabric (Tiraz Ikat, I think?)

Pink chairs: the chairs themselves were to the trade, upholstered in a fabric from an outlet in North Carolina (but I think I tracked down the manufacturer at some point…Brunschwig? Can’t remember)

Round table in corner: Family piece, English

Horse sculpture: it’s leather! Junk shop – sorry, “antique shop” - in Royal Oak, MD

White lamp: thrift shop, St. Michaels, MD (12! The shade was $60, of course)

Sideboard: Family piece, English

Small chair: Family piece – my grandmother did the needlepoint on the back, which you can’t see, and the front is in a python pleather from Kravet

Blue lamp: Home Goods!

Nina Campbell wallpaper from yellow living room

Art wall: various artists, but the oil paintings are by Elizabeth Brown via her shop on Etsy (it’s called, “Dragon’s Appetite”), and the two silver-framed etchings/engravings/drypoints (how do I have a master’s degree in art history? I never mastered the difference) are by Christina Dixcy, who now concentrates on large-scale photography. She’s my husband’s cousin, and we have several of her pieces…these were gifts when our twins were born

Coffee table: Room & Board (the Ikea one we spray-painted was ok, but we needed some white, and the glass was bugging me)

Pillows: green from C&B, as I mentioned, zebra from Mi Casa Bella on Etsy, and the blue and yellow ones I had made with fabric I found somewhere. Gee, that’s not very helpful, is it?

What makes the room look the best, of course, is professional photography. All of these pictures were taken by bossy color’s favorite photographer, Michael K. Wilkinson. Frankly, he’s a genius.

So there you have it, Gentle Readers! Bossy color’s living room, finished. For now.

Yellow living room with blue velvet sofa

Quoted in publications from The New York Times to The Washington Post to Real Simple magazine, Annie Elliott is considered an expert in color, residential space planning, and telling people what to do in the nicest way possible.

Filed Under: Accent pillow, Animals, Antiques, Art you can live with, Artist, Benjamin Moore, bossy color's house, Color, Drapes, Fabric, Furniture, High-low, Lamps, Living room, Pillows, Sofa, Table, Upholstery Tagged With: animal accessories, blue sofa, loveseat, pink chairs, pink ikat, Room & Board Portica table, yellow living room

Bossy color’s living room – another update

January 31, 2011 14 Comments

The other day I was talking to the wonderful Sheila Hagar of the Walla Walla Union Bulletin, and she casually asked, “So how’s your living room looking these days?”

Egad! I thought. (Or something close to it.) Things have changed! Not too much, but still, enough for an update.

Yellow living room

It was 2 short months ago that I thought I’d cracked the code on the art wall over my sofa. But the minute I pressed “publish” on that post, I knew the wall would have to change. Writing about Albert Barnes and his goofy picture-hanging tendencies got me all twisted up.

So we re-hung those suckers pretty quickly. (Once again, thanks, Uncle Jimmy. Also known as the bossy color serf.)

Blue sofa with yellow art wall

And what else do you see? That’s right! FINALLY! Accent pillows! (Best Christmas present ever. I did guide the giver, of course.)

The pillow covers are from Mi Casa Bella on Etsy. And please note that they’re not yellow and WHITE; they’re yellow and OATMEAL Big difference.

I originally wanted the pillows for the moss green sofette in front of the window. But then I remembered this mohair throw wasting away in the back of a closet. I think it’s a good substitute. (Plus I already had it. Always a bonus.)

Plaid mohair throw

Bottom line (and I know you’ve heard this before, but please keep the guffaws to a minimum): the living room is done FOR NOW. Sure, I’d love to do something w/ those darn chairs. And I’d like to replace the light blue lamp (which really belongs in my office) w/ a white one. And the peachy velvet on the tiny embroidered chair is wrong wrong wrong. But all in all, I can live with this for a while.

See? No pithy comment at the end. So you KNOW I’m serious.

Photograph in yellow living room

Annie Elliott – aka bossy color – is an interior decorator and design blogger in Washington, D.C. She has been quoted in publications from The Washington Post to Real Simple and is considered an expert on color, residential space planning, and telling people what to do in the nicest way possible.

Filed Under: Accent pillow, Accessories, Art, bossy color's house, Color, Living room, Pillows, Sofa Tagged With: accent pillow, art wall, Etsy, Living room, Mi Casa Bella, mohair throw, sofette, throw pillow, yellow walls

5 accent pillows with just a touch of glam

October 6, 2010 5 Comments

Let’s take a breather from bossy color’s living room, shall we? In other areas of our life – i.e., the money-producing part, also known as “work” – we’ve been recommending a lot of accent pillows with just a touch of glam.

We ask you: who couldn’t use a little glamour in their lives?

Exactly.

WHAT: John Robshaw’s Sheesha pillow

WHY: Works surprisingly well in neutral settings; the mirrors add pizzazz. We recommended these on cream sofas in a neutral living room.

John Robshaw's Sheesha pillow

WHAT: John Robshaw’s metallic pillows (we’re counting this as 1 bullet point. It’s our blog. We can.)

WHY: Same reason: the metallic adds sparkle without being too edgy. Wouldn’t the blue one look great on a teenage girl’s bed, or in a neutral living room in the summertime?

John Robshaw's metallic pillows

John Robshaw's Cyan pillow

WHAT: Michele Varian’s Hannah silk pillow

WHY: Yellow and gray is a very popular color combination right now, as you know. The Hannah pillow adds sophistication AND a little fun. No mean feat. (If one is looking for glamour, one really need look no farther than Michele Varian. In addition to her silk pillows, she has appliques, ultrasuedes…very impressive.)

WHAT: Thomas Paul’s Flock pillow in Plum

WHY: The silk is luxe, the pattern is elegant, the color is delicious.

Thomas Paul's Flock pillow

WHAT: Jonathan Adler’s Bargello Puzzle Pillow

WHY: Yes, “WHY?” you may be asking. This is glamour for the sheen-averse. It takes a certain confidence to display a pillow with this much geometry and this many colors. Despite the fact that they have a chunky feel, bossy color would argue that Jonathan Adler’s take on Bargello needlework does indeed have a touch of glam.

What pillows have YOU found to be the right balance of everyday and glam, Gentle Readers? You know how we love hearing from you.

Annie Elliott – aka bossy color – is an interior decorator and design blogger in Washington, D.C. She has been quoted in publications from The Washington Post to The Seattle Times and is considered an expert on color, residential space planning, and telling people what to do in the nicest way possible.

Filed Under: Accent pillow, Accessories, Client project, Gifts, Pillows, Thomas Paul Tagged With: accent pillow, John Robshaw, Michele Varian, pillows, Thomas Paul, throw pillow

Throw pillows on a bed. An update.

September 1, 2010 11 Comments

In our last episode, bossy color apologized for our, how shall we say? lame, lazy attempt at accent pillows on her very own bed.

Galbraith & Paul headboard and Benjamin Moore's 1646 Lookout Point

At the time the offense took place, we were focused on the new Galbraith and Paul headboard, with which we were madly in love. We ran out of steam before “finishing the look,” as they say. [More...]

A concerned Gentle Reader inquired about the bed now, hoping against hope that bossy color had come to her senses and clawed her way out of matchy-matchy hell.

We are happy to report that yes, the bed is now considerably less offensive. Most days, it looks like this:

bed with turquoise and orange accent pillows

Please note that these are the same pillows that were (accurately) pronounced “sad” when they were parked on the blue living room sofa.

turquoise and orange accent pillows on sofa

We think their new location is a dramatic improvement, don’t you?

On days the turquoise-y pillow is otherwise engaged, the bed looks like this:

orange and white monogrammed accent pillows on bed

A bit hokey, perhaps, but that little monogrammed pillow has sentimental value, as it was a bridesmaid’s gift from a dear friend.

The Company Store's Veranda matelasse coverlets

The matelasse coverlet, by the way, is from the good old Company Store. When our husband said that it reminds him of the linens in Italy, we knew we had done well.

Bossy color hopes this little update has restored your faith in our ability to make a bed.

We feel better, that’s for sure.

Filed Under: Bedding, Bedroom, Pillows Tagged With: accent pillow, bed, bedroom, bedroom makeover, Company Store, coverlet, Galbraith and Paul, headboard, linens, matleasse coverlet, pillow, pillows, throw pillow

You asked…about a safari bedroom, Part 2

July 6, 2010 7 Comments

Yesterday, a Gentle Reader asked for our guidance in creating a safari-themed bedroom. After discussing wall colors (orange: no; brown or khaki: yes), today bossy color offers this life-changing advice.

WINDOWS

A grown-up interpretation of the safari concept includes natural materials. Consider natural woven shades on the windows – the grassier the better. (Sometimes these shades – also called woven woods – can look tortoiseshell-y, or Asian-inspired. Obviously we don’t want that look for you.)

ACCENTS: GREEN OR ORANGE

Lest you fear I’m not worthy of the bossy color moniker after suggesting brown or khaki for your walls, I recommend adding zing through green or orange lamps, pillows, and artwork. (Best to choose one of those colors and emphasize it; a 50/50 mix of green and orange won’t be as effective.)

2 Robert Abbey orange gourd lamps on your bedside tables – or one on a dresser – would inject a bit of modernity and keep the room from looking over-the-top safari:

The Bloom silk pillow is gorgeous…

…as are the pomegranate silk dupioni pillows, all from Michele Varian:

While we’re on the subject of pillows, I must suggest that you limit the animal print to one item per room. Since we’re already using your zebra rug, please move your lovely giraffe pillows elsewhere.

As for art, Andrew Zuckerman‘s Blue-Fronted Parrot through 20 x 200 would look stunning:

As would The Gardens by Tyson Anthony Roberts:

Or Collocation No. 14 (NATURE) Left Panel by Mickey Smith. (I’d love to see this one HUGE, way out of scale with normal books):

BONUS SUGGESTION

If the posts thus far leave you saying, “Yes, but I wanted to go just a little bit MORE safari,” consider rigging up some gauze curtains on either side of your bed. The idea is to mimic the mosquito netting of fancy safari lodges, but I think it’s a rather romantic look anyway.

And more tasteful than, say, jungle wallpaper.

Best of luck, bedroom traveler! Please let us know what you decide.

Filed Under: 20x200, Accessories, Art, Bedroom, Lamps, Pillows, Windows, You asked... Tagged With: accents, artwork, bedroom, bedside tables, gauze-curtains, green lamps, natural materials, natural woven shades, orange gourd lamps, orange lamps, pillows, Robert Abbey, safari-theme, safari-themed bedroom, silk pillows, wall colors, windows, woven woods

You asked…about colors (colours, actually) in Canada

March 2, 2010 4 Comments

Hi Annie, I came across your blog awhile back and I love it!

My boyfriend and I bought our first place here in Canada last April and have been struggling with a colour for our kitchen/dining/living area ever since….the current shade [of green] is Benjamin Moore’s Wind Chime. Unfortunately, I absolutely hate it…

Now I am leaning towards a neutral taupe/beige with the longest wall behind the table and couch a different colour. My boyfriend prefers more colour and I gravitate towards neutrals and light and airy looks. Either way, I am doubting our ability to choose at this point!

The hallway is Benjamin Moore’s Edgecomb Gray [HC-173], so I am hoping to find something that goes along with that as well…Maybe even a bossy one for the boyfriend.

Hope to hear from you and please keep on blogging!! – Amber

Dear Amber,
First of all, thank you very much for hosting the Olympics. That was so kind of you, and we all had a really nice time. I’ve even recovered from the men’s hockey final.

You and your bf have a wonderful, contemporary look going (please tell me you tidied up for the pictures, or I’ll send a St. Bernard to muss things up a bit), and I agree with the basic premise of neutrals plus accent wall behind the table.

(To pre-empt a certain reader from the Pacific Northwest, let me state officially once and for all: bossy color has never held a sweeping anti-accent wall stance. I oppose the ABUSE and MISUSE of the accent wall. As would any compassionate human being.)

For the accent color , it would be tempting to suggest a deep pink or orange, but your pub table will show up better against a cooler color. Let’s leave green out of this, since that didn’t work out well for you…

How do you feel about purple? You have a teeny tiny purple bowl on your table…does that hint at a larger love? (I’ve been known to read into things, though. Ask any of my art history professors.) The right shade of purple could walk the line cool and warm, and it would look beautiful with your various woods.

Benjamin Moore’s Affinity Color AF-630 Kalamata is rapidly becoming a bossy color favorite. It’s very dignified, with a lot of grey in it. Boyfriend-friendly.

If Kalamata is too deep, test-paint AF-635 Bonne Nuit, also, which is much less intense. Greyish, brownish…it’s really lovely.

As for the neutral, did you already consider bringing the HC-173 Edgecomb Grey in from the hallway? I LOVE that color (have I done a Best of Bossy’s Colors on that yet? Hmmmmm…), and it would be lovely with the purples. You have so many perforations in that long wall – windows, French doors – that a light neutral is definitely the way to go.

If you want to experiment with something slightly warmer, look at OC-1 Natural Wicker. Another fantastic neutral: warm, but not too yellow.

Ok. So now you’ve laid down a solid, warm, fairly neutral, cohesive palette. What next?

Shots of color, my friend. Shots of color.

Red. Think red. And orange. And a little tiny bit of purple, but you don’t have to get overly matchy-matchy with the purple wall. That might be too much for even your accommodating, colOUr-loving boyfriend.

I understand it can get quite chilly up there, so you may want to keep the cushy rug. But if you do consider replacing it, please consider red. Here’s but one suggestion – the Squares Rug, made in the Netherlands. (Through ModernRugs.com, which my friend Rachel Perls of Hue put me onto.)

Regardless of what rug you’re working with, you WILL need some non-neutral pillows to liven things up. I happen to be deep in pillow-land myself right now, both personally and for clients, so here are a few -

The Red Silk Knot pillow cover from Conran:

The Aubergine (and maybe the Hot Red) Mongolian Sheepskin pillow, which I stumbled across on Overstock. (Or a fake equivalent, if you don’t do animal hide/fur.) Please promise me you’ll consider this! So perfect for your look! So cozy! And a great way to involve purple in a masculine way.

Go for solid colors with texture, or a simple, bold design element…such as the Heart Pillow, a Luke design, from PillowHappy (Etsy):

And finally, if you’re feeling sad that the Olympics are over, if you’re missing that sense of national pride that the Olympics brings out in all of us, SewHappy (also through Etsy) can help:

I hope this helps, Amber! Please let us know what you decide.

Picture of Canadian hockey victory from gnews.com.

Filed Under: Color, Living room, Paint, Pillows, Rugs, You asked...

You asked…about so-hideous-it’s-almost-great metallic bathroom wallpaper

October 5, 2009 8 Comments

Hi Annie,
I have just moved into a room in a rented townhouse. The good news is that the room is quite large at 19’ by 12’ and has three nice-sized windows.

The bad news (part 1) is that the bath is wallpapered in this so-hideous-it’s-almost-great wallpaper, which has a silver geometric pattern with a light blue, sage green and pale pink floral pattern over the top of it.

The bad news (part 2) is that I can’t take it down and I can’t paint so the walls will stay apartment white, but I have lots of art so it’s not that bad….

My dilemma is that I’m not quite sure how to construct a color palette that I can live with (I’m so not a pink person) or what scale of pattern will work for the bedding, rug and windows given how busy that wallpaper is…

I forgot to mention that I’m a total mid-century fanatic and constantly have to pull myself back from the brink of way-too-period in order to keep it contemporary. So looking forward to your reply -

All the best, Alison

Dear Alison: Until I read the “mid-century fanatic” part, I’ll admit I was getting a little panicky. But now I have a plan. (Why can’t you paint, exactly? Because you’ll have to re-paint before you leave? It’s still worth considering, chickie…it’s amazing what a bunch of friends can accomplish in a weekend when plied with pizza and beer.)

But assuming there’s a really good reason you can’t paint , let’s do this:

Ignore the wallpaper.

I appreciate that the hideousness of the wallpaper has sent you into a tailspin. It’s pretty bad. Not old enough to be kitschy, not new enough to be cheeky. It’s just bad. BUT it’s in your bathroom/dressing area, not your bedroom. And although you can glimpse it from your bedroom, it won’t dominate the space unless you let it.

And we won’t let it.

Our new palette is brought to you courtesy of this inspiration picture:

Love the green for you. The painting is blue-green, the painting on the left has yellow-green in it, the chairs are yellow, your furniture can take care of the orangey color…

…and your walls provide the wide expanses of white. Think big blocks of color; I wouldn’t do pattern at all since you have a lot of art.

You know I usually suggest starting with the rug. That’s especially true if the rug has a pattern with more than one color in it. For your bedroom, I suggest a BIG, solid color shag or Flokati rug in a yellow-green or a real blue-green. (Not sage or mint).

I wish your 3 windows had a single bar going across the top, but you’re not willing to change that in a rental, are you? Shoot. Well, it was worth asking.

Let’s hang floor-to-ceiling drapes (or in this case, floor-to-curtain-rod-that’s-already-there drapes) in solid yellow. I say this partially because an off-the-shelf solid color is going to be easier to find than a good pattern. (Now, if you’re handy with a sewing machine and see a fabulous HUGE SCALE patterned fabric in yellow, green, and other gutsy colors, then go for it.)

Barring that, let’s just do yellow drapes however we can find them: cotton, linen, velvet…I don’t care. Hello – a pair from Ikea just waltzed in.

What was your name, dear? Aina? Aina, meet Alison. You two are going to be very happy together.

After that, I suggest buying white bedding, hanging your art, and then filling in color gaps – orange, brown – with pillows on your bed. The nubby fabric on these Modern Materials Design pillows has a mid-century feel…and naturally I love the bold colors:

And these are from InMod.com:

Good luck, Alison! Please keep us posted.

Inspiration picture taken from Coco+Kelley’s photostream on Flickr. Green shag rug from RugsUSA.com. First pillow picture through Grassroots Modern.

Filed Under: Baths, Bedroom, Mid-century modern, Pillows, Rugs, Wallpaper, Windows, You asked...

You asked…about a drape-induced panic attack

August 10, 2009 11 Comments

Dear Annie: We’ve been in our house for one year. We painted the living room and I really like the color – though it didn’t do anything to pull the furniture together color-wise, we just liked the color.

We just invested a good chunk of change in having custom drapes made. I chose the drapes in an effort to complement the walls and tie the navy blue sofas in.

The fabric is pretty as a swatch – but I was not imagining what it would look like from ceiling to floor. The drapes are hung now and I am afraid they look awful. We can’t go back on the drapes because it was a big investment – so I am not sure what to do.

Can you tell me how bad things are and whether you can suggest anything that might salvage what was my favorite room?
- Amy (Color blind in Providence)

A: Oh, Amy, things are not that bad. Honestly. Don’t be taking those pricey drapes to eBay just yet, my friend. We have lots of options here.

First of all, I think the drapes are quite pretty. And I’m not just saying that. I could come up with thinly disguised ways of saying I don’t like them. “You must really love blue and white,” or “Wow, those drapes sure are floral, aren’t they?” But I’m not saying those things. Not even softly, under my breath.

You are correct: the wall color does not work with the drapes. That’s good news, actually, because painting a room is much cheaper than having new window treatments made. Here are two possible routes you could go.

SCENARIO #1: EXPENSIVE BEACH HOUSE

The loose pattern on the drapes with the crisp white piping on the navy sofas create a somewhat beachy, laid-back look. If you want to carry that through, I suggest a very light beige on the walls, such as Benjamin Moore’s OC-4 Brandy Cream or OC-12 Muslin.

With this wall color, I strongly recommend painting the insides of the shelves to liven things up and balance the dark navy sofas. Try a darker taupe, or, for extra cheer, a dark red, such as 2003-10 Million Dollar Red.

In this seating area:

a blue-and-white striped slipcover for the chintz-covered chair is worth considering. Check out John Robshaw’s blockprinted textiles for that.

While you’re at it, John Robshaw would be a good place to start for pillows, too. Please do NOT worry about matching the reds and blues exactly – and pull in other colors, too, like brown and dark green, through multi-colored patterns.

SCENARIO #2: INFORMAL FORMAL

If you cringed at the word “beachy,” then paint the walls a very light lemon yellow – not orangey – and leave the bookshelves white. Pack more books in there, though, especially on those top shelves. A nice yellow to try is 2022-70 Creme Brulee, or one shade darker, 2022-60 Light Yellow.

Upholstering both of the chairs in the separate seating area will keep the room formal (although I secretly wonder whether these chairs aren’t a bit big for the room? This is where pictures can take you only so far…)

Choose a refined stripe or a small, tight pattern, preferably one that has some dark blue in it. The patterns below are from Robert Allen/Beacon Hill. Here’s Dotted Strada in color Rain:

And Yang in color Persian:

Use throw pillows as the opportunity to bring in different shades of yellow – and other colors too, of course. The pillow at right is from Anthropologie, and the ones below are from Pillowhappy, at Etsy: