PBI Office Project

A quick 2nd floor interior design expansion happened this November for a former office client we designed 5 rooms for a year ago. The partners at Meridian Financial Partners  could not be nicer to work with. With 'carte blanche' we installed a reception area and two large offices, continuing the vibe from the first floor. The two level townhouse in historic old town Warrenton, VA, exudes character, with  light filled rooms, hardwood floors and a 3rd floor loft surrounded by glass.  

Here are some iPhone peeks:

Here is how it all began:

I am so thankful to be able to choose the people I work with as well as having the freedom to make my own hours and earn a living doing what I love.

What do I want to do when I grow up? I'm doing it.

I wish the same for you. 

Happy Holidays!

Happy Autumn

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Isn't this gorgeous?

As the seasons change and we ready ourselves for a wonderful time of ''nesting", when our focus turns to creating an inviting space to overwinter, I just want to wish you all a Happy Fall.  Here in Virginia, our leaves are not changing yet, and it seems a bit later than usual, which is fine by me.  

At Powell Brower Interiors we have been steadily busy with wonderful clients, and we are truly thankful.  Many of our more extensive installs this year have not been photographed yet since several are being done in stages, such as in Phase 1: basic furniture and finishes and Phase 2: the final layer of art, accessories and staging.

We have been doing some historic office spaces in Warrenton, VA and creating living room settings in each office, helping the employees to de-stress in our calm, natural and collected spaces.

 'Hakuna', the office mascot, on her gorgeous matching oushak rug.

We've had the most fun finding new vendors and bespoke craftsmen to add unique pieces to our designs...and getting our hands dirty.  I really love the process and the hands-on approach to finishing a room.

Lots of design plans for clients have been happening.  Some have been executed 'en totale', some in part and a few long distance.  A few did upholstery only, while others gave us artistic license to complete the job as we see fit. (Can I say DREAM client?) 

 Here are a few design boards:

Here are some PBI  sample presentation boards:

Bethany's kitchen and more house 'zhushing' has been happening, and, of course, is the most fun of all- designing together. That is my dream. We are working on getting that photographed, hopefully this year, so we will share those at a later time.

/progress/

Have a wonderful fall and prayers to those in hurricane Matthew's wake!

getting the collected over time look

When I first started decorating my home, I kept running into the same problem. Because I was a first-time homebuyer, I had to purchase a lot of first-time items like a sofa, a chair, a coffee table, etc all at once.  Everything ended up looking store-bought or decorated-at-once.  You know the look!  Like when you walk into a home and can identify every thing from a catalog you just thumbed through.

I think we can all agree that rooms that feel like they are decorated over time always feel much more curated than the store-bought rooms that just anyone and everyone can do!  We met with a client recently who told us she likes to walk into a store and say "I'll take this, this this, and one of those!"  That's just what worked best for her in order to complete a room.   

When I slowed down a little and started collecting things over time, I slowly dissolved the store-bought look.  But I had to layer in a lot of aged items.  Rustic beads (thanks to my friend and fave, Sherry Hart), antique Chinese porcelains, original art, and my personal fave, rugs. 

A good mix is like a good year for wine.  You want to keep it once you get it and slowly let it settle and age even more. And the trick is, you can still buy items from big-box stores and achieve a layered, curated look.  You just have to chose wisely.  Not too matchy-matchy or too perfect.  Sometimes perfection lies in the imperfect.

We see way too many store-bought rooms and vignettes styled after what's in the store windows so we're always in search of the unique, the slightly tattered, the used. I wish I could afford a million rugs to scatter all over my house.  Like this pretty here!

If I had all the money I wanted to decorate my own home with there are a few key items that top my list.  

An aged Chinese end-table. A tiger wood or burl wood chest of drawers like this one that I adore.

I need a hoofed-bench at some point.  Rugs, duh, rugs galore!  Original art - something moody and Dutch-master-y, like your friend and mine, Darryl Carter, does so well.

And lastly but probably very important to the aesthetic I dream of in my head, some antique olive jars to add some real grit.  These pups are pretty affordable, compared to the real thing, and would be terrific if converted into statement lamps!  Proof that store-bought and ready-made can still add age and layers if chosen wisely!

If you don't have the time or resources to source antiques, make sure to pepper in some things that feel older - like original art, antique rugs, a mixed set of furniture, an heirloom piece passed down from a relative.  Less glossy and fresh-out-of-the-box and a bit more dinged up.  A simple painted piece of furniture in an otherwise matched-set room will do wonders to add some life. Different colors of wood will also help break up some of the same same.  Prints under glass is one of the best ways to add life to your walls.  But adding in a canvas or something not behind glass will help take away the newness of it all.  Making statements on walls from old African gathering baskets instead of iron scrollwork from stores like Kirklands will give layers without stagnancy.  

Even if you plan to decorate in a day, using older things will ensure your room isn't static.  It breathes life and tells a story when you have items with a past.

far east movement

Did you see this business on OKL on Saturday?

                                                                   Source: onekingslane.com via Bethany on Pinterest

Very swoon-worthy in this pic.

                                                                    Source: grahamandgreen.co.uk via Bethany on Pinterest

I'm not sure what part of my brain this came from, but the mirror inspired all of this:

I feel like this is the kind of collected eclectic room that some dude that wears velvet loafers has in a treasure-trove of an apartment in some chic downtown area.  By day he runs an upscale thrift shop, but night he entertains with specialty cocktails like St. Germaine and Champagne.  It's not quite Asian, not quite antique, but just chock full of stuff and it may smell like a well-worn Persian rug in there.  There should be a token stack of books on the black chair, too.  I'm afraid of clutter, but if I wasn't, these would be some of my favorite things.

You're welcome.

-Bethany