Decorating Dilemmas is a weekly column in which our stylists answer your design questions, so you can tackle your home decorating project with complete confidence.
Hello Design Team,
We are one month away from moving into our new home that has been in the works since May of 2014. It has been a long road, and we’d like nothing better then to decorate the main living space right away so we can begin to entertain family and friends.
Ballard Designs suits our style perfectly. We would love to hear your ideas and suggestions to create a casual and comfortable living space for us! The family room is 17×17 (missing from the pics is the floor to ceiling cobblestone on the fireplace & stainless steel appliances), and the morning room is 20×10. We would love a large farm table for family gatherings in the morning room, and one that can survive our 2 boys, ages 6 and 9, having meals and doing homework on! We were thinking of incorporating blue and coral accent colors somehow into the space, but we trust whatever you think will work best! There are tons of windows and lots of natural light throughout. Thank you in adavance for you time!
The Velten Family
Barry, Roseann, Sean & Ryan
P.S. We would also love suggestions on new everyday dishes, flatware and dinner serving pieces. We’re looking for a fresh start!
Dear Roseann,
Congratulations on your new home! We’d love to help you pull together a warm and inviting space for you and your family to enjoy for many years. Let’s start with the foundational pieces that will set the stage for a beautiful and functional room.
We’d like to ground your space with our Arbor Rug in gray. We love the lines of our Cameron Sofa and think it would look wonderful covered in our Teal Garrison Linen. We want to use your suggested color palette of blue and coral. Teal is the shade of blue that is on trend right now but we think it will be around for a long time. We hear your passion for coral, so we’d also love to see our Larkin Swivel Glider Chairs in Rayna Coral.
You will need a piece like our Marcel Console. We are also big fans of skinny serving tables. Our Ananda table can function for you in several ways. You can set lamps on it, serve appetizers to your guests, and even store two of our Courbe Ottomans underneath. You’ll also need some side tables. We love the texture of our Bornova tables, and we think that the gray color will blend nicely with the other materials in the room. Our Grayson Coffee Table can work as another surface. Your boys could even pull up the courbe ottomans and play a board game on the table. For some extra lighting, we suggest the Luciana Table lamp in camel. Top it with our Dareau Woven Shade for an extra dose of texture.
For your morning room, we love the Vintage Farmhouse Extension Table. It pares beautifully with our Capistrano Dining Chairs in Harper Teal. Because of your active boys, you should probably have some chairs with a cleanable surface. We love our Constance Metal Chairs in the new Oil Rubbed Bronze finish. We love the durability of our Geneve Rug and the silver color will continue the palette we’ve already introduced.
You asked about everyday dishes and serving pieces, and we love that you want an entire look and fresh start! Here are our thoughts. We love Bunny Williams Campbell House paired with the teal color in the dining chair. It’s a fun color combination and brings in bold pattern. The Piper Woven Placemats in Antique Walnut are an extra layer of protection for your table, and add texture. Our Newport Flatware is a great everyday option but can also be special enough for a holiday table setting. The Marseille Linen Napkins in indigo will be low maintenance for everyday use (even with your busy boys and a plate of pasta). Serving Pieces like our Jillian Bowl and 3 tiered stand will never go out of style.
For a final touch, we can’t leave your farmhouse table without a special light fixture above. We think the Laurenza chandelier would set just the right mood at your dinner table.
Enjoy your new home! Thanks for letting us have a sneak peek at what you’ve waited so long to enjoy.
Happy Decorating,
The Design Team
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