Chic and Timeless Decorating Ideas to Remember

New York design firm Carrier and Co. offers inspiration for elevating your room’s decor — whether traditional, modern or country-inspired

When looking through photos of beautiful high-end rooms, it can be tempting to think, “If I had that kind of money, of course I could create a gorgeous living room (dining room, bedroom) like that.” But a gazillion-dollar budget doesn’t guarantee a great-looking room. And you don’t need a fortune to design a room that’s inviting and delightful and comfortable to be in.

New York City interior designers Jesse Carrier and Mara Miller’s work for celebrity clients such as Vogue’s Anna Wintour and actress Jessica Chastain has landed them on Architectural Digest’s exclusive AD100 list. But in the foreword to the designers’ recent book Carrier and Company: Positively Chic Interiors, Wintour writes: “These are homes whose high style comes from a very human-scaled sense of warmth and joy.”

The designers have organized their book into six looks, such as tailored, country, modern and traditional, and discuss the concepts they use in creating each style. We’ve highlighted some of their work and design ideas here. See if there are useful concepts you can pull out for your next project.

Carrier and Company Interiors Ltd.

TimelessnessTo achieve a sense of timelessness in a room, Carrier and Co. Interiors selectively mixes references from the past, the present and the future. The designers’ recipe:

• Antiques as a key component
• A piece or two from the mid-20th century to lighten up the room and help bring it into the present
• A carefully chosen contemporary classic — something surprising but not trendy — to add a sense of being up-to-the-minute

In this upstairs landing in Vogue editor Wintour’s country home, an oversize painting by Hugo Guinness hangs above a diminutive Swedish painted chest of drawers. The play on scale accentuates the contemporary nature of the artwork and brings the old house up to date.

Carrier and Company Interiors Ltd.

“For us, decorating is always about the mix,” the authors write. “A room’s style — a home’s style — derives from the pairings, the compositions, the accents and details. Unexpected choices in scale, material or placement, a daring use of bold color or finish, may arrest the eye and stop time.”Color and artisanal quality unify the forms, textures and materials of this Hamptons, New York, sitting room. The watercolor-like patterned wallpaper helps tie together the antique armchair upholstered in a hand-woven Chapas Textiles fabric and the hand-woven Guatemalan wool rug. The polished midcentury brass drum table and torchiere offer contrast.

Tailored RefinementTailored rooms can be clean and pared-down like modern rooms, the authors write. What makes them different is that they’re refined in such a way that they feel “a little more sensual, a little more lush, a little more plush. Their geometry speaks clearly, but it does so with a softer, gentler, though still precise edge.”

Tailored rooms may be traditional as well. The balance of elements determines whether a room leans toward traditional or modern. Above, splashes of lemon yellow and marigold orange add sunny warmth to an elegant living room’s neutral palette. The white walls have a polished-plaster finish.

Carrier and Company Interiors Ltd.

In this Florida entry hall, pairs of antique Oushak rugs and potted fig trees relax the feeling of grandeur. The contemporary plaster sand-dollar-inspired light fixtures by Marc Bankowsky and giant clamshell on the Dunbar chest at right connect the room to its locale.

Carrier and Company Interiors Ltd.

The walls of this den are wrapped in linen, and grosgrain ribbon trimmed with nailheads covers the seams. Custom-fabricated curtain hardware with simple returns, rather than finials, downplays the formality of the curtains.

Carrier and Company Interiors Ltd.

Country CharmCountry decor celebrates “the beauty of uncomplicated times and straightforward pleasures. People imagine rubber boots, apple picking in quilted jackets, horses and hayrides, or the beach equivalent of all that,” the designers write. “They want their rooms to cater to that vision, to express that ideal, yet in an authentic way. As a result, the decor may feel caught in a moment or a memory, which is the source of the nostalgia. This can seem to slow down time, which is what the fantasy of country living is about for many.”

Carrier and Co. lists elements typically found in high-end country decor: slipcovered pieces, kilim-covered items, twig furniture, sisal rugs and wrought iron railings and curtain hardware. Locally salvaged industrial and agricultural items may be included.

The farmhouse bedroom above features classic country details: linen, a metal bed, painted wood furniture, a botanical print. Unexpected color pairings and a contemporary hand-blocked throw pillow add a fresh twist.

Carrier and Company Interiors Ltd.

In the sitting room of Wintour’s country house, rag-glazed paneled walls and a framed United States map create a rustic yet refined background for a George Smith rolled-arm sofa covered in a Bennison Fabrics print.

Carrier and Company Interiors Ltd.

Luxuriously ModernModern decor means different things to different people. For Carrier and Co., a modern room includes:

• Strong silhouettes
• Precise geometry
• Clean lines
• Crisp edges
• Boldness and graphic clarity
• Soft moments, sensuous curves and deluxe details, as foils to the streamlined aesthetic
• A piece that’s clearly of today

The dining area above features a reclaimed-wood dining table. The dark fireplace wall behind it makes a striking backdrop for the artwork and the antique Italian gilded sunburst mirror. The floating fireplace provides warmth and focus.

Carrier and Company Interiors Ltd.

Organic, rustic and refined elements combine in this vignette of a gilded driftwood lamp, a hand-carved sideboard and a quartz crystal-framed mirror.

Carrier and Company Interiors Ltd.

A Nod to TraditionAntiques are an integral part of traditional interiors for these designers, who write:

• Antiques are evocative.
• They add atmosphere, age and patina to a room.
• They endow a room with a feeling of the familiar — the emotional and visual comfort of forms and materials that are tried, true and trusted.

This traditional eat-in kitchen features comfortable dining chairs and an adjacent seating area. An oval-shaped English hunt board (traditionally used for serving breakfast after a hunt) takes center stage but allows for ease of passage. A playful artisan-made zinc chandelier from the 1920s hangs over the table.

Carrier and Company Interiors Ltd.

Photo by Pieter Estersohn

Carrier and Co. lacquered the walls of this room in powder blue to match the cotton velvet on the sofa and bring color and shine to the windowless space. A traditional American hooked cotton rug in a contemporary abstract pattern offers contrasting texture. More texture comes from the worn painted finishes on the blanket chest and the faux-bamboo bench, as well as the thick woven tweed on the Dunbar winged slipper chairs.

Carrier and Company Interiors Ltd.

Bohemian Glamour“We find bohemian glamour to be very dynamic and exciting. For us, it means using design and decoration in a particularly creative way: that is, expressively, to tell the client’s story,” the designers write.

“In such rooms, each choice comes with additional layers of meaning. Beyond pleasing aesthetics and functional practicalities, the elements of the room must capture a personality and an approach to life — and to do so clearly and forcefully, but without shouting.”

Rooms that epitomize bohemian glamour are:

• Eclectic
• Full of pattern-on-pattern
• Wonderfully colorful, with vivid, arresting and unusual accents
• Occasionally overflowing with a rich, sometimes eccentric riot of visual information
• Not necessarily maximalist, per se, and not just about “more is more”

“Our role in such projects is to establish calm amid visual cacophony, to relieve the visual density yet still reveal the personality, because when there is too much to take in, the eye has nowhere to pause or relax,” the designers write.

This home office in a loft had a wall that was double height. The designers turned the wall into a faux library with a Tracy Kendalltrompe l’oeil bookshelf wallpaper. The room’s colorful palette was pulled from the colors in the wallpaper’s books.

Carrier and Company Interiors Ltd.

Thank you to HOUZZ for this great information!

Kitchen Watch: Trends, Products and Lifestyle Elements

Modern Kitchens Reflect a Desire for Personality, Honest Materials, Healthy Living and Control

The evolution of the modern kitchen has finally hit a design crescendo. The following design directions reflect a greater desire for control, ease, and environmental sensitivity within the home that appears to be increasingly common among a diverse range of homeowners. Whether any or all of the possibilities below fully develop into future design concepts for kitchens or vary a bit — as many trends do — depend on regional influences and budgetary considerations.

Searl Lamaster Howe Architects

Lifestyle at home: Homes have become kitchen-centric, with kitchens serving as a family’s venue for leisure, work, and entertaining in addition to its utilitarian roles. Homeowners are willing to devote a greater share of thought, square footage, and budget to design kitchens that will ease this lifestyle integration. Moving forward, designers will seek to create more unified, holistic concepts for lifestyle-inclusive kitchen environments.

Kitchen Designs by Ken Kelly, Inc. (CKD, CBD, CR)

Personality-driven design: Many homeowners, not satisfied with cookie-cutter kitchens, are choosing to put a personal stamp on their designs to create unique spaces that showcase their aesthetic preferences and personalities. Consumers are savvier than ever about the options available to them, and they will continue to demand ever-more-personalized designs.

Tina Kuhlmann

Personality-driven design: Reflecting the kitchen’s shift from pure utility to venue for comfort and expression, elements like lighting fixtures, countertops, and hardware are getting the custom treatment with personalized touches, such as countertops embedded with favorite objects or motifs, or whimsical cabinet knobs.

Health and wellness: Going beyond simple conservation of resources, green design in the kitchen now puts a greater emphasis on healthy living. It is primarily driven by the farm-to-table movement and homeowners’ desire to live within an environment that supports their families’ health.

LDa Architecture & Interiors

Health and wellness: Indoor air quality is becoming more important to homeowners, so low- or no-VOC finishes, paints, sealants, and cabinetry materials are increasingly being incorporated into kitchens, as well as ventilation and filtration systems. Also, appliance industry groups currently are developing lifecycle-based sustainability standards for home appliances such as microwaves and refrigerators, which will add a new dimension to appliance performance.

HartmanBaldwin Design/Build

Honest use of materials: Stone’s natural veining is highly valued, and finish preferences have shifted toward honed rather than polished, to let the stone’s raw texture shine. A wider range of metals is being used, from stainless steel to polished nickel to bronzes and brasses with living finishes.

Honest use of materials: Natural materials are able to retain their own voices in today’s kitchens, rather than being muted by unnatural treatments. Wood cabinetry may be painted, but the preference is now for a hand-applied finish that allows brush marks and the material’s original grain to show through, for example.

Mark English Architects, AIA

Honest use of materials: Repurposing pieces in the kitchen area is popular, too. A bench that used to sit in an entry area can easily tuck into to a kitchen niche, giving a personal twist over a newly purchased piece.

Kenneth Fromme

Technological innovation: As the separation between kitchens and living rooms continues to disappear, homeowners are showing a greater preference for integrating and concealing utilitarian elements such as appliances using the aforementioned natural materials. This will be supported by technological advances.

Venegas and Company

Technological innovation: Technology also will enable seamless aging-in-place design and the incorporation of electronic displays and control panels, as well as lighting, into kitchen surfaces — countertops in particular. Further product innovations and electronic advances will make wireless/plugless countertop appliance operation a reality.

Thank you to Houzz for the great information!

Bring Sophisticated Drama to Your Room With Warm Metallic Tiles

Today’s metal tiles in gold, bronze, copper and soft gray add luxuriousness and warmth

 Metallic tiles have been around for years, most commonly in stainless steel finishes. As a designer, I’ve tended to shy away from stainless steel tiles because I felt they could be a bit cold and industrial. But the latest trend in metallic tiles offers warmer tones, such as gold, bronze, copper and soft silver, that can be used to bring a dash of glamour to any setting. So if you’re looking to add drama, sophistication and even warmth to your space, here are a few ways to incorporate metallic tiles in a range of rooms.

Small Interiors Design

Beyond Stainless Steel

For years stainless steel was the most common metallic backsplash used in kitchens. These days, bronze, pewter, brass, copper, iron and tin have become striking alternatives. Like most metals, they are durable and resistant to high temperatures, moisture and food stains, making them ideal to use as a kitchen backsplash.In addition to backsplashes, metallic tiles are suitable for walls, bathrooms and even ceilings. Available in numerous finishes, textures, sizes and patterns, the cost of metallic tiles ranges from $10 to $50 per square foot.

Things to Consider

Metal tiles, though durable, can still be dented and scratched. Extra caution should be taken during installation to protect the metal finish. Use nonsanded grout because sanded grout may scratch the finish.

Additionally, keep in mind that metallic tiles can be cold to the touch, making them a chilly flooring choice. One option is to lay the metal tile over a radiant heating system. Another is to add them as accents to a ceramic or hardwood floor, rather than making them the main floor material. Remember, too, that metal conducts electricity. Therefore, extra caution should be taken when installing metallic tiles around power outlets to make certain they do not come in contact with any exposed electrical wire.

Most metallic tiles come with a protective sealant to make them resistant to scratches and stains. To clean, just wipe them down with a little soap mixed with warm water and dry with a soft cloth.

LDa Architecture & Interiors

Copper Develops a Patina

Real copper is a living metal that gains a patina as it ages. The patina is a thin coating that protects the copper underneath from corrosion and gradually darkens and becomes richer and more distinct over time. This natural process occurs through oxidation, which is the interaction of the copper with oxygen. When weather and water are added to the mix, the patina can turn green, a la the Statue of Liberty. Some people consider copper’s patina part of its natural beauty, while others prefer to have it clear coated to slow down the process of oxidation.Metallic tiles reflect their surroundings, making them easy to blend with a myriad of paint colors and decor styles. Let’s look at some examples of ways to use metallic tiles in a room.

UK Bathrooms

1. All that Glitters

Metallic tiles in warm, shimmery hues create a sense of luxury. Here, they transform an otherwise spare bathroom scene into a luxurious spa.

WA Design Architects

2. Cool Warm Ceiling

The bronze ceiling tiles in this photo are a very cool and modern alternative to traditional tin ceiling tiles. This is one way to add some industrial chic to your home. One side benefit of placing metallic tiles on your ceiling instead of your floors is sidestepping the radiant heat issue mentioned previously. Since you won’t be touching them, you don’t need to worry so much about their temperature, as you would with floors.

Key Residential

3. Sleek Silver

Not ready to commit to a wall of metallic tile? Consider using it as an accent, as shown in this photo. The narrow silver metallic tile subtly enlivens the monochromatic color scheme of this bathroom.

Aristea Rizakos

4. Luxe Look

Metallic tiles can add a touch of glamour and opulence to any setting. The golden tones of the metallic tiled fireplace are highlighted by its black surround in this sleek and modern living room. Gold accessories complement and complete this look.

Stalburg Design

5. The Illusion of Space

The reflective nature of metallic tiles can brighten and enlarge a space. This added bonus is especially welcome in smaller spaces lacking natural light, such as this narrow cocktail bar space.

Jason Ball Interiors, LLC

SaveEmail

6. Mix it Up

Peppering metallic accents into a mixture of stone and ceramic tiles juxtaposes the soft silver sheen of metal with the organic texture of stone. The element of shine adds a contemporary flavor to a kitchen backsplash. In addition to stone and ceramic, metallic accents also look great blended with glass tiles.

Steffes Construction, Inc.

7. Glam Bath

This photo shows another example of mixing metallic tile with stone. The sophisticated elegance of this marble shower is elevated with a touch of bling via gold metallic accents.

WINN Design+Build

8. Beyond Modern

Once seemingly relegated to modern applications, metallic tiles can be successfully incorporated into traditional designs as well. In this photo, the copper tiles behind the range add shine and shimmer, creating an exciting focal point in the kitchen.

More
What Goes with Rose Gold?
See How Metallics Can Pull Together Your Decor

Thank you to Houzz and Barbra Bright for this great information!!!

Use Trim to Modernize a Traditional Home — or Vice Versa

Bridge the gap between old and new styles with subtle variations in trim style and color

 In the same way a pair of earrings or the right watch can change the impression we give off with an outfit, a home’s trim can give a modern twist to a traditional home or add a cozy, traditional feeling to a more contemporary space. The color, shapes and little details of window, door and baseboard trim can help a room bridge eras and gain flexibility and appeal.

Carter Kay Interiors

The gorgeous trim-out in this modern kitchen addresses the question, “How do I help my home walk that fine line between past and present?”

The look subtly blends narrow dark interior steel mullions and white wood picture frame molding to guide the identity of this kitchen successfully to a fresh yet traditional feel.The details and color could be read as traditional or modern. The blend does a bang-up job of invoking the past while hinting at a clean, modern style of the present.

Wally Sears

Simple bordering picture-frame molding could make these windows feel completely modern, but ending the side trim at a flat crown at the top speaks to both traditional design elements and a modern aesthetic. Further balancing traditional and contemporary are the divided-light French casement windows. Single large panes would have left this room with a much more modern feel.

dSPACE Studio Ltd, AIA

This fun baseboard shape has the profile of a nice bordeaux, and is reminiscent of traditional Victorian baseboards, complementing the wainscot and traditional cabinet pulls above. But the lack of frills and the square groove at the top anchor this firmly in the present.

Smith & Vansant Architects PC

The well-worn wood floors here connect to the walls with very simple flat-stock baseboard trim. In fact, the whole home style here reflects a transitional mentality by surrounding the traditional four-panel doors with flat stock trim that dies smoothly into the baseboard — with no traditional plinth-block at the bottom.

The reductionist take on the traditional trim enables the owners to move this historic farmhouse in a more modern direction without making the interior feel disconnected from the era of the original home.

Smith & Vansant Architects PC

Ditto.

Home Systems , Wendi Zampino

When extending your thinking from window, door and baseboard trim to cabinets, you’ll often see Shaker-esque styles dotting the transitional landscape.

These kitchen cabinets are a great example of how the Shaker style can be interpreted through a modern lens — with full-overlay doors substituting for the classic inset cabinet doors and the raised portion of the doors being much wider than usual — giving an unmistakable modern edge to a very classic style.

Venegas and Company

Here again, a wider-style Shaker door, flat-stock crown and lack of a footed detail to the cabinets puts this kitchen into a much more modern space while leveraging a style rooted in the 19th century.

Arcanum Architecture

Flat-stock baseboard set at the depth of the wall board and nearly nonexistent window trim nevertheless still allow a hint of tradition in this space.

Whitten Architects

On the outside of this home, the designer effectively combines traditional style — a columned porch with wood railing and tongue-and-groove ceiling — with a contemporary, clean-line aesthetic.

The railing has been reduced to its most simple rectangular elements, and the columns to simple square-profile towers with simple baseboards. This gives them human scale and a beginning (at the porch) and an end (at the ceiling).

Thank you to Houzz and the great information from Joshua Mogal !!