nFocus - Red Leaf Interiors

It’s the little things
Making your house a new home
by Marilee Spanjian
W
ouldn’t it be nice
to escape today’s
headlines and find
solace from life’s
stumbling blocks?
According to designers, and we tend
to agree, the best therapy is to nest,
to refresh and rework your surroundings. Start by editing. There is no
better feeling than decluttering. (If
only losing weight were that easy.)
Take the time to lighten up and give
away what you don’t need. Then, try
adding some of these cool design
elements.
Giant jigsaws underfoot
64
We headed out to find edgy, yet
classic design details that trend-setting Nashvillians could easily weave
into their traditional interiors. First
stop, Beckwith Interiors on Highway
100 in Nashville. Leave it to designer
and owner Jamie Beckwith to design
and manufacture (in the U.S.) a
brand new engineered flooring line,
Enigma. The 10 different patterns,
including creative shapes like Jigsaw,
Hive, and Lotus, are so hip, so fun. We
haven’t seen anything like this.
Due to the price (approximately
$105 per square foot), you probably
wouldn’t put it in your entire house.
Yet, as an accent, or area rug design,
the effect would be chic. Patterns
can also be used on walls like in this
featured niche.
A sip of punch
A boring sofa is such a sad
sight. Try popping it with color.
Jamie recommends tossing a couple
Madeline Winrib IKat
pillows against a neutral
backdrop.“The blurred
stretched colors add an
ethnic touch.” Check out
the detailing—leather
piping whip-stitched
with a linen back
accented in mother-ofpearl buttons. Priced
between $200 to $500,
these stylish designs
are only available in
Tennessee at Beckwith.
One-of-a-kind chandelier at Beckwith Interiors
Multiple
personalities
Reflect on life’s
beauty
Want to freshen your
design without blowing
dollars on a rebuild? A
mirrored architectural
panel can easily transform a basic box. Best
of all, you can move the
piece (priced at $1,390
at Beckwith’s), depending on the desired effect.
Prop it up or hang it—
either way it will reflect
light, which we all know,
makes us feel better.
Lights with personality
Think lifetime investment,
not temporary fix. Suspended in
Beckwith’s showroom is an amazing chandelier made of kiln-fired
mud beads. This is most certainly a
show-stopper. At $5,400, its earthy
texture and graceful lines are the
perfect blend for today’s eco-friendly
interiors.
Next stop was Manoirs,The
Designer’s Resource in Nashville.
While it’s open only to designers, the
industrial space is filled to the rafters
with amazing furniture, aisles and
aisles of fabric swatches—enough to
need a fabric librarian—and plenty
of accessories.
Hand-stitched
investment
If you love the
shape of your sofa or
chair, why not reupholster in a cool fabric? Often designers
suggest more neutral
colors for large pieces
and patterns for
chairs. Schumacher
has a timeless crewel
that is absolutely
stunning.“Vanessa
Embroidery” is a mercerized cotton/poly
mix that would easily
transform a classic
frame.
Green apples are
good for the soul
Designer pillows at Beckwith Interiors
attention. Tufted,
with a scroll back
and accented
with cording and
tape around the
hem, this chair is
finished with a
detached pillow
covered in a mini
dot diamond fabric
edged in six-inch
bullion fringe.
An apple green
raw silk skirted swivel
boudoir chair by
Century caught our
We love furniture with multiple personalities.
Recently, Manoirs
brought in a distressed robin’s egg
blue bow front
console by Lorts.
Within no time,
designers had spied
it for its unique
color and shape.
The scalloped edge
and generous top
make it useable not
only in a foyer, but
why not as a sink
cabinet? Paired with a hand-painted
tremeau mirror from Lea Motlow
out of High Point, North Carolina,
the look is stunning. Classic. Calming.
Just what we crave.
Cherie Smith of Manoirs
continued on page 66
Crave more ideas?
How about these tips from Brooke Sevier and Meg White of
Sevier and White Interiors and owners of Petit Chateau Antiques on
Highway 100 in Nashville?
A new hue
Ask any designer what their favorite color is and they’ll share
names like they’re suggesting fine wines for a dinner party. Brooke
and Meg love Farrow & Ball’s Slipper Satin or Lime White “for a stunning neutral, or Bone for a chameleon color, which can go with just
about any existing color palette,” they suggested.
“If you want to completely mix things up, try their color named
Pantalon, a deep neutral.”
Slip into something simple
Ceramic bird at Manoirs
Little morsels with long
lasting benefits
66
Sometimes all it takes is a
new, fresh scent to make you fall
in love again. Beckwith carries a
couple unique candle lines, D L
& Co. and Kobo. Angel Trumpet
captures the floral fragrance
of that garden treasure.“All the
clean scents are really popular,”
says designer Jamie Beckwith of
Clay Binkley’s wood
Beckwith Interiors.
and metal frames
Sometimes all it takes is
wrapping your treasured
the metal’s origin.
photos with new frames to liven
Birds never go out of style. In fact,
a space. Over at Manoirs, The
fat and happy birds brought smiles
Designers Resource in Nashville,
to our faces at Manoirs. Crafted of
owner Cherie Smith carries the
aged ceramic, they retail for $24 and
most unique frames from All Things
$30.
Recycled. Instead of barn wood,
Everyone could benefit from a
local artist Clay Binkley salvages old
touch of silvery blue. How about a
roof metal, wraps a wood frame and
cloisonné ruffled edged candle snuffthen curls back the opening. Even
better, Clay includes a short story on er? Priced at $24, this little detail is
affordable, yet memorable.
the back of every frame to explain
Instead of hunting for a new sofa, try custom slipcovers. Brooke
and Meg recommend custom covers made out of fresh, crisp linen
with details like “shirred corners on the cushions, different color
welting or even a fun box pleat trim on the throw pillows. Then
when fall rolls around, you can take off the slipcover and change
your look again.” At Petit Chateau, they also carry Ankasa pillows,
elegantly hand embroidered with designer dress detailing, and Sferra
(the softest) throws, to add for color without sidestepping traditional
style and without breaking your budget.
From the ground floor up
Need to liven up your floors? Try layering rugs. Brooke and Meg
suggest using a wool, sisal or sea grass rug as the “anchor to a large
space.” Then, layer with a muted Oushak rug (muted colors) on top.
Select a rug that pulls your colors together and try placing it under
your coffee table.
Add a little fresh
Sometimes all it takes is bringing the outside in. It’s as easy as
using orchids or fresh flowers in spaces.“Something about the pop
of color and life really adds another dimension to the space. And
again, that is a way to add a great accessory without breaking the
bank!” suggest Brooke and Meg.
If your pocket’s still pinched…
Paint is the most cost effective way to freshen up a space. Designer Jamie
Beckwith says,“Mercurial colors,” the silver gray, gem-like tones for bedrooms
are really hot. Another color coming on strong is yellow, she added. (Who
would have thought Little Miss Sunshine would make a comeback so soon?)
Walls aren’t the only surface to benefit from a fresh coat. Nashville’s Red
Leaf Interiors’ designers Jamaica Zralek, Lynn Grubbs and Maureen Kitchen
suggested these clever ideas, many that they recently used to update a teenager’s bedroom that hadn’t been touched for a decade.
“We took her traditional greenish blue iron canopy bed and painted it
a high gloss hot pink,” Jamaica Zralek explained. A settee that had gone
through two generations was also painted high gloss white and they added
a vibrant patterned cushion. The effect? Very daring, very hot.
Instead of buying new lamps or even shades, try painting the shade, adding
beads or rhinestones. O.K., so it probably won’t look like the Schoenbek lamp
we found at Manoirs, but for now, it might just give your lamp a little more
shelf life. Same goes for pillows. Add buttons, trim, even decorative pieces.
Take everything off the walls, suggest the designers at Red Leaf. Then,
reuse what you have in a different location. Easy and doable.
A quick fix in a bathroom is to change the cabinet hardware. Check out
Anthropologie in The Hill Center. For around $5 to $10 for each knob, you
get a new look.
Meg White, Brooke Sevier