Creating a Contemporary Space With Antiques

Today's online design client Rachel, just inherited a truckload of gorgeous family heirloom antique furniture from her Great-Grandmothers home.  Part of the deal with the family was that Rachel could have the furniture only if she promised not to paint it.  Luckily, the pieces are exceptionally beautiful and in pristine condition.  I wouldn't dream of painting any of it.

I was asked to incorporated them into a new master bedroom design.  My goal was to balance old and new in a way that the room felt timeless, not too contemporary, but not tired. I wanted a look that was fresh and current that still embraced the antique Queen Anne style furnishings.

In a nutshell, I wanted to use Grannies stuff without it looking like Grannies room.

 These pieces represent Rachel's family history and have a lot of sentiment attached to them.  

The design plan video song had to be especially inspirational to live up to this project.  This is where my tribute to Whitney comes in...grab your tissues.

Here is the design plan video:

{Click here to if you would like to view it larger}

The inherited pieces included a Queen Anne Style bed and Highboy set similar to this: 

Rachel and her husband will be installing white picture frame molding around the room.  This will highlight the beautiful dark wood tones in the antiques and really bring them to life.  The wall color suggestion I made was Brown Fox, by Ralph Lauren.  Rachel mentioned that she like the color combination in my Master Bedroom so I used the same wall color and substituted Tiffany Blue as the accent color to coordinate with her current drapery. 

To compliment the antique furnishings I added a few vintage replicas. 

Like this large, curvy,  gold framed mirror.   

These antique inspired butterfly prints are framed in weathered barn wood frames.  They have a great aged look to them. 

{Home Decorators Collection}

To give the design a little contemporary nudge, I incorporated graphic pattern in the bedding, drapes and area rug.

{Potterybarn}

Simple, crisp, luxurious, white bedding from Potterybarn will keep the attention on the furnishings.  The chocolate band on the hotel style bedding added just a touch of graphic interest.  

{Target}

These fabulous banded drapes are from Target.  Rachel already has a pair of tiffany blue drapes.  My suggestion was to use these as her inspiration and create her own version by adding a band of chocolate fabric to the bottom of her current drapes.

{PB Teen}

The master bedroom has gleaming dark hardwood floors.  The wow factor in this space and the piece that ties it all together is this fabulous lattice patterned Tiffany Blue rug from PB Teen.  My Suggestion was to center this large area rug in the room, under the foot of the bed for a grandiose focal point. 

Rachel, thank you for letting me put this plan together for you.  Enjoy your beautiful heirlooms. 

For information on my affordable online design services, please click here. 

Some of the images in the design plan video were borrowed from Rachel's fabulous Etsy Shop...

{Click here to visit}

**Out of courtesy to my clients, I am unable to share specific product sources.  Thank you for understanding.