Interior Design Minimalist

A few months ago DC based interior designer Tricia Huntley of Huntley and Company mentioned on her blog, Luxe and Lucid, that she had a project in Lake Geneva, Switzerland. Recently she posted the results of this Montreax apartment transformation and it is luxe and gorgeous. This bedroom is a beautiful mix of patterns and textures with various stripes repeated throughout. I love the textile hanging behind the bed.
Here's just one peek into the living room. Love this chair! Along with the furniture, Huntley and Company installed the wallcoverings, lighting, textiles and accessories. The 1970's faux tortoise multi-faceted table is from Georgetown's Darrel Dean's Antiques which Tricia blogged about.
I've never seen this tie treatment for a bedspread - love this detail. Notice the zig zag pattern in the stitching of the spread and in the pillows.
Here's Tricia gazing out at the incredible view of Lake Geneva from the apartment. For more images of the interior and a fun, behind-the-scenes looks at the installation go here.

Last night was great fun - the Washington Design Center and Elle Decor hosted an opening gala for the Hall of Fame 2010 Design House. Newly located on the 5th floor, the showhouse features the work of eight designers who have been honored for their accomplishments in the design community. Here is a sneak peek into one of my favorite rooms; Nestor Santa-Cruz's Study. In his description Nestor wrote, "Elle Decor is the premier magazine for featuring personal, beautifully designed, chic rooms." Enveloped in a dreamy blue, I think his room epitomizes the spirit of Elle Decor. (I believe the color is Farrow & Ball's Chinese Blue)
He selects his pieces with the eye of a curator and then moves forward with a design scheme that is warm, textured and sophisticated in the most comfortable fashion. I love this occasional table - artful but still practical as a resting place for your martini. The Stark area rug is absolutely beautiful.
Nestor found all these pieces at flea markets; the painting and blue ceramic vase are from Copenhagen and the blue platter was found in the Marais in Paris.
This sofa is accented by a warmly textured alpaca pillow from NYC textile designer Bryant Archie. I greatly enjoyed meeting Bryant - her work is amazing and I'm looking forward to doing a whole post on her textiles, throws and pillows. They're currently carried by a number of stores, including Thomas O'Brien's Aero.
Here's Bryant with Heather Safferstone to her left and Sally Steponkus to the right. They're having a banner year in 2010 as Heather has recently joined Sally's firm full-time.
More great people at last night's event - interior designer Lauren Liess of Pure Style Home and her husband David, and interior designer Raji Radhakrishnan and her husband.
There is more to share from the Hall of Fame Design House in future posts. The showhouse is open to the public, free of charge, through Dec. 4. Go here for more info.

Last night was great fun - the Washington Design Center and Elle Decor hosted an opening gala for the Hall of Fame 2010 Design House. Newly located on the 5th floor, the showhouse features the work of eight designers who have been honored for their accomplishments in the design community. Here is a sneak peek into one of my favorite rooms; Nestor Santa-Cruz's Study. In his description Nestor wrote, "Elle Decor is the premier magazine for featuring personal, beautifully designed, chic rooms." Enveloped in a dreamy blue, I think his room epitomizes the spirit of Elle Decor. (I believe the color is Farrow & Ball's Chinese Blue)
He selects his pieces with the eye of a curator and then moves forward with a design scheme that is warm, textured and sophisticated in the most comfortable fashion. I love this occasional table - artful but still practical as a resting place for your martini. The Stark area rug is absolutely beautiful.
Nestor found all these pieces at flea markets; the painting and blue ceramic vase are from Copenhagen and the blue platter was found in the Marais in Paris.
This sofa is accented by a warmly textured alpaca pillow from NYC textile designer Bryant Archie. I greatly enjoyed meeting Bryant - her work is amazing and I'm looking forward to doing a whole post on her textiles, throws and pillows. They're currently carried by a number of stores, including Thomas O'Brien's Aero.
Here's Bryant with Heather Safferstone to her left and Sally Steponkus to the right. They're having a banner year in 2010 as Heather has recently joined Sally's firm full-time.
More great people at last night's event - interior designer Lauren Liess of Pure Style Home and her husband David, and interior designer Raji Radhakrishnan and her husband.
There is more to share from the Hall of Fame Design House in future posts. The showhouse is open to the public, free of charge, through Dec. 4. Go here for more info.

The other week while attending the Washington Design Center's Ones to Watch Awards, the portfolio of Barbara Franceski, one of the nominees, really caught me eye. I like the interesting, layered interiors she creates. Comfortable and inviting but with a bit of the unexpected added in - whether it's a bit glam & glitter, an interesting accent piece or an oversized pattern.
Love the fresh spring green accent pillows in this room and the repetition of the oversized nail head trim.

Great pattern!


A bit of whimsy - often reserved for bedrooms this wire model looks terrific here (which I think is in the main living area of the home)
Love Barbara's solution for those very tall windows - it adds to the comfortable scale of the seating area.
What can you say - this is a terrific bedroom! Love how the upholstered element continues from the headboard through the base of the bed.

If you're interested in seeing Barbara's work in person, there's good news. She'll be creating a guest sitting room in the upcoming DC Design House. In a recent email, Barbara mentioned the window treatments have been installed and the furniture and artwork are about to be installed. Really looking forward to it! In the meantime, if you'd like to see more of Barbara's work, you'll find her porfolio here.
(photography by Gunnar Westerlind or Barbara Franceski)

The other week while attending the Washington Design Center's Ones to Watch Awards, the portfolio of Barbara Franceski, one of the nominees, really caught me eye. I like the interesting, layered interiors she creates. Comfortable and inviting but with a bit of the unexpected added in - whether it's a bit glam & glitter, an interesting accent piece or an oversized pattern.
Love the fresh spring green accent pillows in this room and the repetition of the oversized nail head trim.

Great pattern!


A bit of whimsy - often reserved for bedrooms this wire model looks terrific here (which I think is in the main living area of the home)
Love Barbara's solution for those very tall windows - it adds to the comfortable scale of the seating area.
What can you say - this is a terrific bedroom! Love how the upholstered element continues from the headboard through the base of the bed.

If you're interested in seeing Barbara's work in person, there's good news. She'll be creating a guest sitting room in the upcoming DC Design House. In a recent email, Barbara mentioned the window treatments have been installed and the furniture and artwork are about to be installed. Really looking forward to it! In the meantime, if you'd like to see more of Barbara's work, you'll find her porfolio here.
(photography by Gunnar Westerlind or Barbara Franceski)

After looking through the extensive portfolio of DC based designer Liz Levin, it's hard to believe that her firm was launched as recently as 2004. I like Liz's fresh, clean lined approach to design and her comfortable mix of furniture, fabrics and accents. Every room reads liveable - not an accomplishment as easy to achieve as it might sound. Love the simplicity of this foyer and the very interesting carvings on the black bureau.

I love everything about this bright white kitchen, especially the unexpected modern chrome chairs paired with the claw foot table.

Notice the artful combination of patterns here - subtle zig zag on the sofa, plaid drapes, diamond lattice on the settee and curves on the pillows and rug.
There's a great mix of color and styling of chairs at this dining table; armless chairs in a solid and pattern and Wing back chairs anchoring the ends. Doesn't it make for a very confident and cheerful room?

Liz is also an innovator - after the birth of her daughter she realized how challenging it can be to live stylishly, and in response, launched Liz Levin Nesting. Nesting is a unique collection of custom and high performance furnishings. Case in point is the following Nesting design for a client with children and pets.

BEFORE
"The room had a lot to live up to: it needed to be a gallery, a playroom, a cocktail and TV lounge. Before we got started, we confirmed piano lessons were in the room’s future as well." - Liz Levin

AFTER
Beside the fact that the space is beautiful and kid friendly - it looks so much larger! To check out more great interior designs by Liz Levin go here.

(Photography by Angie Seckinger)