Hi Guys!
Can you believe it’s even Thursday already?! SO CRAZY! This week has FLOWN by for me! I’m SO excited to share with you the interview that I did with uber stylish blogger Krista Williams of @hundredblogla !! Check out the full article via link below. Thanks so much again Krista!!
x,
matthew
photo: @brooklynblonde1 courtesy of @homegoods @matt_harringto
Hi Guys!
This article could not have come at a more perfect time than now especially after the #BALMAINSQUAD of all my favs SLAYIN at the MET GALA in ALL metallics last night! I mean, KIMYE KILLED IT!! Check out all the looks below and the article I wrote on how metallics are making their way into the home. I think it’s safe to say they are not going anywhere anytime soon. Olivier Rousteing, you are a GENIUS. So inspirational!!
xx,
#hfc
images courtesy of @balmain
Helena’s project got picked up by thenest.com and bustle.com! Thank you SO much for the beautiful articles and for coming to the event!
x,
matthew
Thank you so much to @metronewyork for the full page feature on @brooklynblonde1 townhouse! Check out the full feature on their website under the LIFESTYLE tab!
Hi Guys!
So excited to share this amazing article that GLAMOUR wrote up about Helena’s Home. Check it out!
xx,
hfc
photo: glamour magazine
Last night I definitely had a bit of a fan girl moment when I got to meet these guys! I’ve been following them and their shows for years now and am happy to report that they are exactly as they are on TV. Sweet, polite, and their back and forth banter is the best. Congrats on the book Drew and Jonathan and thanks again for the picture!
x,
m.
Thank you SO much to InStyle for coming to the event and for such a beautiful feature!
x,
matthew
Are you guys ready for allll the details on this project?! I’m so excited to share everything with you all! I started this project last April and worked on it for about 9 months. The apartment is a 900 sq. ft. 2 bedroom, 1 bath. When my clients first bought the apartment it was far from their taste and style. It was serving all sorts of 90’s over the top décor vibes with oversized Italian light fixtures, dark paint-textured walls, and had light stained hardwoods throughout. I attached before images so you guys can get a true sense of how crazy the before and after really is. After I do a project, I’m still even shocked by what a before and after is like. A fresh coat of paint, staining the floors and changing out all the light fixtures already did wonders!
My clients knew they wanted a luxurious-glam feeling, without the stuffiness or being uncomfortable. Through a color palette of soothing grays, luxurious textures like velvets and faux-furs and a highlight POP color of teal, we were able to achieve the vibe they desired. Lets break down the living room first..
First, we needed to lay down the foundation of the room. Newly stained hardwood floors; a custom color of a mix half-ebony stain | half-espresso was how we got the floors to be dark, but not looking too heavy or black. Next, painting time. All the walls and moldings are painted tone-on-tone using Sidewalk Grey by Benjamin Moore, flat finish. All the trim work is Decorator’s White by Benjamin Moore. All the sconce lighting is Restoration Hardware.
Being that the room is very long and quite boxy, I knew that round was going to be an important factor to consider in choosing the larger pieces. A modern take on a traditional style round dining table by West Elm paired with chairs from OKL, set the tone for the room. My client knew she wanted to include marbles and brass into the mix, so when we found the Jonathan Adler coffee table, we knew we hit it big. This was going to be our wow piece in the room and would allow us to play off of the white marble top and curvy brass legs for the rest of the rooms overall vibe. A muted velvet tufted sofa from Room&Board paired with an understated, but equally as chic, rug by Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams allowed the table to shine. The credenza, also a Jonathan Adler find, break’s up the adult vibe in the room by adding a bit of modern sass we needed. My client loved pattern, but didn’t want it to dominate the room. A simple patterned Dwell Studios bench and custom velvet hexagon pillows from ETSY, yes ETSY! added the patterns we were looking for. The POP? A teal velvet round swivel chair from Room&Board stands out strong against all the muted greys. The painting is a custom piece by my clients friend. We knew we wanted it to play off of the round and curves of the coffee table. Still one of my favorite pieces in the apartment.
Staying true to the overall vibe of the apartment, the master needed to feel warm and inviting, but clean, modern and of course, chic. For this room we chose Coventry Grey by Benjamin Moore. I love this grey because it’s a tad darker, but not overpowering and heavy. My client knew she wanted to incorporate mirrors into the furniture, so they were our front-runner. The nightstands are from OKL and the larger mirrored dresser is from HORCHOW. The bed we found at Wayfair for an incredible price (it’s a Queen) and was under $800 and the quality is superb. The chandelier, also a OKL find, adds that extra bit of femininity to the room mixing modern by the beautiful silver ball surrounding the crystal lights. All the bedding we found at Restoration Hardware. I loved the bedding because it had the tufting stitch texture, same as the headboard, but in a rich charcoal color to add some masculinity to the room. Again, playing off that idea of solids, the addition of a geometric patterned rug from Rugs Direct really was able to highlight the bed and nightstands.
The painting, also another custom piece by my clients friend, added the POP color of blue in the room to break up all the soothing greys.
Lamps-OKL Accessories –CB2, Jonathan Adler
We also switched out all the hardware in the entire apartment to Baldwin that we got from HomeDepot.
One more bedroom to go. During our final walk-through of the space, my clients told me in this bedroom, surprise we’re pregnant and with TWINS! Of course I was elated for them as this was going to be their first child and two none the less, but we literally just finished the guest bedroom, so time for a nursery make-over, over a make-over? Either way, so excited! The nursery is currently being held for a special feature somewhere and I can not WAIT to share it with all of you! Definitely a career changing moment for me, as I never really wanted to ever get into nursery design and now it is my absolute FAVORITE room to design.
Stay tuned!
Let me know what you guys think and if you have any additional questions on any pieces or anything!
xx
matthew
Hi Guys! SO SORRY I’ve been a bit MIA, so much has been going on and I can’t WAIT to share everything with you all! Such exciting things happening. I feel so blessed and fortunate for the opportunities and can feel all the love and support from you all, so thank you!
I just got the news today that I’m a semi-finalist for Traditional Home’s Rising Design Star search! I can’t even believe it. So honored and excited! It would mean the world to me if you guys could vote for me and help make this dream a reality. You can vote once a day too! Here’s the link below
Also, I’ve been receiving a lot of questions about the Regal Chic apartment I did and I promise I’ll have ALL the info on it coming very very soon!
http://newtrads.traditionalhome.com/entry/1749/
xx
#HFC
Do I even dare to say it..I think we’re out of winter and into spring, CAN I GET AN AMEN?! How can you not love spring? The start to everything new in your year. New goals, new inspiration, new ideas and the season of TULIPS! My all time favorite flower. They just go with anything, come in some many colors and styles and really add that extra bit of chic to any space. They also give me so much happiness when I walk into my apartment and wake up in the morning. Don’t you want to just go run out and by a bunch for yourself now? Also, you literally just plop and drop them into any vase. Speaking of vases I have a few new ideas I want to share with you guys.
I got this muse candle from Jonathan Adler and was drawn in with the scent (noir blanc, to die) but also that once the candle burns out you wipe our the excess and use it as a piece of pottery, double win. I was placing tulips in my favorite vase and saw my muse heads staring at me with all 7 eyes saying PLEASE DONT FORGET ABOUT MY JUST BECAUSE I DONT GIVE YOU A DELICIOUS SENT ANYMORE and I was all like, NO MUSE I WOULD NEVER FORGET ABOUT YOU! I had some extra stems of tulips and cut them down super short and pretty much just gave muse a tulip-chic hair style. The ironic thing about muse and his do isn’t that he looked a-musing (sorry I had to) but the tulips legit GREW! Muse’s tulip-hair is growing everyday it’s kind of crazy. Take a look at the before and after photos of the last 3 days. He may need a trim by tomorrow I think.
I wanted to give my mantel a little bit a nature-love, but didn’t want the green of the tulips to be distracting and look out of place with the rest of the black and white vibe I have going. To balance out both ends of the mantel I took a black pot-holder and placed it under the muse vase. This gave it that added contrast and balance with the rest of the mantel and made muse and the tulips POP even more I think.
Try out florals in any object you have that can be a vase. You’d be so surprised at how weird-cool it can turn out. I’d love to see too!
xx
m.
