mtn, I have four words (I am chanting them in my own head as I am dealing with this decision on the opposite coast): Just. Paint. It. White.

Your house is so beautiful!

This post was edited by pipdog on Fri, Oct 18, 13 at 3:29

I had those bamboo turned wood curtain rods once. They're pretty, but it's difficult to open and close the panels.

Sorry, you're right...delete the heart...just pine floors. I was thinking more of the color.

But I understand what you mean about the saturated colors...either they work for you, or they don't.

I was almost thinking of using reef colors like you see in a marine aquarium colors as inspiration...sort of beachy...

But you've really got to want them to use them...they are bright, but definitely fun and lively.

If you don't think you can live with intense colors, go monochrome but have plenty of texture. I saw a stunning apartment in Mexico that was grey. Just grey, but shades of grey and textures of grey.

Keep the woodwork, and use cream upholstery but in a corduroy or damask or something with visible texture. Patterned fabrics in chocolate and cream.

Then you can bring in a touch of the hot pink and teal as accents, but have the larger decor in the quieter colors you prefer.

If I were you, I'd take your inspiration picture (which I love too) and give it to a decorator and say - "This is what I want, go find it", or even better yet, Call Phoebe Howard and give her your inspiration photo. You have the means to make this a beautiful room and I think it will set the tone for the whole house, so do it right!

My only change would be to find a beautiful rug to tie it all together. While I love seagrass in a picture, I do not like it on my bare feet and at the beach, bare feet will be common! :-)

I also agree that you should try and live with the wood for at least awhile. It's actually a nice color - not orangey or purpley brown. But, I do agree with someone else who posted that perhaps the perfect solution is painting some of the wood and leaving some brown. Figuring out that is another post!

I like your inspiration photo from P. Howard, I am wondering if anyone could photo shop some of those elements into your room especially the drapes. I do not think the wallpaper reads casual beachfront but what do I know.
Here is another PH photo that shows some darker wood and your slip covered couches with a bit of the same decor.
Maybe a mixture of the two. i really think that I would stick with an off-white for the walls above the wood and put all my colors in the furnishings.

Well, Lyban, this is pretty lame but I am still liking it. I think that wallpaper, even in a delicate color, somehow stands up better to the wood then just paint. I saw that room, too, and loved it.

{{!gwi}}

Caroleoh, They make a lot of stuff on the seagrass continuum that is soft on the feet, so I'm not too worried about that. As for the wood, pretty sure I will paint the crown, the risers and the spindles.

Lazy, i like that color scheme, a lot. But I think I am going to go with the blue. Something a little different for me!

Annie, you are just trying to make my head spin!

Thank you, Pip. And I know you know from whence you speak. And I know I told you that you know you want to paint it white and so you should (shhh, don't tell the purists). But I think the wood is beautiful and unique, and I really don't want to paint it if I can avoid it. I will try this way, first.

Just so enjoying vicariously decorating your living room...I think I'm on my 5th or 6th redesign already.

Saw this design seed today, and thought of your room

If we can vote, I vote "no" to zigzag and chevron fabric for curtains.

LOL, Annie, you are prolific.

Francoise, DH says chevron gives him a head ache. I need a bold graphic navy and white print for the WR; maybe some sort of stripe. I really like John Robshaw's Indigo Gent's stripe, but it is too pale and mousy and the wrong scale.

Just painting the spindles and risers is going to stand out as a bit odd (even if the crown is painted too). The pic that I posted has the spindles painted and a light colored runner but the spindles fit in with the painted paneling. Plus, you have that cool lattice looking piece on yours, if anything I could see not painting any of the stair parts even if you decided to paint the paneling.

I know that you are going for a youthful look and feel, probably because the house does have a sort of grandmotherly feel to it and the past owners stuff was pretty dowdy and a bit haphazard. The inspiration room that you have chosen still has that feel to me and although bits and pieces would look nice, the look as a whole is going to have too much going on for your space.

Maybe you have started over thinking the design for the living area and need to take a step back, think of the house as a whole. I see simple, classic, not theme-y or try hard working the best. You already have that going on with your dining room, and you have done it in your past homes. Your style and taste helped you consistently pic beautiful, classic homes which you have decorated in an honest fashion being true to yourself. Why try to push your style in a different direction?

And just to be clear, I do not think that a house having a grandmotherly feel is negative at all. My favorite design is when a house is made to feel comfortable and nostalgic, this usually involves large bookshelves filled with books. Hmm... maybe your room needs built ins?

"Just painting the spindles and risers is going to stand out as a bit odd (even if the crown is painted too)."

I'm not sure. Seeing the picture you posted gave me a sense of how it looks to mix stained and painted trim in one room, and I think it may work.

"the look as a whole is going to have too much going on for your space." I guess it depends on how I use the "inspiration picture". The main things I am taking away from it are 1) small to medium sized wallpaper in a blue that is toward aqua; 2) bold graphic navy and white large scale window treatments 3) The use of several prints of different scales and different shades of blue 4) seagrass rug or similar look and 5) some metallics.

The things I won't use are 1) orange as an accent -- i know that is a big change but I don't think I want orange, will need to let that evolve. 2) mermaid tables, middle eastern chairs, lots of doodads of any kind.

Another pic of the room, making the point about the melange of patterns and fabrics:
{{!gwi}}

"Why try to push your style in a different direction?" Because I don't want to replicate my CT house. I sort of feel like ive been there, done that. I want to branch out a bit. For me, navy and white patterns is going off the deep end! LOL

And thank you for your compliments!

Francosie, how about stripes like these ... but in navy ?

This post was edited by mtnrdredux on Fri, Oct 18, 13 at 18:45

If I may weigh in: The Dutch seafarers ventured to China and Japan, so blue and white like Oriental inspired Delft Blue, e.g.:

as well as Indonesia, South Africa, and the Caribbean (Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao and Suriname)

Here is a link that might be useful: Dutch Colonial in Bali

Nsoccermom, Those are great rooms! Thank you. I am feeling really comfortable with this blue and white scheme.
Funny, the fabric in the second photo is on a swedish bench I have in my breakfast room. I am hard pressed to recall any other prints in my home but that one! Note the bamboo blinds again.

I love the rooms Nsoccermom posted -- lots of inspiration in those rooms.

I think that the horizontal stripe drapes aren't a bad choice. They feel classic and even nautical.

I thought so, too, Francoise. Plus they are very reasonable, custom (so I can upgrade the quality) and fro Etsy. When possible I want to buy handmade, vintage, or local.

Nosoccermom's first photo is almost exactly what I was thinking for your space, I even had a paragraph that i deleted that pretty much said- light rug, print on curtains and pillows, neutral sofa and chairs, rattan or woven chairs, and green as an accent. Those spaces are more your style which is what I was trying to say in the last post- this house can look different than your CT house (dif colors, a little more lively prints) but still be true to your style. Classic, refined, comfortable.

A few more:

Or something into turquoise

And more into sea glass:

Also, link to "sea captain's home"

Alternatively, here's a link to "Victorian/Gothic rooms "

Most are pretty depressing, but there are a few with a blue/white decorating scheme or Gauguin prints.

Here is a link that might be useful: More blue and white family rooms

Congratulations on your new home. Welcome to Maine! It seems like you might have a direction in mind given some of your inspiration photos, but maybe the crux of your struggle (as previously mentioned) is with how to give a nod to the sea captain theme without going too stuffy or kitschy. Perhaps if you set up a corner of the room with an antique or antique style globe on a pedestal and a lovely antique style telescope (both could not only be decorative, but also be used by the family) set up on a table alongside an oversized nailhead leather wing chair and an appropriate table or floor lamp, you might have a springboard to your design. In this way, you can then bring in some lovely floor treatments and the toile and blue and white accent pieces that others have suggested.

Random idea. I really like these drum pendants. What do you think of hanging one centered in front of the windows in each of the alcoves where I have two armchairs? Or if not these particular ones, what do you think of the idea of two drums there?

{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

Gotta run but thx, Nsoccer, for all the great rooms.

Thanks, Golden. Two concerns. One, that can veer very kitschy if you aren't careful. Two, it takes up floor space that I need for functional things. That said, I have been buying up old maps of places our family has travelled to (we travel a lot) and I want to frame those and use them somewhere.

The main things I am taking away from it are 1) small to medium sized wallpaper in a blue that is toward aqua; 2) bold graphic navy and white large scale window treatments 3) The use of several prints of different scales and different shades of blue 4) seagrass rug or similar look and 5) some metallics.

OH yes! Didn't we discuss a "seafaring captain brought back blue and white china" theme a while back?

I really liked the intense blue and white Ikat sofa you posted. It's got enough white in it to lighten the room.

I would not paint the spindles - I would use a runner on the stairs in blue and white.

This post was edited by lazygardens on Sat, Oct 19, 13 at 17:02

Mtn, I always loved the idea of a drum pendant, until I borrowed one from the lighting store to try out over my kitchen table. I hated it because it really provides an obstruction to your field of view and blocked part of my drapes and window views. You might want to have your DH hold up a similar sized object to get a feel for its bulk.

I'm crazy about unobstructed windows and want to be able to see every bit of the sky possible through window tops, so drum pendants would not be my choice in those locations. I probably wouldn't make the two alcoves that symmetrical, either, but I don't have the overall sense of the space you do so my comment may not be relevant.

If you want to "test drive" a hanging light fixture, you can try what I did. I wanted to see whether or not I'd like pendants over my kitchen island. I got white balloons and blew them up to a size similar to the pendants I was considering. Then I tied a string to each balloon. Using a straight pin, I pinned the string to the ceiling, letting the balloon hang down to about the same place a pendant would be. Worked like a charm and allowed me to visualize the pendants.

Have you heard of Spoonflower? They started out doing just fabric, they've branched into fabric and wallpaper.
You can have any design you want uploaded and printed, in any color, in any scale. Or you can choose one of the designs that they've printed and is in their archives, most submitted by graphic artists and the like.
They have tons of blue and white, 10 different fabric bases - only two or three that are suitable for Home Dec. I'm not sure their wallpaper base is what you're looking for, but their fabrics could solve some of your dilemma of finding the right scale/color/design.
This is one of their "damask" collection where the artist offers to scale it to what you want and custom colorize it.

Here is a link that might be useful: Spoonflower

This post was edited by mlweaving_Marji on Sat, Oct 19, 13 at 17:19

IN re symmetry and the chairs,

I want to maximize seating space, and to do so I want to seat at least two people in each of these alcove areas. A sofa or loveseat is too high for the window, so it needs to be two separate pieces. I am trying to play down the symmetry by using four different chairs, different tables between them, different throw pillows and maybe differnt slipcovers, too.

Mlweaving, Yes I know spoonflower. I find it easier to work with less choices, not more! I think Id never decide, LOL.

BBstx, I am pretty sure I have drum shade around , even easier. I can do 20", 24" or 30"

Lazy, yes, we did. In fact one of the lines I am now so enthralled with, Quadrille, was suggested by Beverley a month ago (I noted this above!). I just felt that navy and white was so predictable, I wanted to feminize the space. Once I spent the weekend there (we closed last Friday), I changed my mind (as many of you ALSO noted I would do.). : )

Chispa, I am not sure if this will really feel like it blocks light, depending on size and exactly where i hang it. I generally agree with you. However, the ocean views are to the front of the house and the opposite side, so we only lose tree views in those windows.

The colors you are talking about remind me of Sarah Richardson's dining room...ex the horrible horse picture...including the bold stripe which she put on the back of the chair. I loved her drapery fabric here too. And I loved the use of the striped fabric for the welting which really gave a dynamic look to the chair.

Here's a family room where she did a great job of mixing prints in blue and white. She is a master of mixing prints.

I love the Phoebe Howard interiors and think they can be interpreted very successfully in your ocean house, keeping the fabrics durable and family friendly. The HB photos are seem pretty unliveable to me....too much unrelated stuff and styles...Those rooms look too eclectic to feel comfortable. I will say I like those touches of coral in the HB photos. That combination of navy, light blue and coral has been a mainstay of traditional decor and when it's right it looks fresh and light.

I vote no to the drum lights also, and even their consideration makes me want to urge you to hook up with a designer in Maine !! :-)

mtn, I'm being redundant here, but if you intend to minimize symmetry I wouldn't use the same noticeable lighting fixture in the two alcoves.

By the way, there are two of us lazies lazying around, so I apologize if I'm muddling the waters.

Subtle fixtures in tandem might be fine, but I would not do two drum shades as they are attention-grabbers. And I wouldn't do even a single drum shade in front of a window since I want to see every bit of the sky. Go for the vista!

But that's just me....

Such defined seating groups may not be ideal for your big, open family space especially if you are going for a less formal feel. If you are going to group chairs it would be nice to use lighter weight chairs that can be moved in closer to the center of the room so that when you have large groups people can either sit apart or can all gather together.

But lighter weight chairs aren't comfy.

When we stayed at the house last weekend, these four chairs, in these positions, were very popular. To sit and read, to surf the net, etc. In the center of the room I can really only fit one 3-seater sofa, with a loveseat or 2 easy chairs. That's seating for 5. That is not enough. These alcoves are the natural place to seat people, and they are very cozy.

Hey, how about if I use these drum pendants in my MBR? It will free up space on the side tables.

Like these (but not these)

Here's a photo I had saved of drum pendants over nightstands.

Here is a link that might be useful: drum pendants over nightstands

Swing arm lamps hard wired into the wall, mounted on either side of the bed also save nightstand real estate and have the added advantage of being adjustable. I think the pendant drums are a bit of a fad (as is the whole "sea glass" thing) and because they are ubiquitous they'll be out of favor soon. Maybe you could find those shades, smaller, obviously, for swing arm lamps--- then you'd have the shape in a form that could easily be changed.

Thanks, jujubean, I knew i'd seen that done.

I don't know if it will work well with my bed though (this is a shot of the bed I am going to use from my old NJ house). I was planning on draping it with an off white muslin.

Yes, KSWL, and I do read in bed. I guess sometimes I just like to mix it up, my current MBR has adjustable wall lamps on pulleys, and my last MBR had swing arms.

Sometimes you have to give in to a trend here and there to get happy. I could always change them later.

I've been having a lot of fun checking this thread out, Mtnrdredux.

I love those hanging lights you posted. The issue of patterned shadows on a book is merely a resultant effect be dealt with. I haven't checked my Kindle under those conditions but suspect electronic would be one answer.

Regarding the living room, you undoubtedly touched on it in one of the threads, but since you expect people to spend a lot of time in the dining room because of the view, and this room doesn't have it, when do you expect it to be mostly used? Is there another room where people can sit in upholstered comfort and see the sea?

Between night and less-than-sunbathing weather (how often are evenings, especially, windy, chilly, dank, the windows closed against the sea?), I'm wondering if it would work to decorate this room at night for times when the lights come on, with photos taken both with the sun dropping and also when gone? What does that wood look like washed with warm light? Or is this where you will settle in after a morning walk?

Hi Rosie,

Thanks!

Hmm, drum patterns; i guess from the cross bars, if you will? I am kind of anti Kindle because I like to keep my local indy store in business and make a point of buying from them.

The Living room has the ocean view, just not out the windows where I wanted to put the pendants; they are to the side, and the ocean view is all across the front, and to one side...

OMG OMG OMG
I'm an Interior Designer and I'm frothing at the mouth! What delicious paneling and the fact that Phoebe Howard's Sea Captain home was brought up makes me giddy. Such an inspirational space!
Anyways, I saw you mentioned maps and I saved a photo from a blog that would go terrific with the blues you want to use and the vibe I think you're going for!

This post was edited by htnspz on Mon, Oct 21, 13 at 3:16

Hi, Htnspz,

Thank you for your kind words. Nice to see someone who likes the wood rather than tolerates it begrudgingly. I think part of my mistake was not to edit the photos so people could see it better!

Anyway, yes, maps! I've always wanted a good place to display maps of the places we have travelled. For uniformity, I am using the ones from Rand McNally atlases (all that lovely blue). Like this one:

Love the idea of using your map collection.

Browsing Phoebe Howard's captain's house, I fell in love with her horizontal stripe curtains. Perhaps they might be an alternative to the bold wide stripes you have been considering? They still feel nautical. And they be less inclined to overwhelm other patterns in the room.

Francoise,

But if I am using this as my inspiration room (and I am)
{{!gwi}}

... then I think the WT have to be bold, graphic, and a combo of navy white. DH says chevron gives him a headache, and it is uber trendy, so I am looking for an alternate fabric that does the same thing.

I see your point: with all the patterns in the room as bold as your inspiration photo, the curtains do require the bolder stripe to "hold their own".

If, on the other hand, your palette is more monochrome (as in the Phoebe Howard breakfast room photo I posted) and you use only a few choice bold fabrics, the drapes can play "second fiddle".

Just came across this room from Pottery Barn. The table has the Dutch-Indonesian influence although I have to say that I'm not crazy about the legs.

What about window treatments like this and use the blue and white stripe somewhere else. Upholstery maybe?

The chair arrangement is from Sarah's Summer House

This is a slightly different direction, but I wanted to show how light furniture could really brighten up the space.

mtn, I sort of like this fabric (not with this wall color, though). I think the strong geometric pattern would stand up nicely to the other elements in your room. It does have turquoise accents in it, though -- not sure if you plan on incorporating that color:

[Mediterranean Dining Room[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/mediterranean-dining-room-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_722~s_2109) by Phoenix Interior Designers & Decorators ReStyle Group

[Spaces[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/home-design-ideas-phbr0-bp~) by Phoenix Interior Designers & Decorators ReStyle Group

here it is again in another room:

[Contemporary Kids[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-kids-room-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_24653~s_2103) by Rockville Centre Interior Designers & Decorators HarLoe Interiors

I also sort of liked this fabric -- it's still chevron-esque, but not as headache-inducing as the fabric in your inspiration photo:

[Contemporary Kids[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-kids-room-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_24653~s_2103) by San Francisco Interior Designers & Decorators lisa rubenstein - real rooms design

Wow, you guys are terrific. I don't remember a lot of threads that get up to 150 without a lot of controversy (we haven't had one of those in a long while!). Thank you so much for all of your ideas and encouragement.

Yesterday I ordered about 10 different wallpaper samples, all from the Quadrille line in shades of aqua or blue. I also ordered a half dozen fabric sample each from Robshaw and China Seas, and then this morning a half dozen possible drapery fabric swatches. (Nosoccermom, in the second photo you posted there is a Blue and White Batik fabric, with a chartreuse China Seas wallpaper. I already have that fabric in my breakfast room here, on a swedish bench. I may use it again)

So it's time to sit back and wait I guess!