Wow, that looks great! I love your fabric choices.

Meg, what a beautiful, soothing space you have created.

I just LOVE the bird!!!

What a beautiful room! I want to know more about the designer. Did she pick out everything in the room or how does that work?

Laurie

Everything looks beautiful, Meg! You've done a great job pulling your vision together, and finally get to see some more results!

Holy Hannah! That's one gorgeous room!

oooh, you did good girl!!! Where did you get the bird?!?!?!

VERY pretty! LOVE the window treatments (especially those rods...)

Thanks everyone! It has been such a relief to see it come together this way, especially the livingroom, which I adore.

Laurie, it's a long answer but, no, the in-store designer didn't choose everything. I wanted to make the decisions and she guided me. So at our first meeting I brought my stash of fabrics and we talked mostly about colors and the process. (I wanted a chocolate brown and sky blue color scheme, but could never find the right rugs, which is what I had started with. Eventually we went with shades of blues and browns--more peacock and bronze.)

At our next meeting, she came to our house and we went through my huge stash of magazine photos. That was when she noticed that I seemed to like the rooms with very neutral, cream-colored furniture with pops of colorful accents. When I went down to the store, we went over various floor plans. Then she lead me to certain pieces to try out, and, voila. The store has 100,000 sq ft of display area so there were many choices available.

This particular designer has been absolutely wonderful and I would recommend her in a heartbeat. She has been helpful without being overbearing, and seemed to get my style right away. She did hand-holding when that was necessary too, since we all know I'm not the most decisive person--but I do know what I like. She always says that her motto is to make me happy, which I so appreciate after my nightmare with the last designer.

Feel free to email me if you have any questions, Laurie, as I know that it can be a complicated process--not that I'm an expert or anything. I just have lots of experience with what NOT to do now.

btw, the bird is made by the window rod company, and we need to figure out the best place for him (her?). If he's in the middle of the bar, the drapes can't open and close, so he's in the corner of the bay window right now. The WT were done with a soft goods designer at the same store. The two designers worked very well together and it was nice to have three opinions sometimes.

I love the restrained look of the room.

And I especially love those window rods. Can you give us the name of the rod company?

Meg, oh, I am so happy for you. It looks just wonderful. Beautiful! I remember you getting that rug and everything looks just great with it! So glad you are happy with it. Can't wait to see the family room too!

Really charming and very elegant room!

Very very lovely -- and just right for a party! LOL!

Jan

This is gorgeous!!! I love the star above your mantel, where did you find such a lovely piece? you should put this room on Rate My Space on HGTV. you'd get 5 stars for sure. Wonderful room. Happy Holidays.

Meg, just looking through your pictures again. I hope you don't mind my suggestion, but I would consider putting caster cups under the casters that are touching your wood floor. I know they don't look great, but since you can't put the felt pads under casters, that's what I did at a previous house. You may already be doing it, but I thought I'd mention it as I'd hate for your beautiful floor to get all scratched up when those chairs move around from people sitting in that comfortable room. They have them at Lowe's.

What a great room. That rug is absolutely gorgeous!

just beautiful!

Very Pretty! Love the picture over your couch...do you mind me asking where you found that?

Yep, I'd say that curse is gone - outta here!!

Gorgeous room!

Smiles:)

I love all the texture and patterns. They add so much warmth to the white.

That's a really lovely room. Beautiful AND comfortable. I wouldn't add a thing. The touches you already have are fantastic, especially the window rod with the bird!

Oh, what a gorgeous, elegant room! What's this about there being a curse? I think not, lady! ;-)

Enjoy that beautiful space!

If it takes a curse to get such a lovely room, then I'm in! Just kidding I know it has been hard for you. Your room is just lovely and will give you much joy. I know your DH will be thrilled to come home to such a lovely room!

Beautiful! I really love the rug (and the rods, as everyone has said, but the rug hasn't gotten enough recognition, IMO :). And for some reason, the star juxtaposed with the orchid just works SO well -- more than the sum of its parts.

Is the plant between the chairs real? That might be my only suggestion, if it's not...unless it's some kind of green sculpture art form...but this room deserves "realness" in all its elements.

Wow! Thanks everyone! It's so funny that those words keep coming up: casual and elegant. I really didn't want a "look but don't use" livingroom--and the FD's (former designer) plan called for an all-silk livingroom which I thought was too stuffy. I was, and still am, slightly scared of the very light fabric in there but I bought a protection plan for the upholstered pieces. (Please, no lectures about Guardian. I know my family too well.) The family room pieces have color.

I think I need to revise my previous answer a bit about who made decisions. I chose that rug before meeting the designer (months of searching as you recall), and I chose the patterned fabrics--some of which I had picked out even before finding the rug, which is weird. (We're still missing some pillows.) Together we chose the furniture, and the designer chose ALL the accessories, including the star and the painting. FWIW, the name of the store is Selden's in Fife, WA.

The designer and I talked about accessories yesterday because I was really looking forward to finding things that we love for the house. Her philosophy is that she wants us to have a room that looks finished so what she has provided are "place holders" until we find just the right thing. (Because the reality is I may never find the right thing.)

Polkadots: I really appreciate your suggestion as I completely forgot about the wheels. The movers actually brought and attached those little felt pads for all my pieces with legs, but I hadn't thought about the casters. Great call on the caster cups!

Graywings: I'll see if I can find the name of the rod company.

Flyleft: I admit that the rug is my favorite part. Right now we're looking at the light side so I'm hoping that it still looks great when I switch to the dark side in six months. As for that sticky-looking thing by the window, it is indeed a fake plant (bamboo?) that will go on a console table there. I've struggled with the real vs fake thing and the real reality is that I kill all living green things. All. Every single one--even the "easy" orchids or African violets.)

Thanks again, everyone, for all your terrific comments! I feel so much better now about the decorating process.

PS Our teenage kids' reaction has been less than positive about the family room, but I wouldn't expect a 15-year-old boy to like blue dragonfly chairs--even though he admitted they were very comfortable.

Meg711 did you have your drapes made? They are gorgeous and really make for a warm ambiance in your LR. It's so inviting. Love it! sigh...Our dog would have that white furniture a new color in no time. It's a beautiful room.

Wow! That's magazine quality beautiful.

Hey Meg...I'm doing the happy dance for you here! You deserve some thing good after all the headaches and heartaches you've endured. The room is gorgeous and I am so glad you were able have it all come together so well.

How is it going with the headboard plans?

I too, am waiting here to find out the manufacturer of the window rods. I am usually underwhelmed by decorative finials. I saw your leaves in situ and thought to myself...now that looks pretty nice. When I saw the bird, it was all over. :-)

light side/dark side -- is that a flatweave?! It's even more wonderful, then. A closeup would be great. Or did you mean you'd just switch the directions around on the same face so that a darker side would be facing out?

Just stunning. The curtains make the whole space. The bird adds such whimsy. I like the fact that you did not use two matching end tables - boring. Then bench on one side looks great. All the colors and prints go so well. Everything is so balanced. This rooms sings.

When I look at your new room, I think of elegant, timeless and classic as the perfect way to describe it. You've done a wonderful job and I'm sure your guests will find it welcoming and comfortable, too. Now you can sit back and enjoy your new room ;)

Gorgeous room.

A little note on the caster cups: HD has them in a "wood look" so they wouldn't stick out so much. I've made note of them for when we get to that part of our remodel.

Oooo, beautiful room!! Love that rug! Love the white furniture--I'm envious! Your husband is going to be thrilled to see this room, and you so happy!

That's one beautiful room. Love the orchid. I also would like to know who made the drapes, they are perfect.

Meg - It is a beautiful room and so is the family room that you posted on another thread. I make custom window treatments, so I am partial and biased toward them - but they really do make a statment when you use custom!

Did they correct the pattern problem on your sheers yet?

Are the rods by chance The Finial Company?

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the rug! It really anchors the room.

This room is absolutely exquisite. You must be beaming through and through. I'll bet you have a gazillion photographs, and i'd wager even when busy, you can't keep yourself from walking into that room for just a moment to drink it in every time you pass by.

It's a magnificent effort that came out looking effortless. Congratulations!

Gorgeous room!! The collaboration turned out beautifully. Would you please share what paint color you used? Thanks!

Hi all,

I have to be quick because DS broke his computer and needs to borrow this one.

I still don't know the name of the drapery rods but will post it when the soft goods designer answers. As for the drapes themselves, they were custom made. As some may know, there was a slight problem with a failure on their part to pleat it so that all the panels match, or something. But, in any event, when the designer saw them she knew immediately that there was a problem and assured me they would be done over. Whew!

We're still going to meet with the upholsterer about the headboard. I have both the headboard and the fabric stashed in my garage right now. It is beautiful and the birds as not as large as I had feared, so maybe it won't be a box of birds look after all.

The rug is a hand-knotted Tabriz from around 1920 or earlier. Not a typical Tabriz from what I understand. What looks bronze now was originally in the red family.

The paint throughout most of our house is by Kelly Moore and the color is called Wise Owl.

I better go now before DS has a fit. Thanks again for all your wonderful comments! I am thrilled with how that room turned out, but it's nice to know that others like it, too.

Your room is beautiful - so elegant and inviting. I love the color combination - very subtle. The rug is the best part - rugs can really make a room.

congrats and enjoy...

Wow, every single thing about your room is terrific. Nothing overpowers, and yet nothing fails to hold its own. Beautiful patterns, beautiful lines, beautiful colors. I love the chairs.

Sigh...I want a room like that!

Ah, Tabriz, 1920s. Note taken :)

Absolutely BEAUTIFUL...enjoy!