Room of the Day: Rhapsody in Blue
A piano parlor and adjoining dining room hit all the right notes
These soon-to-be empty nesters got the jump on the next chapter of their life by selling their ornate and traditional home in the Dallas suburbs and moving to a contemporary home in the city. The original plan for the piano parlor and dining room was to keep them white with just a hint of color here and there. But after designer Traci Connell brought in a piece of fabric featuring two little dots of cobalt blue, the alluring color quickly grew into the star of the space. The resulting harmonious balance has these homeowners playing a happy tune.
The piano parlor, as the name implies, was designed around a sleek baby grand. A custom gray velvet stool with a bolster provides a low-profile seating option across from the reupholstered piano bench. “This was the best location for the piano, but we didn’t want it to dominate the space,” Connell says. “Keeping the piano bench and velvet stool at the same height allows the sightline of the room to stay open and consistent.”
Gray stool: Vanguard; gray stool fabric: Kravet; coffee table: CTH Sherrill Occasional; blue chairs: John-Richard; blue chair fabric: ID Collection
Gray stool: Vanguard; gray stool fabric: Kravet; coffee table: CTH Sherrill Occasional; blue chairs: John-Richard; blue chair fabric: ID Collection
The blue upholstery covering the elegantly swooping chairs is cut velvet interlaced with metallic stitching. The combination of materials gives the upholstery a leather-like appearance. The round coffee table with a gray shagreen top doubles down on the leather look. “We chose materials that have a little shimmer to complement the high-gloss piano,” Connell says.
The pleated curtains with gray double banding on top provides a classic look, while the chrome curtain rods with Lucite end caps add a modern touch. The abstract painting above the fireplace is a commissioned piece by Brent Foreman, who incorporated cobalt blue and other accent colors in the space into the work.
The piano and the dining table are the two pieces of furniture that the homeowners tasked Connell with incorporating into the new design. She chose traditionally shaped dining chairs with a contemporary gray wash stain to both complement and modernize the table. The gray damask upholstery that covers the backs of the dining chairs was the first fabric to be selected. “It’s those little dots of cobalt blue in the fabric that inspired the entire space,” Connell says.
Dining chairs: Vanguard; fabric on back of dining chairs: ID Collection; buffet: Brownstone
Dining chairs: Vanguard; fabric on back of dining chairs: ID Collection; buffet: Brownstone
The abstract painting on the buffet table picks up the hot pink in the center of the gray damask upholstery. The artwork was purchased at the Dallas Market Center, the city’s largest wholesale market.
Linen curtains in a soft gray frame the dining room windows. “I didn’t want to repeat the same curtains from the piano parlor,” Connell says. “Though the two rooms are obviously connected and share similar aspects, it’s important to have a little delineation between them.”
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Linen curtains in a soft gray frame the dining room windows. “I didn’t want to repeat the same curtains from the piano parlor,” Connell says. “Though the two rooms are obviously connected and share similar aspects, it’s important to have a little delineation between them.”
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Who lives here: A couple and their teenage daughter
Location: Dallas
Size: About 650 square feet (about 60.4 square meters)
Designer: Traci Connell Interiors
The home’s front door opens to a hallway that runs the length of the house. A small wall between the piano parlor and the dining room provides just enough space for a console table. “We chose a slender table without any stools underneath because we wanted to convey a sense of lightness from the moment you enter the home,” Connell says. The cobalt blue glass lamp on the table introduces the color that plays a starring role throughout the two adjacent front rooms.