Reader Design: Gemma's Artsy Home

Today, we're off to visit Gemma's bright and fresh home; this Boston place boasts a ton of quirky prints, color and texture, tons of natural light, and some seriously amazing art. Ready for the tour? 

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Even the entry way smacks you with style right away! From the design extraordinaire herself:

I have a hard time defining or labeling my own design style in my home; it’s more of a feeling. I definitely have certain shapes that I prefer; for example, I always pick furniture with clean simple lines, and art tends to be the same way. I prefer minimal designs, and I don’t like anything ornate which is probably why I’m attracted to mid century furniture pieces. By sticking with fairly simple shapes, it gives me a lot of room to decorate with other aspects like color, wallpaper, art, and lighting.
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Each room uses that basic formula - simple, clean furniture + geometric shapes + interesting accents - and just knocks it out of the park. The use of natural elements like wood also helps each space feel incredibly balanced. 

One of my major design goals is to have the house be interesting and inviting but not cluttered. Some areas have really bold wallpapers, but I try to keep all the other elements very simple so as not to overwhelm the room.
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Even the mudroom gives a major statement!

My mudroom is a good example of an over the top wall covering, balanced by very little else in the space - necessities only. But that said, the house is comfortable. We have 3 little boys and they play all over and do what little kids do, so storage is a must. Every cabinet in our family room is packed with games, toys, legos, and stuffed animals so that they can easily access stuff they want to play with, but also put it away again.
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One of the key ways Gemma adds interest is art.

My favorite design elements in our house are our pieces of art. Looking at beautiful artwork gives me such genuine pleasure and an emotional connection. We’ve collected our art from all over the place from varying sources, and the pieces are all very different. Many are one of a kind items we’ve found in vintage stores, others are from estate sales, and others are from galleries. Art is the one place we are willing to splurge.
 
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In the bathroom, the star of the show (other than that tub...wow!) is the iconic Slim Aarons Palm Springs photograph (he's a personal favorite of mine). 

Two other ways to add detail? 

Lighting is another great way to express yourself; it can be a forgotten element yet can bring so much interest into a room. And a personal favorite of mine, books - I read a ton and I love holding and having books. My next project in fact involves some serious shelving to house all of our books that are currently homeless!
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This house has to be one of the most original ones I've seen in a while. What a place to raise and spend time with your family!

Gemma, thank you so much for the tour.  Follow Gemma along on Instagram @gemmavanderswaagh for more! 

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Industrial Bench

Remember these puppies er... ponies?

When I bought them, I thought I would make a massive desk supported by both sawhorses.  But their size length would make for a desk with a HUGE footprint (and quite possibly too large to appeal to potential buyers).  So I split up the set and used only one to make a narrower desk complete with a hutch and detachable lamp.

As for the other sawhorse, I was stumped.  Fortunately when I get myself into these kind of conundrums, I have a secret weapon: I call Chelsea in for a consult.

Now the LORD knew what He was doing pairing me up with such a creative and supporting business partner.  She took one look at them and said, "What if you make an industrial bench?"

Genius.

Chelsea lent me her hacksaw so I could cut down the legs of one of the sawhorses to the right height.  I combined both pieces of storied wood from each sawhorse into one bench surface and remounted it on the galvanized metal base.  

I just LOVE the saw and paint streaks - it makes me wonder what projects these sawhorsed saw(ed) in their day. 

See (saw) what I did there? 

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So what magical rugged loft did I drag my new bench to for the perfect industrial backdrop?  Where else do I stage my pieces these days...

Now, if you're clever and observant (which I'm sure you are) you may be thinking to yourself, "Cate, when did your garage get a brick wall?  All of your other staged pieces have always had regular old drywall as the backdrop..."

Clever, clever you.

Take a closer look at the photo - did I fool you?  Or are you onto my little ruse?

It's not brick, it's wallpaper.

I'll admit, I was skeptical about using a 2D wallpaper to make a 3D effect.  I don't often go for faux unless it's really convincing - but I live in a new(ish) apartment complex that doesn't have old charm in spades.  Cue Milton & King Wallpaper.  (Remember this wall hanging giveaway using their Gluttony print?)  Well they were generous enough to also send me a roll their very popular Soft White Bricks.

And I was surprised to see just how believable the pattern was even in person!  The only way you would know it wasn't brick would be to run your hands along it expecting to feel a gnarled texture and instead finding it's baby smooth.  

Disclaimer - I do live in a rental so I couldn't bring myself to install wallpaper only to take it down in a few months when our lease is up.  I just tacked up the panels and used wood trim to hide the seams that would otherwise be invisible if the paper had been glued.  (Plus it adds a little architectural interest.)

And just because it's Fall (and I'm obSESSED with cooler, crisper weather), I used my favorite fall accessories for this shoot. 

Thank you Milton & King for opening my eyes up to the wonders of high-quality wallpaper prints!  One of these days I'm going to have to get my hands on your Marble and your Dandelions prints.  (Insert 17 heart-eye emojis)

It's only fitting that this industrial bench ended up in a cool DC apartment.  That's right!  If you've been following along with us you may recognize this bench from yesterday's eDesign reveal:  

May he forever grace our client's moody dark green hallway!