Colors of the Canyon
Our spectacular Fall display comes straight from nature. A bounty of traditional and exotic pumpkins - we used Kakai, Sweet Dumpling and French Heirloom
- is layered with persimmons, artichokes, lobster mushrooms and
branches of figs, crabapples and bittersweet to decorate this Northern
California cottage’s mantel for Thanksgiving. You can have fun mixing
the sizes, shapes and colors of the season, and aim for a wild &
woodsy look as opposed to anything too studied or predictable. In our
arrangement, everything but the bittersweet is edible! What could be
greener than that?
Scroll down for a visit inside this elegant hillside hideway...
Back to the Woods
Bob
and Pat Emrich’s cozy 100-year-old cottage is nestled among the
redwoods in a Mill Valley, California canyon. Previous owners had
contemporized the house with sheet rocked ceilings and angular
clerestory windows, so the Emrichs asked Linda to help them
restore their hillside haven to its cottage roots.
Linda
started with some good bones, installing a rustic recycled beam
under the skylight along the ridge of the ceiling and a smaller
distressed beam where the ceiling meets the wall. Mouldings
were added at the windows and doors and top of the overmantel, and
a wood surround and mantel were built around the original plain brick
fireplace. With the bones of the cottage in place, Linda and Pat began
adding layers of texture and color to create a cozy yet sophisticated
tree house ambiance.
To
further emphasize the height of the room’s pitched ceiling, they added
1x6 pine paneling to the ceiling’s existing sheet rock, then hung Pat's
cherished antler chandelier to set a woodsy tone.
Pat
had always wanted a red fireplace, so they faux painted the newly
installed wood mantel to look old and distressed and added four
wrought iron stars. The overmantel was then plastered to give it a
stucco-like texture, and faux painted.
“We tried a lot
of colors on the plaster before we found one that didn’t turn green
from all the foliage outside the windows,” Linda recalls. “In the end,
the only one that worked was Pratt & Lambert’s Peanut Shell. It’s
warm enough to enhance the texture of the plaster, and dark enough to
provide a contrast to the lighter wall color.”
Thanksgiving in the Treetops
The
color palette of warm neutrals with touches of red and green is carried
from the living room into the dining room. Pat’s love of nature and
animals is in evidence in everything from the wrought iron pheasants on
the coffee table to her Spode Woodland china to the paintings hanging
above the buffet. Pat is an artist herself, so many of these are her
own, although much of her work has ended up in her friends’ homes. She
finally started The Painted Pet so her admirers could commission their own pets’ paintings instead of depleting Pat’s collection.
“In
the dining room, you can see how good design repeats itself,” Linda
points out. “We brought the green in from outside on the chairs, and
the rattan plate chargers are another woodsy, natural element. Red and
green are opposite each other on the color wheel, so they really pop
against all the earth tones.”
For
the Thanksgiving centerpiece, Linda started with fig tree branches and
deer antlers from the Emrichs' wooded property, then added
yellow kangaroo paws, orange cockscomb, red and gold peppers, and green
figs and artichokes for texture, color and abundance. Note how the
fluted Appleglow candles repeat the curves on the chairs and urn, and
the wrought iron candlesticks echo the pheasants from the living room
and the dog on the buffet. More good design!
The
view of the dining room from the deck reveals more layers of the color
palette in the luxurious window treatments, dining chair cushions, a
pretty striped lamp, and needlepoint shades on the iron chandelier.
It's the perfect setting for a warm and woodsy day of gratitude.
After all, there is nothing more sacred than home. Be thankful for
yours, and have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Linda, Pat, Jackie, Laurie, Marshall, Shawn and John
P.S. More photos and details of the remodel of this Mill Valley cottage can be seen in Linda's book, Architectural Interiors. The book and Linda's Appleglow candles are available by clicking on "The Store" link above.
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