A Porch That’s Ready for Entertaining
A Porch That’s Ready for Entertaining Designer: Eliza Crater Harris Stylist: Mieke ten Have Photographer: Grace Wilcox Room Type: Porch Houses are meant to be places to both escape and to gather....
Designing A Kitchen That Functions as a Living Room
"THINK OF IT LESS AS A KITCHEN, MORE OF A ROOM."
- Nate McBride
Principal McBride Architects
New York, New York
Designed by: Eliza Harris
Photographed by: Read McKendree
Stylist: Mieke ten Have
Many times, kitchens are our most used “living rooms", so they deserve to be treated as such. My parents' kitchen in their Connecticut house is a perfect example of turning a barebones kitchen into a well-used " living room." Here is how we achieved the look we were aiming for!
Pick a Starting Point
As a starting point, I wanted to bring in upholstered furniture for lounging and give it that cozy living room vibe. I incorporated our Mahalo Performance Fabric in Gold on a beautifully shaped custom bench that will happily seat guests, kids, dogs, or yourself as you flip through a cookbook or take off your boots. For contrast, we also brought in an “important” piece of furniture, a settee that had been in my great-great grandparent's house. We upholstered it in one of our new coordinating colors for our much-loved Verbena in Blue & Saffron. Combined with the counter stools upholstered in Hudson in Green, there are many places to sit in all corners of the room.
Play with Light
The light that fills this kitchen makes it a happy and inviting space even with little decoration, so I decided to add our subtle textural Dot All Over wallpaper in Wheat to amplify the natural sunlight. I covered the ceiling and walls with this paper, bringing in a soothing warmth all year round. I also love a beautiful chandelier as many meals tend to happen on a kitchen island or table so the chandelier adds a sense of importance and festiveness and again, provides the feeling of a real living room vs a strictly utilitarian cold room with expensive appliances and a breakfast nook!
Because the kitchen has a lot of light and great windows, I highlighted them without impeding the sunlight by adding café curtains made out of our sheer fabric in Burmese in Wheat.
Allocate your Prints
Textiles Used:
Eliza used Dot All Over Wallpaper in Wheat for the walls, Burmese Sheer in Wheat for the cafe curtains, Mahalo in Gold for the custom bench, and Verbena in Blue & Saffron for the sette.
Once you’ve landed on the fabrics and wallpapers you adore, assign them to different pieces and places in the room. Begin to pick the spots where you want all of these fabrics to go.
Reupholster a Piece of Furniture you Love
Fabric Used:
Eliza used 9 yards of Verbena in Blue & Saffron. For the trim she used a 9/16" wide tape trim.
As previously mentioned, Eliza reupholstered this vintage sette that her great-grandmother once owned. Reupholstering the sette gave it a new life and created another seating area.
- Tags: Get The Look
