From the moment I saw just the exterior of this home, which was years ago while exploring Bloomington, I fell in love with it (& I'm a total interiors girl;) ). For the owners privacy I am not going to share an outside picture, as tempting as it may be, but imagine a truly Spanish inspired home in the midst of typical Indiana early 20th century architecture. It stands out with it's bright white stucco exterior and bold curves. A masterpiece even among the prettiest of homes!
So when this lovely couple comes to me and says that this is their new home, I was beyond ecstatic! This home has a lot of charm and character that I wanted to highlight. My awesome clients have a Traditional New England style, which was fairly easy to mesh with that of the Spanish architecture. I immediately knew a warm and neutral color scheme with dark accents was the way to go. These colors feel cohesive with the Spanish style while also remaining true to the New England style.
Oddly enough, and as much as this house got right, it didn't have a mantle. That's right, it was just this sad fireplace on a big old wall. Nothing was drawing your eyes to it and once you did see it, you wanted to look away. Thankfully a local source called Hoosier Reclaimed Timber was able to create a mantle that looks like it was built with this home.
In fact, I think this wall is my favorite part of this home, which is saying something since it's all so gorgeous!
As for furniture, we stuck mostly with New England inspired pieces. Straight lines, traditional sense, and clean fabrics paved the way. Clients Amazing, did have a few vintage items that were so lovely and worked extremely well. The large round accent table, though not at all Spanish, still works well in the room. Antiques have a way of meshing well with other old timepieces (like the Spanish architecture) even if they aren't from the same era or style. Another great piece of theirs is the entry glass + metal console table. This does have some Spanish influence with its curved lines & materials.
As soon as you walk into the home there is a large white wall, while there is some interest with arched openings, it needed something to spruce it up and draw you out from the entry. A perfect spot for a gallery wall! We snuck in a few personal items as well as beautiful pieces of art for sentiment and color. While most items are simple in color and form, we relied on patterns and colors in the details such as the rug & art. By doing this we were able to easily combine Spanish with New England. Traditional New England furniture created a canvas for our Spanish inspired details to pop.
Before diving into the design process, these clients knew they wanted an "L" shaped sectional. And an "L" shaped sectional actually does very well in this long room. It breaks up the space between a formal entry and a living room, while also closing off the living portion to feel very warm. To continue with the cozy appeal of this room, I opted for an ottoman. The simple stripes are enough to draw some attention to it, without being too busy.
For some color, and as a way to pull in geometric shapes popular in Spanish design, I selected this area rug. It's gorgeous and adds depth to this room. It also plays very well with the mantle art-- mimicking the same colors and shapes.
If you love any of the items from above, you're in luck because I'm sharing all of our product links!
Shop the Look
1. World Market Arched Mirror ($249.99) | 2. RugsUSA Green Table Lamp ($44.87) | 3. Joss & Main Patterned Ottoman ($116.99) | 4. RugsUSA Sisal Floor Runner ($44.77) | 5. Joss & Main Green Velvet Pillow ($28.99) | 6. World Market Geometric Pillow ($19.99) | 7. H&M Oversized Lumbar ($17.99) | 8. Target Floor Lamp ($94.99) | 9. West Elm Henry Sectional ($2,897) | 10. Houzz Urn Table Lamp ($164.99) | 11. Lulu & Georgia Ottoman ($505) | 12. RugsUSA Area Rug ($356.53) | 13. Minted Enmeshed Art ($410) | 14. Joss & Main Drum Accent Table ($138.73)