Design Quickie Inspiration-Nature

Inspiration for design comes in many forms as we have expressed over the last few weeks with these quickies, but one way that we haven’t seen as of yet is through nature.  I am going to preface this whole post with the fact that I am not really an outdoors-y kind of girl.  I am not good at hiking, fishing, or things that go bump in the night.  I like hanging in the park during daylight hours-running and playing, so if that lets me say I am an outdoors-y girl then GREAT.  Just don’t want you to get the wrong impression of me.  On our recent trip to New Zealand we were able to do a ton of outdoors-y things (most of which pushed me out of my comfort zone) but included our zen-filled trip to Milford Sound.  These are some of the shots we picked up that day:

I decided to pick one of the pictures to show how nature can influence interiors and this is one of my favorites from a short hike (it had a pathway leading up to the view) we did to a chasm.

So for this week’s quickie I thought a kind of “modern country” style would be a great look to express a nature inspired living room.  I think that the country look gets a bad rep in a lot of cases as kind of a “been there, done that” look.  But the same way that country music has made a comeback featuring edgy, stylized singers, so can the comeback of the country interior as long as we do it with some fantastic new furniture pieces and a fresh new color palette.

Here is our material board:

1. I thought it would be nice to pick out a palette that tends to be a bit more modern but still hold true to natures’ true colors.  The bright celadon and dark aqua blue will make great accents through out the space while the walls in a soft stone color like Ralph Lauren/ #ML09 Tea Tree will really help make the room soothing.  Add in an accent wall in Ralph Lauren’s/ #VM100 Larrington, which is a great dark grey/brown grounding color and you will have the ultimate in soothing color combinations.
2. I wanted to start with the bones in the room such as a great ceiling mount light. This one we found at Lamps Plus for a great price and the solid bronze band at the top really anchors the light fixture to the room without calling major attention to it.
3. The river rock tile is mesh mounted on the back and would look great on any fireplace surround.  Doesn’t it remind you of playing in a creek bed when you were little?!
4. This copper plate art is great because it is a natural material, but it also has different textures on each plate to represent the movement of water.  A couple of these over the back of the sofa and we will certainly have a focal point to look at.
5. The floor lamp shade is the same material that they make paper lanterns out of and puts out a nice soft glow to keep the space intimate.
6. The sofa is pretty standard in terms of style, but in that great river rock color of grayish green.  Accented with the bright green pillows and it turns into a show stopper.
7. The trunk end table is just the right piece to bring in to represent travel, nature and a burst of color and sophistication.  The fantastic wooden table lamp on top features a natural shade that really makes the combination swoon worthy.
8. Two of these rattan chairs opposite to the sofa will make the conversation area weighted properly and fantastic visually.  I also really like the pop of white that the seat adds, but the pillow really works its magic in blending them with the whole room scape.
9. Simple neutral tailored curtains are a perfect way to complement the space since it doesn’t leave “color clutter” in it’s wake.  Hanging them from bronze rods will really help to make the fixtures in the room work together.
10. Having an ottoman with a haze colored cushion on either of the open sides of the coffee table adds a open seat for any remaining guests while enhancing the makeup of the seating area.
11. This coffee table is a dream.  Woven, natural fibers just bind the space together and the light and dark colors make everything jive perfectly.  It is like it was made to go into this space!!
12. Lastly, to make the grouping cohesive we are bringing in a rug to neutralize the room.  Since we have so many colors and textures in the furniture, a 6’x 9’ rug in a natural woven material will help to bind everything together by putting just the front legs of each piece on the rug.  It even has an edging detail of a stitch in bright turquoise that finishes off the look perfectly.

So there you have it.  A modern country approach to a nature inspired interior.  What do you think?  Do you think that the country style could make a comeback?  If you are interested in lassoing a quickie for yourself, click here and we’ll get started!