Meaghan Kimball Interiors

How To Update A Room With Color

11/23/2015

Hey there! Hope you are cozying up with family and friends this Thanksgiving holiday. Holidays are also that time where I can slip away and blog about my newest decorating things. If you didn't already see, check out my apartment decor in The Cut and NYmag.com. This marks my second decor publication with New York Design. Thank you so much Wendy Goodman for this special honor. Also thank you John Dolan for your great photography.

I wanted to take this blog to share a few tips on how I updated my bedroom. These are simple easy tips that are not too expensive and will give any room a new look. Check out my bedroom below. As you can see I chose pink as the splash of color in the room.

Now below is the bedroom before with my old apartment's decor of black and white toile. I thought the black and white toile would translate well to the new apartment. Once all in though, the toile looked frumpy in this clean space. This room needed a crisper look with more pizzazz.

Visual Inspiration
I searched for visual inspiration. When you build your own Pinterest board you will find that you will go back to certain rooms and looks. For me the Princess Marie Chantal of Greece London Townhouse is my favorite inspiration. Her decor seamlessly bridges old world with contemporary. This is Princess Marie Chantal's young daughter Olympia in her bedroom. I loved the modern pop of color in the Jonathan Adler throw against the classic bones of the room.

Purchases
I found the Johnathan Adler throw in hot pink online. I went with a new hotel bedding in navy and white that I also found online. I source so many things on line because it's so immediate.

Custom Accents
I wanted to take the pink color from my new bed throw and splash it throughout the room. I needed to update the trimmings on my lamps and roman shade. I found all of the trimmings at the amazing M&J Trimmings in New York.

M&J Trimmings
M&J Trimmings has every trim, ribbon, and decor adornment you could imagine. I bought three yards of pink ribbon to cover the roman shade and one yard to cover the lamp shade too. Click on the slideshow below to see the simple steps to add trimming.

Unique Stitch!
M&J trimmings recommended this little bottle called unique stitch. It's amazing! This is glue for material. It replaces sewing! Just dab a little on the ribbon trim and then smoothly fasten it to the material. It's so easy and it secures well. You can find this at M&J trimmings for less than $10.

Guess what I did with the leftover trim? I customized the shower curtain in the bathroom. I hope this blog inspires you to update your room with a dash of COLOR!

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London Inspiration

4/18/2014

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London Calling. I recently took a week long trip to London. Not only did I have a great vacay, but I found lots of design inspiration. Here are a few things that caught my eye. Hope this London blog inspires your design too!

Art deco bar in my hotel. After a day of shopping and museums, I would have my tea and or cocktail here.

Beautiful cars. I saw this vintage car parked right off St. James Square near my hotel. It looks so 60's London James Bond.

China. I am usually a blue and white china girl, but after this trip to London I am obsessed with pink and white china. I saw these at Fortnam & Mason. Fortnam & Mason is an incredibly fun place to browse for luxury goods.

Houndstooth and tweed fabrics. I popped over to Purdey Guns and Rifle Makers in Knightsbridge. This tweed caught my eye.

Vintage photos. I love this vintage shot of Scottish Rugby players.
I saw it hanging my cousin's boyfriend's flat.

Navy blue townhouses. I spent a day walking around Mayfair area. This is a beautiful townhouse on Charles Street. I can't get enough of the color navy. And the glossy black front door looks so cool with the dark blue matt exterior.

Pubs in Belgravia. My cousin and her boyfriend took me to a great pub in the Belgravia neighborhood. Horse and hound things adored every inch of the pub walls. The cute king charles dog is too much for words so he earned his place on this blog!

V&A. I spent the whole day looking at the magical treasures of England at the V & A Museum. There is so much to see. I chose this armoire and crown for the blog because they are so decorative and historical.

The National Portrait Gallery. I love the way London blends the old and the new. This is the gallery of black and white photos from 1960s photographer David Bailey. Below also is a dramatic 30 foot tall portrait of Queen Victoria and Alfred and their children.

The Cotswolds. It's a trainride out of London and so worth visiting. It's the English countryside.

Here is the B&B cottage where stayed with my cousin.
Below is the view from our room. It was so quaint.

We even managed to find a yoga class down the road from the B&B at this very posh relaxing spa. This room is to chill out before and after yoga!

I left the next day for New York with the best memories of London and tons of design inspiration! Next trip please!

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It's Cold Outside So Spruce Up Inside : Recover Those Old Chairs

2/20/2014

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Greetings from snow filled New York. Seriously are we in Manhattan or Minnesota? I've never seen NY like this, but it's actually a good incentive to stay indoors with a decorating home project. I have been meaning to recover my breakfast table chairs since last summer.

Here are my pristine black and white ticking chairs. The chairs are vintage mid century modern. I covered them in black and white ticking.
Then with the wear and tear of actually living in my apartment, they started to look very shabby.

The first thing I had to do is choose the fabric. I wanted to stay with the black and white look. I went with Greek Key. I found this fabric online, and had a sample sent to me. I ordered 4 yards for 2 seats, because I can keep another 2 yards to update again. I know it sounds Type A, but the look fades sooner than you think. After this blog entry you will see how easy it is to get a new decor look for 2014.

These mid century modern chairs are re-upholster friendly. If you turn over the cushion they are held together by four screws. When you unscrew them, the seat just pops out. I purposely chose this style of chair because I knew I would want to change it's look.

Cut the material first to cover the seat. Make sure you smooth out the design on the face of seat. Pull it tight on the sides. I recommend staple gunning right in the middle, and then pull on the other side and staple in middle again. This gives the center a smooth line.

Once you staple gun all four sides, and corners, screw back in the cushion.
Voila. A new chair and new look for 2014!

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Pretty Space Decor

12/8/2013

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I began decorating with my own 250 square foot apartment in New York. Most of us live in small apartments in New York, but there are the lucky few who live large. When I see a big apartment I sometimes get that apartment envy. I am then reminded, when there is no emphasis on decor, it does not matter whether its big or small, as it will lack the "wow" impact that comes from decor and design. So dont fret if you live in a small space. What matters is how you layer it with nice things, to complement the look and feel. I wanted to make my small space like a jewelry box. The following are a few of my tips on how to make your small space more luxurious and comfortable.

1. Start an apartment look book - Find pictures of places you like. Small spaces decor is very popular so it won’t be hard to find ideas online to help you with decorating. I myself have 100 pictures and organize them by area - living room, bedroom and office space. This really helped me, I have a Pinterest board which is a great way to keep track of all the images you will find.

2. Keep the look consistent. In my space, I worked with a black and white look to complement the black and white floors. Don’t try to disguise it as a place with several rooms- with paint or a wall divider. It will end up feeling crammed. Instead arrange the furniture against the walls to keep the center space open.

3. Eye candy. With a small space, everything matters so make sure all of the things you have are a joy to watch. I chose a white creuset teakettle because it was so visible in my place!

4. Add fringe and piping to pillows, lampshades and curtains. Its a subtle way to add an extra layer of glamour. I used black fringe on my pillows and black piping on the lampshades to add a hint of luxury detail. You can order the fringe online and I used a glue gun to trim my lampshade. I saw a photo of grace kelly with a ticking pillow with black fringe and that was my inspiration , but you can find yours too!

5 Use material to decorate. To match my floors, I used b/w material: black and white toile, black and white ticking, black and white stripes. You can find great things online for less cost and be sure to request a sample of fabric.

6. Try to get furniture with surfaces that shine to reflect light. Surfaces like lucite, mirror, metal, and acrylic bounce light back and give the place a sense of space. I bought this lucite table on ebay. I also have a white acryllic desk, and brass chandelier from Restoration Hardware. It will make the space feel more open and also they are in style now too.

7. For furniture, try your parents. Parents like l have more furniture than they need. Also, having family furniture makes the space more personal and can look cool if you mix it with younger more contemporary furniture. I shipped the black chinoiserie cabinet, toile love seat, toile bedspread, blue china/champagne glasses, decanters, and silver champagne bucket from my parent’s in California.

8. Invest in a good light fixture. I learned from Nate Berkus a good light fixture makes a room. Even if you rent you can have your super install it and it makes your small space look more luxurious. I bought my chandelier at Restoration Hardware. Also consider investing in a decorative medallion to frame the light fixture to add an extra layer of design and luxury (I bought mine on Ebay).

9. In a bathroom, consider having a valance. , My tiny bathroom has a tiny window and the window was one of the only ways I could give the bathroom a look. I love valances because they are so old world. Believe it or not I made this valance myself with foam core. I bought the black and white material online (they sent me a sample first which is only $5). Its a great simple way to make the bathroom look finished. I even added a bathroom skirt in the same material which hides excess "stuff" in my bathroom too!

10. Consider monogrammed towels in the bathroom - Another way to add a touch of luxury in your small space - even a small bathroom!

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Author

I am an award-winning filmmaker and producer (meaghankimball.com) and I began decorating with my own 250 square foot apartment in NYC. Life in NY can be hectic and I wanted my living space to be comfortable and serene. I treated it like a jewelry box. A year later It was so fun to see this project through, I I started to help other friends with their small spaces too. I hope you can take away tips here to make your living space comfortable and luxurious.