On Tuesday, October 27th I was honored to be asked by realtor Marsha Schwartz of Coldwell Banker in Northbrook, to speak to a gathering of her clients. The focus was on creating a home that’s both enjoyable now and one that can easily transition to be appealing to a potential buyer. Utilizing mostly neutral fabrics, wall coverings and paint colors, and rugs we showed attendees how to create a look that can be trendy or timeless and traditional, often using some of the same fabrics and rugs.
For the first look, I selected a flat-weave wool rug with taupe and brown tones and a small diamond pattern (I like to start with a rug for color and pattern direction).
For the Trendy look, I added a sofa in a really chunky textured brown leather with raw silk pillows, chairs in a beautiful marble-like pattern cotton with funky pillows that add a little bling. I’d select an ottoman in the gorgeous leopard print grospoint and creamy tone paint for the walls. I’d keep the windows in a light neutral sheer linen that could be done in anything from a breezy curtain to a roman shade.
For the timeless and traditional look I kept some of the same fabrics but used them in different ways. For instance, the chunky leather became an ottoman, the leopard print became pillows on a now neutral sofa, the chair “marble” chair fabric became a pillow on a beautiful linen toile chair, and the raw silk that covered pillows on the leather sofa has now become window treatments. I also added a subtly mottled wallpaper which added another layer of pattern and texture. The next two “rooms” will follow next week and the week after. Take a look on our facebook page and vote on your favorite!
