The sunroom was a 20-year-old addition to a 30-year-old home.  The square footage was considerable—almost 250 square feet—but the layout was awkward.  The room’s dimensions are 25 feet long by only nine and a half feet wide.  This created a real dilemma when laying out furniture.   You can’t put a sofa and chairs across from each other with only a 9’ footprint.  When you have a long, narrow room it’s best to create two distinct seating areas.

For one seating area, the dominant architectural feature was a 10-foot span of windows from the interior living room.  So, I used this as a focal point, centering two wing chairs flanking a bistro table, framed by decorative drapery panels.  This is the primary seating area.   In order to have seating across from the wing chairs, I nestled in a small bench, allowing for easier conversation.  And, you can see over it to the view of the pool.

On the other end of the sunroom I placed a single French style chair with an ottoman for my client to nurture her love of reading.  Centered on the wall behind, I placed a round mirror.  This accomplished two goals, softening rectilinear nature of the skinny room and visually pushing out the wall to add to the sense of space.

The client was so thrilled with her new room.  Never could she have imaged such a dramatic transformation.  Instead of a resting place for lonely plants awaiting the arrival of summer, now it is an oasis where she and her family can rest and enjoy every season.

The process of designing a whole house at once can be overwhelming. But if you take it a room at a time, it can be more manageable. That is what I do. The first step is a complete inventory of all furniture and rugs that the client wants to use in the new home. Once we complete the inventory, we layout all the furniture to scale in the new spaces. The types of pieces we place in the rooms will give us a design direction. A French directoire style chest in a bedroom gives it a more masculine feel, so we’ll create a gentleman’s guest bedroom with a hunt scene toile. A large English tavern table in the dining room prompts me to select an English floral fabric for the walls. This is how we go about creating a new environment for long-loved pieces.

Once we have the fabrics and wallcoverings ordered that complement our design themes, recovered upholstery, drapes and bedding arrive. We sort through all the client’s beloved books, art, rugs and object d’art and place them in the rooms that, again, complement the themes we have created. This is the most exciting part of the process. It is a rewarding experience for the client to see her life-long collection at home in new spaces, used in new ways. It’s like seeing old friends.

The new home is not only beautiful, with outstanding treasures that have taken a lifetime to collect, it also reflects the clients personal warmth and quiet elegance. A job well done.

Take a look at an exquisite outdoor space complete with window treatments.

The new homeowner was a collector of books and needed a place to hold her large library. So, we designed cabinetry to replace the homework station and continued the cabinetry along the adjoining wall to the other end of the room. In order to create the illusion of cabinetry extending around the entire room, we removed all 4 walls of crown molding and replaced it to match the new cabinetry. The continuity of finishes gives the illusion that the cabinetry surrounds the room. We added two club chairs with a shared ottoman and an antique Persian rug to create a seating area for reading or watching the TV mounted in the bookcases.

Similarly, the food pantry was extremely large, but only had wire shelving. You could see it through a leaded glass window from the butler’s pantry, so I wanted to make it something special. I designed the most delicious finish of a creamsicle glaze on knotty pine. The wall that is visible through the window of the butler’s pantry was designed to house the homeowner’s collection of silver. The walls you can’t see are in the same cabinetry as the silver cabinet, but are used for food storage. I covered the walls in the most amazing embroidered grasscloth in a large scale to make the space feel like a room, not a closet. Lastly, we crowned the room with a petite iron chandelier.

By purposefully designing overlooked spaces as functional rooms we created a Library from a landing and a Paneterie from a pantry closet. What transformation is waiting to happen in your home?

View new photos of these two unique spaces.

One often overlooked area is the Breakfast Room. Many times I have seen spaces too large for just a table. Yet, time and time again I walk into these large kitchens and the client has parked a small table in the middle of the large room. My solution? Move the table to one end and add a pair of club chairs and an ottoman. Now you have a breakfast room and a keeping room.

Another area that is underutilized in many homes is the Study. Nine out of ten homes will have a large executive desk in the middle of the room with no room for additional guest chairs. Move the desk to one end of the room to create the work zone and leave the other end open for two chairs and an ottoman–perfect for gentlemen to socialize before or after dinner.

View an example of reclaiming unused space from my portfolio.

What areas in your home are lying unused and waiting to become wonderful? Look and see if you can create new rooms from unused spaces in your home.

Lush bedding.  My definition of lush is ample.  All the linens should compliment one another.  If you like a monochromatic color scheme, just repeat the same color on sheets, blankets, comforters and pillows.  Don’t think, ”no one sees the pillow cases.”  Every detail builds on the other to create a true spa experience.

Matching towels and soaps.  The bathroom is such an integral part of the spa experience.  I have a simple equation for bath towels.  I select two colors of towels and buy 2 of each in body, hand, and washcloth size.  This creates a more dynamic display.  And, don’t forget soaps.  Whether you supply a bar or body wash, it should complement the color story.

A place to sit—other than the bed!  A must in every spa retreat is a chair and ottoman or a chaise lounge.  The bed is for sleeping, but the chair or chaise is for lounging.  This allows the user a place to read or more comfortably put on shoes, etc. when dressing and allows an opportunity to create another “moment” for the user to escape.   If space allows, I try to place a chair in the bathroom.  This is a true luxury for dressing or applying make up.

Don’t forget the closet.  More and more my clients are requesting that I include their closets in their spa retreats.  Even something as simple as painting the walls the same color as the bedroom or bath helps carry the look into the closet.   Another trick–hang a chandelier overhead instead of a fluorescent.  This helps create the illusion that this is a room.  And, if the budget allows, select a beautiful wallcovering or small ottoman to round out the effect.

Want take any bathroom from gloomy to glamorous?  Buy clear glass jars in three sizes and fill with a variety of colored soaps, salts and other toiletries.  The color with make the space more dynamic and if you want to change your color scheme, you simply change out the soaps.  Easy and dramatic!

To me, nothing says “girly” more than flowers.  I love flowers, and I use them many times in bedrooms because of the feminine quality they bring.  I design many types of bedrooms, put personally I love a feminine bedroom, because they’re soft to the eye and, well, I believe bedrooms should be soft.

My overall theme for this room was Scandinavian country. I discovered the most serene floral fabric a few weeks prior on one of my buying trips as well as an extensive set of antique china that complemented it beautifully.  (I know, china in a bedroom?) The room was large with absolutely no architectural detail to ground it.  So, I selected an amazing large-scale biblioteque made of reclaimed wood and painted a quiet, chalky white on the interior.  This gave a focal point to create a sitting area and provided a beautiful backdrop for china and books.  Directly across sits the recovered headboard and hand-embroidered bedding.  The bed is crowned with an antique painting of a lady in nightclothes.

The bath is covered in a trellis pattern wallcovering with a blue strie ground.  The bath was large enough for a covered table showcasing the floral fabric as a sort of entry table with jars of soaps and stands of towels.  The mirrors were changed to feature milky white and silver carved ones that continue a more elegantly rustic theme.  The window treatments are in the floral with a honeycomb embroidered sheer that subtly plays on the garden theme of bees and flowers.

The quiet combination of pale blue and creamy white makes a soft and soothing haven for the new homeowner where she can enjoy a book, a rest for the night, or prepare for the day ahead.

Isn’t that what a retreat should be?

You can view new photos of this project here.

Not every phone call from the client is the same.  When I spoke with this client for the first time, he wanted to make sure I was comfortable working with dead animals.  Personally, I prefer dead animals to live ones, especially the exotic variety. 

This particular client is an avid game hunter.  After meeting with him I discovered he feels most at home in Africa on safari.  So with this in mind, I decided to create an African game lodge for him in Tennessee.  Of course, this is my romanticized version—complete with velvet sofa and mahogany cabinets.

How do you incorporate amazing Kudu and water buffalo into a sophisticated home?  The starting point was the two-story great room with gothic style windows.  It was a blank slate.  A pair of French doors flanked the fireplace and had clerestory windows above and an empty space between that screamed for mounted trophies.  The client had left and right-facing Kudu.  These would fill the spot perfectly.  I chose the color of the room from the skin of the game trophies.

Without a doubt the best feature of the room is the hand-painted mural depicting Victoria Falls and all the client’s favorite animals from safaris past.  What made this so fun is that the client gave me photos of his favorite trips and we created this along with an artist from South Africa.  The result was extraordinary.

There are few jobs that present me with the opportunity to fuse game trophy and silk.  But, the juxtaposition of the rough skin of the animals and the fine texture of the draperies and pillows is a dramatic expression for the client and his family and friends to enjoy.

We are pleased to announce the newly designed Eric Ross Interiors website.  The address is still the same, EricRossInteriors.com, but the look and functionality has been updated for you.

What makes it new?  A few new features you may enjoy:

1. Video Page.  Many of my clients are intrigued by the process of how a room comes together, so I’ve added some new videos of projects for you to enjoy.  Also, some of my clients so graciously agreed to star in a short video talking about their experiences with Eric Ross Interiors over the years.  By having a page dedicated to videos, it will be easier to access behind the scenes moments at Eric Ross Interiors.
2. Portfolio Page.  Now we have each project sorted by residence rather than rooms.  This way you can see the overall theme that emerges from each project, so you get a more visual experience from each home.
3. Blog Page.  Anyone who knows me will be most surprised by this new feature.  I’ve finally given in to the times and will TRY to post current and relevant information regarding trends in design every month.  So, you’ll get to be at the pulse of design by regularly visiting the blog and accessing new information for your own home.

You, our client, are the most important person at Eric Ross Interiors, and we are always thinking of ways to keep you up-to-date on the most current trends and fashions for your home.  Keep watching for more updates soon.