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Annie Elliott Design, Washington DC

Annie Elliott Design

Greater Washington DC

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Basement thanks

Annie Elliott | January 10, 2009

Gentle Readers: Needless to say, this letter made my day. I beg your indulgence for my decision to post it. It’s enormously gratifying to know that this blog IS, in fact, doing what it set out to do: help you make good decisions by passing along things I’ve learned and observed as an interior designer-slash-decorator. Once again, thanks for reading.

Hi Annie –
I enjoy reading your blog so much! Design is not my thing, sadly. Really, I just want someone to tell me what to do. And along those lines … I wanted to tell you what an integral role you played in our recent basement renovation!

Wall colors: ivory tusk throughout, whispering spring in bathroom, windham cream in guest bedroom. (We won’t talk about the ceiling, though; the contractor painted it ceiling white, and I didn’t have the energy/heart to make him re-do it.)

We needed something that could serve as an end table, coffee table, and addtl seating. And as I was pondering options, there was your post on the C&B storage cubes. Done.


The bathroom floor is marmoleum (asian tiger, I think), but to be fair, we would have done that anyway. The other bathrooms in our house have marmoleum floors — it’s popular here in Portland.

It seems like there are many other decisions that you influenced, but I am drawing a blank on specific examples. Whenever anyone compliments me on how the basement looks, though, in my head I thank you, our ghost interior designer. :) ….

Michelle

Picture of Marmoleum living room is from Forbo’s website.

Category: Color + paint color, Furniture + upholstery

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“Isn’t ‘modern farmhouse’ over yet?” I loved speaking with @authordinacheney @washingtonpost about the worst interior design trends! Turns out I’m not the only designer with strong opinions 😊@vincentewolfdesigns @kimletgordon @maxsinsteden #interiordesign #washingtonpost #designopinions #annieelliottdesign

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Sep 18

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Best part of being an interior designer is using your own home as a playground for creative ideas! We changed the paint in our living room again and here’s how it looks now! #interiordesign

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Sep 17

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When you become an empty nester, when is it ok to reclaim your adult child’s space? Check out my latest blog post for my recommendations on how to approach empty nesting!📸 @stacyzaringoldberg📸 @kipdawkinsphoto📸 Michael Wilkinson📸 @angieseckinger

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Sep 10

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Pink, green, and a splash of dark orange come together to create this sunny, summery bedroom 🪷

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Sep 9

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It’s Wallpaper Wednesday! This week, feast your eyes on @timorous_beasties Fruit Looters. TB claims that William Morris’s Strawberry Thief pattern inspired Fruit Looters, but only the name indicates the connection: Strawberry Thief, Fruit Looters…get it? Whereas Morris’s iconic pattern is medium-scale, rhythmic, 2-D, cartoon-like, and muted, Fruit Looters is the opposite in every way but subject matter. The scale is huge, with the foliage “stripes” providing a geometric order, and it oozes TB’s trademark edginess. The crisp pattern is finely drawn; pull it apart, and each element — a flower, a bird — could be in an English botanical print. Fruit Looters comes in vivid, saturated colorways, some with a metallic sheen, and dramatic black is present in all.Recently, a client (who originally introduced me to Timorous Beasties!) and I used Fruit Looters wallpaper in her stairwell, in the Alabaster colorway. The drama. Oh, the drama!

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Aug 27

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SO much fun to create this entertainment space! This client already had a living room and kitchen…this space is for friends and family to relax, talk, and just BE. What’s your favorite feature?

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Aug 26

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Happy Wallpaper Wednesday! There’s no better paper to feature in August than Schumacher’s Citrus Garden 🍋 🍊.The Swedish designer, artist, and architect Josef Frank created the Citrus Garden pattern as a fabric in 1947. The hand-drawn, whimsical, quintessentially mid-century, irresistibly cheerful design exemplifies Frank’s philosophy: “The freer the pattern, the better.” I’ve used Citrus Garden fabric a few times, but shockingly, the pattern wasn’t on wallpaper until 2017!! 🤯 Deprived for so long!! As soon as the opportunity arises, I’m running, not walking, to get my hands on this wallpaper.@schumacher_midatlantic 📸 @angieseckinger

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Aug 19

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All of a sudden, novelty accent lamps are EVERYWHERE! Some are cute, some are…inadvisable ;) If you just can’t resist a lamp in the shape of a snail, my latest blog post has recommendations for proceeding responsibly💡

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Aug 12

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Happy Wallpaper Wednesday! Let’s talk about Cole & Son’s Acquario, shall we?Iconic Italian artist Piero Fornasetti designed Acquario for Cole & Son in the early 2010s. He was going through an ocean phase, captivated by its mysterious depths 🐠, so he developed this fish design and put it first on plates and fabrics, and then, luckily for us, on wallpaper. We just installed Acquario in the Print Room Blue colorway in a client’s tiny practice room (he plays classical guitar), and we LOVE it! That big old blowfish, just gliding along…he kills me.Featuring: @cole_and_son_wallpapers @fornasetti
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