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Annie Elliott Design, Washington DC

Annie Elliott Design

Greater Washington DC

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Benjamin Moore’s AC-31 Hot Spring Stones, I love you

Annie Elliott | November 22, 2010

It looks beige in the color wheel. I have used this color as beige before. It’s pretty.

But I never thought of Benjamin Moore’s AC-31 Hot Spring Stones as gray.

Hot Spring Stones vs. Revere Pewter

Nonetheless, eternal optimist that I am, I was hoping against hope that somehow, in my south-facing-but-still-doesn’t-get-a-ton-of-light-thanks-to-the-porch-roof dining room that it would read as a warm gray, not beige.

Annie painting

I’m delighted to inform you that after much painting…

Annie and Uncle Jimmy painting

And a little goofing off…

Annie goofing off

Uncle Jimmy painting

It IS gray!

Gray dining room with floral drapes

A WARM gray!

Yellow painting in gray dining room

And I LOVE IT!!

Gray dining room with red and gold

The best part might be that we used Benjamin Moore’s Aura paint – which I usually do, these days – but it really only took one coat! We used a super cushy roller and were liberal in the application, and we made it with one gallon, one coat. It was awesome.

Anyway, back to Hot Spring Stones, the color. I  think it looks great with the ceiling, and the art,

Yellow painting on gray wall

Andrew Turner church painting

And that challenging rug. The wall color ends up looking like a light version of the dark grey/brown in the rug, not like the camel in the rug. Does that make sense?

Gray dining room with striped rug

What? What’s that you ask, Thanksgiving guests? You want to know why you’re being served Stouffer’s turkey pot pies and frozen peas that are still frozen? Well, look around you! Isn’t it obvious?! And wasn’t it worth it?!?!

On second thought, don’t answer that.

Annie Elliott – aka bossy color – is an interior decorator and design blogger in Washington, D.C. She has been quoted in publications from The Washington Post to Real Simple and is considered an expert on color, residential space planning, and telling people what to do in the nicest way possible.

Category: Color + paint color, Dining roomTag: AC-31, before and after, Benjamin Moore, bossy color's house, dining room, paint, painting project

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This client’s gorgeous collection of gold icons in the bookcases puts this room in a league of its own. Whenever you have a collection — of ANYTHING: frog figurines, English engravings of flowers or dogs, snow globes — maximize its impact by bringing the objects together and placing them in a prominent place. These icons are breathtaking, and the sheer number invites you to go closer and study them. With reverence.#eastlake #vintagerug #antiquerug

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Happy Fall! Ironic, isn’t it, that fall weather is cool, but the colors we associate with the season are warm? The earthy orange grasscloth in this foyer is undeniably “fall” to me. Add deep, warm versions of green and blue, et voilà: a cozy, inviting, autumnal space.

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Sep 23

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For this week’s Wallpaper Wednesday we go into the Woods… Woods is a great example of Cole & Son’s innovation in serigraphy, a traditional method of screen printing. The pattern is available on fabric and wallpaper in a variety of soothing yet elegant colorways. Due (I’m sure) to the booming success of the original, there are now some whimsical variations on Woods: Cole & Son added metallic stars to some colorways and pears to others. As you may imagine, however, this traditionalist prefers the original 🙂For some reason, Woods is especially popular for nurseries. Maybe those babies really wanted out of their cribs. 👶🏼In 2005, Woods deservedly won the ELLE Decoration International Design Award for Wallcovering of the Year. And it’s still going strong.

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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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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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