• Skip to main content
  • Skip to header left navigation
  • Skip to header right navigation
  • Skip to site footer
  • about
    • services
    • team
  • portfolio
  • press
Annie Elliott Design, Washington DC

Annie Elliott Design

Greater Washington DC

  • book
  • blog
  • contact

Bossy color’s design goals for 2014

Annie Elliott | January 11, 2014

Happy New Year, Gentle Readers! I hope you had a wonderful, healthy holiday season.

We’ve been thinking about our 2014 goals here in bossyland. It may not be world peace, but we have our own modest aspirations.

In 2014, bossy color will leave no pillow untrimmed.

Trimming a pillow makes such a difference! A flange, a fringe, a ribbon…dare I say, a tassel…it just makes a pillow look finished. If you’re going to all of the trouble (and expense) of having pillows made, just add some trim. Skip the ruffles, though: a tiny contrasting cording, flange or tape is more modern.

Pillows with pom fringe

Blue and white pillow with red welting piping

Manuel Canovas pillow with flange

Bossy color will be adventurous with tile.

On backsplashes, floors, and walls, we will be daring! The tile doesn’t even have to be expensive  if you’re creative with placement.

Yellow and white bathroom wall tile

Black, gray and white geometric tile backsplash

Brown and white herringbone floor tile in bathroom

Geometric floor tile

Bossy color will give every powder room the wallpaper it so richly deserves. 

No explanation necessary. There’s no better place to be bold.

Nina Campbell Paradiso wallpaper in bathroom

Maps as wallpaper in bathroom

Green floral wallpaper in bathroom

Bossy color will use ever-edgier color combinations.

More bossy color by bossy color, you ask? Indeed! I’ve always had a mental block about navy with black, for example. But recently, it revealed itself as the ideal solution for a super hip music room.

Blue velvet sofa, black and white striped rug, and gallery wall

Navy blue and black dining room

 Black and blue living room library

We’re in good company, evidently.

Olivia Palermo in navy blue and black dress

I wouldn’t normally pair mustard with coral, and yet…

Coral and Robin's egg blue bedroom

Same goes for cobalt and teal:

Royal cobalt blue and teal bedroom

And then there’s aqua and olive (ok, that one I’ve already used. But I could use it MORE!):

Olive green and light blue kitchen

If I do more purple, will you be magnanimous and give me Radiant Orchid points?

Purple and orange bedroom

Bossy color will search the globe* for new sources.

(*Or at least the mid-Atlantic region.) This is where you can help me, Gentle Readers. We all have our tried and true resources, don’t we? The goods are interesting, the salespeople know us, the service is outstanding. But we  could branch out a little bit. Shake things up. New sources for a new year.

So send me your favorites, will you? Especially bricks-and-mortar shops in major metropolitan areas that I can visit in person. And please hold my feet to the fire on the other goals: accountability in 2014! Onward!

Quoted recently in The Wall Street Journal and on Washingtonian.com, Annie Elliott is an expert in curated interiors, brilliant color palettes, and telling people what to do in the nicest way possible.

Category: Art + accessories, Color + paint color, WallpaperTag: accent pillows, backsplash, edgy color combinations, flange, floor tile, Manuel Canovas, pillow trim, powder room

Sidebar

Subscribe

 

Bossy Color Blog

Categories

  • Art + accessories »
  • Bedroom »
  • Color + paint color »
  • Dining room »
  • Furniture + upholstery »
  • Kids »
  • Kitchen + bath »
  • Lighting »
  • Living Room + Family Room »
  • Renovation »
  • Rugs »
  • Wallpaper »
  • Window treatments »

View Portfolio

view Bossy Color's portfolio

Instagram

annieelliottdesign

View Instagram post by annieelliottdesign

Oct 8

Open post by annieelliottdesign with ID 18178975141345135
My prescription for the perfect autumn afternoon? A plush sofa, a good book, and a room that wraps you up like a hug. I used this brilliant wallpaper by Cole & Son in a NYC study to create a room that’s wonderfully snug. The paper is a bit whimsical, incredibly chic, and the perfect backdrop for getting lost in a story. Here’s to rooms that feel like a retreat from the world. 🍂#CosySesson #FallVibes #HomeOfficeDesign #WallpaperWedbesday #LibraryLife #ReadingNook #InteriorDesign #NYCDesign #CozyCorner #HyggeHome

annieelliottdesign

View Instagram post by annieelliottdesign

Oct 7

Open post by annieelliottdesign with ID 17950743999011933
Fellow jurist Marika Meyer and me at the Home & Design Excellence in Design Awards Gala last night! It was an honor to judge the submissions and attend the celebration. My heartfelt congratulations to all of the honorees ! Cheers to your hard work and dedication to our craft.

annieelliottdesign

View Instagram post by annieelliottdesign

Oct 3

Open post by annieelliottdesign with ID 18363900538152069
Recently, I’ve been thinking about how to keep our homes joyful as the days get shorter (and shorter…). The easiest way — since wallpapering on a whim is something only crazy people like me do — is to bring a dash of nature inside. In this North Cleveland Park dining room, we wrapped the walls in a gorgeous silk wall covering to provide a quiet yet glamorous backdrop for the client’s Chinese silk rug and antiques. The clean-lined Minotti dining table and iconic Foscarini pendant bring modern elements into the space. But the final, life-giving touch is the plants. Or the plant-like elements 😊 The mini-shrubs marching down the dining table and the dramatic leaves against the walls are wonderful, aren’t they? Those dashes of green breath life into the room and make it feel fresh and alive. It’s so easy to cram a bunch of branches (hi, Trader Joe’s) into a vase and set it on a sideboard or table. You can’t believe how this simple gesture will life your spirits on a cooling fall day. #DiningRoomDesign #InteriorDesign #LuxeLiving #GoldAndGreen #DesignDetails #DCDesign #FallDecor #BringTheOutfoorsIn

annieelliottdesign

View Instagram post by annieelliottdesign

Oct 1

Open post by annieelliottdesign with ID 18079834118290433
In this edition of Wallpaper Wednesday: Wallpaper as art. Art doesn’t always need a frame. Sometimes, the walls themselves are the gallery walls.Case in point: this powder room in Cleveland Park. We wrapped the walls in an incredible trompe-l’œil wallpaper by Manuel Canovas to transform a tiny space into an immersive experience.A powder room is the perfect place for drama and delight—a place that offers an unexpected, charming moment for your guests. Every room deserves to tell a story…specially the small ones.#ArtInTheBath #PowderRoomDesign #StatementWallpaper #TrompeLoeil #HistoricHome #DCDesign #ClevelandPark #JewelBoxRoom #UnexpectedBeauty

annieelliottdesign

View Instagram post by annieelliottdesign

Sep 28

Open post by annieelliottdesign with ID 17967828008959130
There’s a reason our motto at Annie Elliot Design is “Where classic and modern hang out and drink gin.” I’m often asked about my design style, and the truth is, I love when classic and modern are friends. In fact, I think they make the very best of friends. Here’s why: Think of it as a great conversation. Classic is the friend who brings the history, the soul, and the wonderful stories. It’s like an heirloom chest with a beautiful patina: it makes a room feel grounded and personal. Modern is the friend who brings a fresh perspective and keeps things from feeling stuffy. It’s the clean-lined sofa, sculptural lamp, or piece of abstract art…it’s the item that makes you see things differently. When you put them together in the same room? That’s where the magic is. The elements balance each other to make the room feel intentional, collected, and stylish. That mix of classic and modern creates a home with a story. And isn’t that what we all want? #ClassicAndModern #TimelessDesign #DesignPhilosophy #CollectedHome #MixedStyles #InteriorDesign #GeorgetownDC #DCDesign #InteriorDesignTips #Gin

annieelliottdesign

View Instagram post by annieelliottdesign

Sep 26

Open post by annieelliottdesign with ID 18039895973456134
Is there a word more perfect for this time of year than “hygge”? That Danish concept o f cozy contentment, of finding joy in the simple, comforting moments. . . to me, this living room is hygge epitomized. It’s all in the layers: the textured grasscloth on the walls, the warm glow of the fire, the soft leather you can sink into, and the perfect lighting for curling up with a good book. It’s about how all the elements work together to create a feeling of satisfying warmth. As the days get shorter and the air gets cooler, this is the kind of soulful, inviting space we all deserve to come home to. Wishing you all a very hygge season. 🍂#HyggeHome #CozyVibes #AutumnInteriors #LivingRoomDesign #FallFeeling #InteriorDesign #GeorgetownDC #DCDesign #ComfortAndStyle #FireplaceSeason

annieelliottdesign

View Instagram post by annieelliottdesign

Sep 24

Open post by annieelliottdesign with ID 17948005713032134
It’s Wallpaper Wednesday! Here’s another icon to brighten our day: Schumacher’s Chiang Mai. Shockingly, @schumacher1889 didn’t create its Chiang Mai pattern until 2006; it’s so ubiquitous I assumed it’s been around forever. The modern chinoiserie allegedly was inspired by an Art Deco block print, but I don’t see it :) The color way Alabaster is shown in the cover photo, but I argue that the Aquamarine is just as well known. The Jade is pretty amazing though - we recently used it in a stairwell. I gotta confess that with all of the amazing colors this wallpaper contains, I don’t quite see the point of the black and white “Smoke” colorway… I call Chiang Mai “the magic wallpaper” because it works anywhere. Literally 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦. #WallpaperWedesnday #schumacher1889 #chiangmaidragon #StatementWallpaper #InteriorDesign #HomeDecorInspo #DCDesign

annieelliottdesign

View Instagram post by annieelliottdesign

Sep 22

Open post by annieelliottdesign with ID 18000016604816339
September is flying by, and soon (hopefully!) it will be crisp and cool. I, for one, am EXCITED to focus on indoor activities for a while! A dedicated game room is the ideal place to spend your “inside time” — especially with friends. We designed this Chevy Chase game room to be the ultimate hangout for two teenagers, and believe me: it gets a lot of use! The star of the room, of course, is an unapologetically bold tiger-patterned wallpaper by Clarence House. Who knew that a wallpaper could be fun AND sophisticated? ;) There’s something for everyone in this stylish yet livable space. Let the memory-making commence. #GameRoom #SeptemberStyle #CozyHome #FamilyFriendlyDesign #WallpaperWednesday #StatementWallpaper #PatternPlay #ChevyChaseDC #DCDesign #InteriorDesign

annieelliottdesign

View Instagram post by annieelliottdesign

Sep 18

Open post by annieelliottdesign with ID 18005122745799729
There’s something about the crisp autumn air that has me dreaming in jewel tones. As we crawl into cozy sweaters, I start craving interiors that are just as rich and comforting. This North Cleveland Park living room is a jewel box fantasy come to life. We went all in, drenching the walls and trim in a deep, luscious aubergine and pairing those with a sumptuous emerald green sofa. The custom floral window treatments (Timorous Beasties) tie it all together. It’s a bold move, but see how the aubergine walls create an enveloping space that feels incredibly warm? This is my wish for you: don’t fear color this season! Be bold. Be vibrant. Winter lasts far too long to be surrounded by grays and beiges. Swipe for more angles. 💎#JewelTones #FallForColor #ColorDrenching #InteriorDesign #MaximalistDecor #EmeraldGreen #LivingRoomInspo #DCDesign #BoldDesign #ColorLover
Follow

Looking for something?

Don’t miss a single post

 

Where classic and modern hang out and drink gin.

  • Instagram
  • TikTok
  • Pinterest
  • Facebook

© 2025 · Annie Elliott Design · privacy policy