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Annie Elliott Design, Washington DC

Annie Elliott Design

Greater Washington DC

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Furniture + upholstery

The cons – and pros! – of curved sofas

Annie Elliott | June 29, 2025

I have mixed feelings about curved sofas, Gentle Readers, and I want to tell you about them. In a recent LA Times article, the lovely Dina Cheney accurately quoted me as saying that I am…how shall we say…not a fan of curved sofas. The language was a bit stronger, but you get the gist. That …

Read more »The cons – and pros! – of curved sofas
» Furniture + upholstery
Orange polka-dot sofa

So I got rid of my living room furniture…

Annie Elliott | September 27, 2024

Well, not ALL of it, Gentle Readers. Just the stripey loveseat and two chairs. It kind of started with my mother-in-law’s house on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, where John and I are trying to spend more time. Some of the furniture in that midcentury gem is fantastic and appropriate (like the leather Swedish safari …

Read more »So I got rid of my living room furniture…
» Furniture + upholstery
Pair of French Bergeres with leopard print upholstery

How to update an antique chair with animal print

Annie Elliott | September 2, 2024

Happy autumn, Gentle Readers!! Let’s get right to it, shall we? My friend Christina asked me the best question yesterday: “Can I reupholster a Louis XV chair in cowhide?”* I LIVE for questions like this! The answer, dear friend, is yes ;) But why? How? First, about the chair. Christina recently spent an enviable afternoon …

Read more »How to update an antique chair with animal print
» Furniture + upholstery
White dining chairs around a wooden table

The best dining chairs in the world

Annie Elliott | June 10, 2024

That might be a slight exaggeration, Gentle Readers, but not by much. My family has been begging me to include this stool in a blog post ever since we went to Parking Pizza in Barcelona. Behold! That’s right! You put your jacket and bag IN the stool! And then you sit on it! I know: …

Read more »The best dining chairs in the world
» Furniture + upholstery
Mid-century living room with white walls and large windows

How to furnish a mid-century modern house…with Ikea?

Annie Elliott | April 15, 2024

The timing was almost spooky, Gentle Readers. John and I have received permission to start spiffying up his mom’s weekend house, which was built — mostly with his grandfather’s own two hands — in the middle of the 20th century. Mid. Century ;) (You can read a little more about the house in last fall’s …

Read more »How to furnish a mid-century modern house…with Ikea?
» Furniture + upholstery

My thoughts about “the most defining pieces of furniture” according to The New York Times

Annie Elliott | March 31, 2024

The New York Times had such an interesting article recently, Gentle Readers. It’s called, “The 25 Most Defining Pieces of Furniture From the Last 100 Years.” The word “defining” is problematic, of course, so the subtitle attempts to clarify: “the most enduring and significant objects for living.” The title did NOT include the overused word, …

Read more »My thoughts about “the most defining pieces of furniture” according to The New York Times
» Furniture + upholstery

New year, new living room sofa

Annie Elliott | January 16, 2024

Gentle Readers, do you have a hobby? I’ll bet you do, being the multi-faceted gems of intrigue that you are. I had an unpleasant realization the other day: my only real hobby is also my job. I read fiction daily, I garden enthusiastically four times a year, but if I’m being honest, in my off-hours …

Read more »New year, new living room sofa
» Furniture + upholstery
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Apr 3

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Q: What is one thing you can do to elevate a room❓💬 The first thing you see when you walk into a room needs to look great. In your office, get a nice, big vintage desk. In a living room, paint all the walls a dark color. Avoid satin brass hardware, pills on sofa fabric, and fake wood!#interiordesign #dcdesigner #decorinspo

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Apr 1

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This will come as no surprise, but I think about window treatments a LOT. Especially during the transition from winter to spring, with the change in temperature and light…I’m reminded what a critical design element window treatments are. And then I get to thinking about window treatments through the ages. Who invented drapes? Did the Romans *really* invent Roman shades?I decided to do some digging. Check out my blog to see what I discovered!📸 @stacyzaringoldberg📸 @jennverrierphoto#windowtreatments #drapes #interiordesign

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Mar 25

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It’s Wallpaper Wednesday! Today we feature Brunschwig & Fils’ Les Touches. @brunschwigfils introduced Les Touches in 1965, and the pattern soon became a Brunschwig classic. (Interestingly, “touches” translates to “keys” or “strokes…” I guess that’s close to “dabs,” which is what I’d assumed.) According to handwritten records, Les Touches is inspired by post-WWII black and white photographs, but the connection between this inspiration and the pattern remains a mystery. Referred to most often as a stylized animal print, Les Touches is a staple of the Le Jardin Chinois collection.Today, Les Touches comes in 18 colorways, but the blue colorway remains iconic. I’ve used Les Touches for window treatments and upholstery, but I can’t wait to try it as wallpaper!

annieelliottdesign

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Mar 23

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Here’s what ✨ I ✨ would do… Instead of matching everything, you balance it. Pull one color. Shift the scale. Let each piece do something different. Here’s what ✨ I ✨ would do… Instead of matching everything, you balance it. Pull one color. Shift the scale. Let each piece do something different. Bonus: Change the rug! Suddenly you’d make a completely different window choice.Did you guess it?!Watch part 1 for the challenge context and part 2 for what doesn’t work.#interiorsandhome #fabricdesign #romanshades

annieelliottdesign

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Mar 23

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Let’s talk about what fabric doesn’t work ❌ for the Roman shades in this teenage girl’s bedroom with 2 big windows and a statement ceiling. Even though these fabrics are beautiful on their own… they don’t work here. Biggest mistake: repeating the same motif (moths, butterflies, etc.) across the room. It starts to feel themed instead of designed.Watch part 1 for the full context, and watch part 3 to find out what I would choose.#interiordesign #wallpaper #interiorsandhome

annieelliottdesign

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Mar 23

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Here’s the challenge: a teenage girl’s bedroom. Not huge. Two big windows. Statement ceiling. White walls.Which fabric would you choose for the Roman shades?There’s a right answer… a safe answer… and a couple very wrong ones. Comment your pick before you see part 2 👇#interiordesigner #wallpaper #romanshades

annieelliottdesign

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Mar 20

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Behind the scenes at an AED photoshoot! 📸. It is all hands on deck — even Tilly did her part! Shoutout to @stacyzaringoldberg #interiordesign #dcdesigner #interiorsandhome

annieelliottdesign

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Mar 18

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The star of today’s Wallpaper Wednesday is Schumacher’s Acanthus Stripe. If you’ve studied Green and Roman architecture, the Acanthus motif is an old friend: Acanthus leaves were a common ornament on Corinthian capitals as early as 500 BC. Celerie Kemble’s interpretation of the motif in her Acanthus Stripe wallpaper is streamlined and clever, with the leaves serving both as capitals and as the columns themselves. @schumacher1889 has created three types of Acanthus Stripe wallcovering: paper, vinyl, and sisal, with the latter my favorite by far. The sisal roughs up the pattern a little bit, making the paint a tad uneven and the edges of the design blurry in parts. It’s a little more real, a little more appropriate for a spiky leaf rendered in stone exposed to the sun and wind for thousands of years.Acanthus Stripe Sisal in Fog and Chalk is classic (ask Mabel from the show, *Only Murders in the Building*; she didn’t want to go too crazy redecorating her aunt’s apartment, I guess), but my favorite colorways are Turmeric and Mocha. In these colors, on this material, the design couldn’t be more elegant.#wallpaperins #interiordesign #onlymurdersinthebuilding

annieelliottdesign

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Mar 17

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Does your kitchen backsplash inspire you? It should! Try using patterned or textured tiles, mix bold colors, or partner with an artist to create a special design. If you have a great view or no wall at all, you won’t need a full backsplash, of course ;) Just wrap the countertop material up 4-6” to protect the wall.#dcdesigner #backsplash #kitcheninspiration
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