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Annie Elliott Design, Washington DC

Annie Elliott Design

Greater Washington DC

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Rugs

Rug too small? Listen up!

Annie Elliott | January 26, 2010

Here’s the situation. You have a gorgeous rug that a family member lovingly carted back from Morocco. It looks fantastic in your living room. Everything centers on it. It is the centerpiece of your home. Then you move. Suddenly, the rug is too small for your public rooms – living, dining, family. What do you …

Read more »Rug too small? Listen up!
» Living Room + Family Room, Rugs

You asked…about colors that flow

Annie Elliott | January 25, 2010

I recently bought a new house and am having some trouble deciding on color. I read your post [about LR rugs] where you suggested the Pottery Barn Blithe rug. I bought this rug for my living room and am trying to decide how to best use the colors. My biggest problem is that my living …

Read more »You asked…about colors that flow
» Dining room, Living Room + Family Room, Rugs

Bossy color’s living room, Part 4: Source photo found! And goodbye, rug

Annie Elliott | January 5, 2010

Rachel Perls, you are a genius. Or you’re just extremely lucky in your web surfing, but I prefer to think of you as a genius :) Behold. Rachel found the source photo for my aspirational living room: The room is by MMR Interiors out of New Orleans. Going through her portfolio, I literally felt my …

Read more »Bossy color’s living room, Part 4: Source photo found! And goodbye, rug
» Living Room + Family Room, Rugs

Bossy color’s living room, Part 2: The rug

Annie Elliott | December 7, 2009

I was so nervous about the whole holy-cow-I-can’t-crack-the-code-on-my-own-living-room-and-people-pay-me-good-money-to-tell-them-what-to-do-with-THEIR-living-rooms thing that I jumped right into the saga. Let me back up. When I was feeling despondent about no longer having a living room sofa (and no rug), I stumbled across this picture from the fantastic blog Cote de Texas, and my life was changed forever. (Naturally …

Read more »Bossy color’s living room, Part 2: The rug
» Living Room + Family Room, Rugs, Window treatments

You asked…about a rug that works with dining room drapes

Annie Elliott | November 4, 2009

Any Gentle Reader who sends me an e-mail saying, “I’ve had a glass of wine and am getting ready for Monday night football…” has a special place in my heart. Here’s some background information from her original e-mail, to which, tragically, I couldn’t respond right away:I just discovered your blog and LOVE IT. I’m hoping …

Read more »You asked…about a rug that works with dining room drapes
» Rugs, Window treatments

You asked…about so-hideous-it’s-almost-great metallic bathroom wallpaper

Annie Elliott | October 5, 2009

Hi Annie,I have just moved into a room in a rented townhouse. The good news is that the room is quite large at 19’ by 12’ and has three nice-sized windows. The bad news (part 1) is that the bath is wallpapered in this so-hideous-it’s-almost-great wallpaper, which has a silver geometric pattern with a light …

Read more »You asked…about so-hideous-it’s-almost-great metallic bathroom wallpaper
» Bedroom, Kitchen + bath, Rugs, Wallpaper, Window treatments

You asked…about a color that works with Benjamin Moore’s Shaker Beige

Annie Elliott | August 27, 2009

Hi Annie,I have noticed that you recommend BM Shaker Beige a lot, so I am hoping you can help me with the elusive paint color I am looking for. Most of the first floor of my home has recently been painted in BM Shaker Beige but I am looking for a deeper color that works …

Read more »You asked…about a color that works with Benjamin Moore’s Shaker Beige
» Color + paint color, Living Room + Family Room, Rugs
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annieelliottdesign

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Jun 22

Open post by annieelliottdesign with ID 18011049497869192
There’s no other word for it: Sheila Bridges’ pattern Harlem Toile De Jouy has become an American icon. Iconic and ironic: the pattern conflates her experiences as a Black woman living in Harlem with pastoral motifs from 1700s French toile. Delightful and lighthearted at first glance, the pattern gives you plenty to think about. Bridges created Harlem Toile as a wallpaper but later expanded the collection to include fabric, bedding, plates, glassware, umbrellas, and clothing. I strongly recommend getting a piece of this pattern any way you can. @harlemtoilegirl#interiordesign #harlemtoile #patterninspo

annieelliottdesign

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Jun 17

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“Much of the wallpaper [in the Victorian era]—fabric, too—was made with arsenic,’ explains Elliott. ‘There are worse ways to go, I suppose.’”I loved speaking with @allisonpduncan @vogueliving about the art of using two wallpapers in one room. Happy Wallpaper Wednesday!#interiordesign #wallpaper #vogueliving #designopinions #annieelliottdesignSlide 1 📸  by Stacy Zarin Goldberg, Design by Annie ElliottSlide 2 📸 by Leslee Mitchell, Design by Kim ScodroSlide 3 📸 by Donna Dotan, Design by Ariel OkinSlide 4 📸 by Gordon Gregory, Design by Jenny Holladay

annieelliottdesign

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Jun 13

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Pink, light yellow, and gold-y tan combine to create a soft, unexpected color palette. The quiet colors are sophisticated together, and the palette will age beautifully as this tween moves through high school and college. (Her parents won’t even have to redecorate if it becomes a guest bedroom someday! But one step at a time…)#homedesign #paintinspo #bedroomdesign

annieelliottdesign

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Jun 10

Open post by annieelliottdesign with ID 17929516656341682
Deep down, I believe that a house isn’t a home without wallpaper 😊 My latest blog post identifies five unexpected places you can use wallpaper — and some are small! Wallpapering the space behind your island stools could be your gateway to my favorite home furnishing. If you have other creative spots for wallpaper, I’d love to hear about them!#wallpaperinspo #interiordesign #wallpaper

annieelliottdesign

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Jun 9

Open post by annieelliottdesign with ID 18112589929761575
Welcome to my new before-and-after series! 🥰 I take you through my thinking as I design a space — my “process,” as it were. Pretty pictures are involved too, of course. I hope you enjoy it!This was a super fun project: a historic townhouse with the challenge of a loooong shoebox-shaped front room. You know the kind. Here’s how we made this color-and-pattern-loving client’s challenging space amazing. Like this series? Please let me know! #interiordesigner #windowtreatments #wallpaper

annieelliottdesign

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Jun 5

Open post by annieelliottdesign with ID 18087273683080656
Don’t let your porch be a throwaway space! Make it a room. Get a high quality indoor/outdoor rug. Make sure your furniture is COMFY. Find a cordless lamp (they’re everywhere now!). Hang art! You can even add a vintage console table or cabinet if you’re ok with it weathering over time 🕰️. #interiordesign #porchdesign

annieelliottdesign

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Jun 3

Open post by annieelliottdesign with ID 18314336014263171
It’s Wallpaper Wednesday! This week we feature Paper Trail by Lewis and Wood. Lewis and Wood launched Paper Trail in the fall of 2025 as one of four patterns in their History Papers Collection. Paper Trail was inspired by ancient rock carvings - 600–2,000 years old! - from various sites in America. It was named after the site Newspaper Rock, Utah.You know I love anything with an animal :) But there are 2 genres, right? Juvenile and…let’s call it *versatile*. To me, Paper Trail falls into the latter category, featuring deer, horses, buffalo, and foxes on a background that resembles the texture of rocks. It’s primitive, not cartoonish. I could see using this in a small bedroom; a breakfast nook (why? Can’t tell you, it’s just a feeling); or a hallway, because the pattern isn’t overwhelming.#wallpaperinspo #interiordesign #homedesign

annieelliottdesign

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May 28

Open post by annieelliottdesign with ID 18102883841082172
For those of you lucky enough to have a beach house, now’s the time to start thinking about decorating beyond traditional “costal decor!” Step one? Consider a color palette other than blue and white ;) See my latest blog post for more! 🏖️ 🐚#beachhouseinteriors #interiordesign #eastcoast

annieelliottdesign

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May 22

Open post by annieelliottdesign with ID 18125488516719287
I follow two rules when mixing patterns in the same space: vary the scale, and vary the subject.I was excited to share this and other insights on pattern splicing with @ericafinamore from @apartmenttherapy! #interiordesign #patternsplicing #patternmixing #designopinions #annieelliottdesign
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