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Annie Elliott Design, Washington DC

Annie Elliott Design

Greater Washington DC

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So I wrote a book…

Annie Elliott | May 17, 2023

…and it is HERE, Gentle Readers!!! Available for sale on this very website. Right now!

Woman grinning holding small book
It’s here!

I think people usually write books this way: Usually, people think of an idea for a book, and then they write a book proposal, and then they find an agent, and then the agent gets them a publisher. I think that’s how it usually goes.

I…just wrote the book. I didn’t have a strategy or a plan; I just wanted to pull together some of the information I’d learned during my career as an interior designer-slash-decorator. I thought about the questions clients and friends have asked me most often, and then I answered them. As clearly and succinctly (and wittily) as I knew how.

Book cover, Annie Elliott's interior design handbook
The book itself — including the cover — was beautifully designed by Olivia Hammerman

At one point, I was trying to figure out whether I’d covered the issues people cared about the most. So I asked a handful of close friends what they considered their primary interior decorating challenges. The responses I received the most were choosing paint colors, understanding light bulbs, corralling clutter, and spouses in general.

Watercolor illustration of a coat tree, boots, and wallpaper
The book features the most CHARMING drawings by the brilliant Tania Lee. That’s her work on the cover, too ;)

Alas, about the last I could do precious little. But clutter! I hadn’t considered clutter to be an interior design issue, but of course it is! As a result: Chapter 9: Clutter. Coats, shoes, and bags…what to do? What to do? And, of course, there are chapters about paint colors, light bulbs, wallpaper, furniture arrangement, art, and other things.

The book is called, My Neighbor Saw Me Naked, and Other Reasons You Need Drapes. The most important things you need to know about decorating.

I hope you like it, Gentle Readers. And I hope the 78 friends and family members to whom you give the book like it, too.

Annie Elliott Design is based in Washington, D.C., and designing houses is still our favorite thing to do, literary digressions notwithstanding. We’re experts in creating gorgeous, color- and pattern-filled homes and telling people what to do in the nicest way possible.

Category: Window treatmentsTag: book, Clutter, My Neighbor Saw Me Naked, paint colors, shoe clutter, walllpaper, window treatments

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Jun 9

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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

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Jun 5

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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

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Jun 3

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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

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May 28

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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

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May 22

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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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May 20

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It’s Wallpaper Wednesday! This week we’re featuring Deconstructed Stripe by Schumacher (in collaboration with Miles Redd).This pattern pays tribute to the legendary decorator Albert Hadley. Redd was inspired by Hadley’s contemporary, streamlined designs that played with scale and proportion. Deconstructed Stripe is impactful on its own but also looks INCREDIBLE next to other patterns.@schumacher1889 #designinspo #wallpaper #interiordesigner

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May 19

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HuffPost asked for my thoughts about the new White House ballroom. As you can imagine, I have many. I was so delighted to be included in this conversation! Thank you, @huffpost and @carsar91!#interiordesign #whitehouse #designopinions #annieelliottdesign

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May 13

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I was thrilled to attend Imar Lyman’s exhibition opening at the Kreeger recently! I’ve loved his work for years and am lucky enough to own one of his silkscreens (ours is of Frederick Douglass). He’s moved from portraiture to abstraction, but he still does some work in collage, which I confess is my favorite ;) The exhibition is up through July 11. Play hooky one afternoon and go.(The last painting is by Frank Stella, by the way — an influence on the artist, as you can see!)@imarhutchins @kreegermuseum
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