Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Pin-striped Seersucker, Bamboo & Tromp l'oeil at the GreenHouse

My personal tour, courtesy of Annette Hannon, continues with Charlotte Palmer Lekakos's charming and cozy bedroom retreat. Featuring two twin beds under half-canopies of pin-striped seersucker, this bedroom is classic and beautiful. Charlotte is a native of South Carolina and studied in Charleston and I think her room exudes that you know it when you see it Southern charm.
Tortoiseshell split-bamboo was applied as architectural picture molding; the interior space painted blue to contrast with the butter yellow walls. This beautiful camellia bouquet is from Diane James - I didn't realize they were't live flowers until I read about it later. Eco-green in their own way as they're everlasting. A second multi-colored bouquet is placed on another bureau. (not pictured in this post.) Diane James has a lovely blog - you can check it out here.
Love this style of bedspread with the long, gathered skirt. Why don't we see more of these? Smooth one of these over your bed and it instantly looks put together. Love these pillows and the patterned headboard of hand-printed fabric made without chemical dyes.
I'm still enamored with the molding! Love that Charlotte chose to back the curtains in a checked fabric for contrast. Notice the found deer antler - they're serving a utilitarian purpose. I think this one small gesture will be copied again and again in the coming months.
My photo doesn't do this closet door - um, I mean bookcase, justice! It really was a WOW moment when I first saw it. The "shelves" are stocked with recycled books that were brought to a printers to be cut down.
The peaked ceilings were wallpapered with Farrow & Ball's Polka Square. Lacey edged plates add interest above the doorway.

Instead of purchasing a new ceiling fan, a century old fan was restored. Built in the last century, it continues on in this new carbon neutral, green house. I should also mention - it is practically silent! I'm not sure of the company Charlotte used but here is a link to a firm that offers restoration services and also sells restored fans.

There is still more to see in this lovely room. The showhouse remains open through October 30th. Click here for information and to buy tickets.

One of the four charities that will benefit from the showhouse is the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund. The Intrepid Fall Heroes Fund was established in 2000 to provide financial support for the dependents of United States military personnel lost in performance of their duty. In 2005, the Fund decided to start helping another area of the military community: our wounded soldiers. The award that has been granted to the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund will be used for the construction of the National Intrepid Center of Excellence Traumatic Brain Injury Research and Treatment Center on the grounds of the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. The Center will offer the most state of the art services, as well as conduct research and provide training and education to patients.

22 comments:

The Buzz Blog said...

Thanks for the mention! I can't tell you how many people see our flowers and think they're "un-real". Beautiful blog and wonderful post - Charlotte will be thrilled!

Southern Aspirations said...

THis room is fantastic! I love the beds, in particular. the fabric, long bedskirt...

And will be checking Diane James' site (again) as well as the fan restoration- what a great alternative.

Vespamom said...

Dear MNH,
Wow! Thank you for the thoughtful posting on my room today. I have been a fan of MNH for awhile now and love being part of it. The Diane James flower arrangements were like sparkplugs of color in the room that I adore!
Charlotte

Chic Coles said...

This is such a beautiful room! I love the way she used the "Tortoiseshell split-bamboo applied as architectural picture molding," it is such a great design element and is such a nice focal point! Thanks so much!

AnneHH said...

This is SUCH a gorgeous room. Your photos are wonderful, Michele, but if your readers live anywhere within driving distance of the showhouse they really should make every effort to see it in person. (I got to visit today and I think that it is one of the best showhouses in years in the DC area.) There is so much inspiration and creativity on display.

the.neo.lifestyle said...

What a bedroom, it's fantastic.

h by the way, here is the link of the interview and photo of bunny williams in her apartment.

http://www.newyorksocialdiary.com/NYSDhouse/bunnywilliams.php

David

Maman de trois petit rois said...

The bamboo, the seersucker, the antlers... oh my!!!

Pat said...

The closet doors are so clever, and the colors are so soothing. A great room.
Michele..send me your email adr re party invite

LindsB said...

That picture molding is awesome, I've never seen anything like it before!

Annie, bossy color said...

This room is gorgeous! And so clever. I love the attention to details - and that bamboo picture moulding is so clever! Thanks for the great write-up!

Jill said...

Beautiful! Love Charlotte Lekakos. Would also like to give a shout out for the butterflies in handmade faux torti shadowboxes from my place - Avery Art in Atlanta

Caitlin said...

That bamboo molding is pretty remarkable.

This room is so lovely!

Vintage Fans said...

Excellent coverage on Charlotte's room. We at Vintagefans.com were honored to be asked by Charlotte to restore an authentic antique ceiling fan for the room. The actual fan is a Westinghouse 56" antique ceiling fan that was originally built around 1916 in Pittsburgh, Pa, U.S.A. The finish is a recreation of what Westinghouse called "molted copper" and was otherwise known during the day as copper oxide. The blades are a one of a kind custom hand carved set that easily date to 50 or 75 years ago by a creative craftsman. The fan received a thorough electrical and mechanical restoration in our shop in Fort Worth, Texas and can be expected to easily out last all of us that share the earth today, as it has for the past 93 years. All of our fans are original American made machines that are the original "green" machines. Thank you for the tour and comments

Blue Muse said...

I don't even know where to start! The beds are beautiful - the molding fantastic, the dear antlers... you are so right, they may just get copied right here in my house - and that closet door?! How great is that?
xo Isa

Renée Finberg said...

the molding is the best!!!
xx

Unknown said...

i am from the bamboo home decor , such idea of using the bamboo is really amazing! respectable!!!

Charlie said...

This is stunning! I am blown away by the small details- ie. the Tortoiseshell split bamboo for molding, the closet doors and so much more! I wonder if one can take apart a bamboo blind and do something similar? (I have one on-going reno plus a new build coming up, so it is great to find this level of inspiration) cannot wait to visit her blog! Thank you for another marvelous post! Have a great week!

Janell @ House of Fifty said...

How did I miss this post? Just getting around to catching up on my reading. The picture molding made of the Tortoiseshell bamboo...amazing!
Janell

Jenn @ Dear Heart said...

That molding is such a brilliant idea -- gives the room so much character.

Amelia said...

How inspiring! These rooms are just gorgeous!!! I love love love the throws and the wallpaper over the bookshelves - what a novel idea!

I think my favorite feature is the tortoiseshell bamboo in that beautiful bedroom...

What a lovely blog!

Marnie said...

i love everything starting with the tortoise shell molding - to the sweet pillow with tailored ruffle to the amazing closet - great ideas - i wish i lived nearby so i could take a look myself - thanks for the armchair view

Anonymous said...

That moulding is amazing! Maybe I should add it to this mood board? http://gustoandgrace.wordpress.com/2013/10/15/mirrored-console-mood-board-2/

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