Musings

Empire Chests

We recently did a little bedroom switch up. Michael and I are downstairs on the garden level now and Heather is up in the smaller bedroom, by the kids room. We were having trouble fitting all our clothes in the tiny 8×13 room. And with Michael and I both working late nights downstairs and with…

We recently did a little bedroom switch up. Michael and I are downstairs on the garden level now and Heather is up in the smaller bedroom, by the kids room. We were having trouble fitting all our clothes in the tiny 8×13 room. And with Michael and I both working late nights downstairs and with the kids sleeping through the night consistently, it just made sense to switch. While Heather was out of town last week, I redid her room as a Christmas surprise and it turned out pretty great. I’m excited to share. We went really dark with the walls (not quite black).

Our new room downstairs is getting overhauled too. The sticking point has been finding a pair of matching dressers with really specific dimensions that would work with a weird bump out in the room. It was hard to make any design decisions before figuring out the dresser situation. After more than a month of searching, I found these birdseye maple (scratch that – apparently the chests are crotch mahogany!) Empire style chests from the 30s at an auction house in New Jersey. The dimensions are *perfect* and I love the look. Success!

Now on to the rest of the room! Wouldn’t a dark gray, like BM Anchor Gray be pretty with the wood? Chunky white moulding. White shades maybe. Not sure about the bedding. I have some hotel bedding like this but black embroidery that might be great with some fun shams (these sheets are a steal and have a similar look if you’re in the market). Maybe a natural fiber on the floors?

What do you have going on this weekend? Are you still wiped out from the holidays or are you ready to take 2013 by storm? Depending on how you’re feeling I hope it’s a productive or restful weekend! xx

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29 thoughts on “Empire Chests

  1. last weekend i painted my bedroom BM amherst grey (HC-167) and it turned out AMAZING. i put up white curtains from ikea which i will eventually add a tape trim to in the pink/orange family. something colorful but i have to figure out the rug first. i ramble… but the point of this comment is to encourage a dark color! it feels so fresh and grown up and i love the way it turned out.

  2. When you paint a dark color, what do you do with the mouldings? Keep them white? Use a complimentary color? I'm getting ready to paint my room and am perplexed as to what to do with the mouldings.

    marci

  3. Love those empire dressers! I always look forward to seeing what you do with your spaces. Though my taste is quite different, I learn from your blog.

  4. Marci- Personally I love the contrast of bright white molding with dark walls, especially if you have thick or detailed molding. I've also seen some rooms with complementary colors or lighter versions of the wall call. If the room has amazing views, I'm in full support of painting the molding the same color as the walls to put emphasis on the view. You have a ton of options (which I'm sure isn't overly helpful!)

    Jenny- Love the chests. Can't wait to see the new rooms plus Heather's new room.

  5. Marci – Ditto what Kim said! I'm going with white in this room, but a shade lighter or darker is always pretty! I wouldn't do contrasting colors on moulding unless the rest of the room is really neutral.

    Sarah – Your room sounds lovely! Amherst Gray is really pretty!!

  6. Haha! Heather is my little sister. She graduated from college last spring and has been living with us ever since. She is working in the city, but also helps with my projects and pitches in with the kids. :)

  7. Oh those chests are so pretty! I love seeing the furniture you find and can't wait to see how you switch up your rooms. I'm ready to get things accomplished in 2013! If the weather warms up on Sunday I plan to paint a sofa table otherwise I'm at least going to organize the pantry/laundry room into something that doesn't make me want to close the door everytime I walk past.

  8. Thank you for the details on Heather. I wondered if you were making reference to a big piece of furniture you recently purchased and you named it Heather or something! HA. But little sister also works. Glad she has a room at your inn.
    Great new pieces. Always enjoy seeing what you come up with!
    Happy weekend.

  9. Golden wood always looks great with grey walls – and the color combo will be particularly stylish with the Empire chests. I've been antiquing around Brooklyn the last few days, but haven't found anything great, even at my usual spots, so maybe it is time to hit Jersey off season!

  10. Great color choice. I painted my kitchen cabinets Anchor Gray and I love them! I cant wait to see how they come out. Im actually trying to choose a super dark/almost black color for my front room so I cant wait to see what you went with for her bedroom. Have a good weekend!

  11. Jenny – Love them! I'd love to know what auction house it is that you hit up. Recently moved to the jerz and am looking for fun sources. Thanks in advance!

  12. Raptee – Clearly I need to brush up on my woods! The listing calls it Birdseye Maple, so I didn't even think to second guess the auction house. Good to know though. And either way, I love the wood. It's really pretty in person – so much warmth.
    xx

  13. Raptee – just looked at the differences between the two woods and you are so right! It's definitely not maple and looks much more like the crotch mahogany. I didn't remember birdseye being so dotted/pocked looking. I like the movement in the mahogany much better.

    Thanks for the education!
    j

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