Designer Thom Felicia has a classic design sense that he always manages to work something unexpected into. In his newish book Thom Felicia Style Inspired Creating )which we checked out from the library), he offers up some great tips for creating warm, modern spaces. We were most surprised by his favorite not-so-neutral paint colors:
With bursts of color dotting the interior landscape, it's nice to have a neutral backdrop to keep the whole room from shouting. And given how difficult it can be to even pick out a good white we were pretty excited to get the insider scoop from Thom. His favorite Benjamin Moore paint colors (that could ostensibly be used interchangeably throughout a house) paint a road map for how to keep the walls from competing with the furniture, but also keep them from looking like the classic swiss coffee that every rental is painted. We especially love the 'sweatshirt grey' and 'china white'.
See his full list of 20 go-to colors in his book Thom Felicia Style Inspired Creating on Amazon.
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I must comment on the mounted bedside lamp. It's a great idea... but it gives me nightmares because of the really ugly 80s one in my hand-me-down bedroom during part of my childhood.
A much-needed makeover ensured the removal of the eyesore, but the thought of that ugly thing still turns me off of the idea altogether!
That is an exquisitely beautiful Thonet-style bed. They are not very common...
As for the Tolomeo light, while it is beautiful and provides very practical directed light, I am hesitant about installing them bedside as halogen light can be very strong and harsh -- not nice in a bedroom, even for reading. I wonder if they have different settings on the switch, allowing it to be dimmed?
mschatelaine: I think most (all?) Tolomeos use incandescent bulbs.
I had mounted reading lights that I believe used halogen bulbs. The light was too concentrated and harsh, so I took them down. They were great for space-saving on the bedside table but not nice to the eyes right before bed.
particleboard -- thanks for your post. I had always seen only halogen Tolomeos, but I googled it after what you wrote, and apparently they come in both versions, halogen OR incandescent!
Still wondering though... a silk-lined lampshade likely casts a nicer light for bedrooms... just don't know whether I have seen any I like...
There are Thom Filicia design tips online at www.roomadaygiveaway.com. He has partnered with Kimberly Clark for their Room-A-Day contest and redecorated The Views dressing rooms - check it out.
Has anyone checked out Thom's blog on Room-A-Day yet? He has a new entry where he talk about a hotel he just designed - pretty cool!