apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

i love your dining room chairs and bench. did you embellish those yourself?

Like...but don't love.

This is one of my favorite spaces I've ever seen on here .... Well done!

I want your orange velvet ottomans and I love the pink and blue accents. These rooms look relaxing and stylish without being fussy.

love all the great color accents and the architectural details... nicely done!

This room would look even better without some of the smaller items.

where did you purchase the dining room chairs from?

Very pretty! It makes me want to repaint my living room!

I love the colors. Great flow in the room!

Love love love love!!!!!!!!!

First, I love this house (the window seats in the living room, the separation of the entryway, very cozy). I like the color choices in this room, of course I am biased because I have chairs in the exact same color as those in the living room and I never get tired of that color.

Omg I love the clear entry table. Where did you get it?

Oh I absolutely love it!

I think I would love just the living or just the dining space. There's something about the big picture that I can't put my finger on, despite the great colors & pieces. I love the furniture & splashes of bright colors but not some of the accessories (orbs, topiaries, circle things on walls).

I like this alot but there's just a few elements that could be modified to make this amazing. I wish you would've gone with a better neutral than the beige on the walls, it's too much, along with the couch and chairs. You have some great pieces though!

Very nice, but knowing how much it costs to live in Menlo Park, I'm pretty sure it's not something most people could easily put together.

So fresh and fun. I love it.

I love this space! Gorgeous!!

~Karla

Wow, there is something about this room that I love.
I love that you didn't put a rug in the living room space. I love the Lucite table (it looks like the one at CB2). The orange footstools are awesome. And that dinning table bench is to die for. Awesome job.

I like much about the room.... the openness, the accent colors in the different pieces, and the architecture. While I understand having the furniture to the side to create a hallway, I would personally have made the walkway narrower so the furniture felt less shoved to one side.

Lovely...well thought out!

Great job, Nancy! It looks fffabulous!!

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, and comfortable too!

This is sooooo ... beautiful! But i do have to admit that this is a bit feminine and individuals who do not like "foofoo" colors or decor most likely will find it a bit too much.. I personally love it but can imagine my husband crying foul.... This is a beautiful house! and in a very nice neighborhood... my in-laws live in Menlo Park too and most of the homes there are amazing.... (west of 101.. not East Menlo Ppark).

I like the colors here but I think the space is overstyled and sort of cliched. The framed picture and books on the ottoman really bug me. The overall effect is fresh and welcoming, but I think the owner should not be such a slave to design trends and let her personality show through a bit more.

I love the femininity of this room and the mix of colors.

Such a pleasant space. Well done!

Nancy has helped my decorate my home and she is fabulous!!

Love the playfulness of this space. The textures and accents create movement, and it is a space that can easily change with the season. Energy, creativity and movement emanate. Lovely!

will someone please tell us whether the dining chairs/bench were reupholstered or purchased that way?! the curiosity is killing me. =)

Looks gorgeous Nance!

how fun is this room?! great energy and splashes of color, makes me smile

LOVE this!! Beautiful color and pattern combos and the neutral walls keep it from being too much. What are the white circles on the walls? I might have to steal that idea =)

It kills me when a room this gorgeous is called "overstyled". This is a lovely home that has been thoughtfully put together. And unlike some of the other entries, they didn't just slap some dark paint on the wall to bring color into the room. Beautiful.

wow--what a humbling experience to have so many people comment so positively about something you've put together! i am deeply flattered and so thrilled that so many of you have taken the time to comment as to what you like and what could need improving. :) i love continually changing and improving the spaces in my home...always a work in progress!!!

i added the pink velvet stripe to the back of the restoration hardware chairs and was planning on reupholstering the whole cream colored leather bench from room and board but the pink fabric was discontinued so only had enough to do the sides. which i think i actually like more...a whole bench may have overpowered the space!

yes, the lucite entry table is from CB2.com

josie6 -- yes, menlo park can be on the expensive side and after living in a 1000 sq ft house for 2 years, we tore it down & built the house you now see in the pictures. this was my first time really spending some $$ on decorating. but i have to say, i really did this room on a budget...recovered target ottoman and cubes with reasonably priced fabrics, lot of the furniture/rug is from west elm and accessories from pottery barn, cb2, west elm, etc. i spent $$ on the dining room table/chairs & artwork (although the round circles were cheap!).

JNM -- here is a link to the white circles (i spray painted them a glossy white myself):
http://www.moddecor.com/Wallter_Circle_Wall_Applications_p/wl-circwall.htm

thanks again everyone!!!

and colibri-- thanks for your comment! it's a living room & dining room so i wanted it to be "styled." (more so than a family room) :) the rest of my house is casual so i really wanted to make these 2 rooms a statement in the house (especially since you walk through them when you walk through the front door).

thanks again!

I love white and I love color, too--so these rooms reminded me of a gorgeous layout in a magazine, except in 3D. The combination of color and shape used here invite me in to look further, and I sense the energy of the decorator. Where did you get the clear table and the velvet ottomans? I need them!

I love that this is stylish, but not staged. It's well designed, but looks like someone actually lives there. Well done!

LOOOOOVE!

i LOVE the wainscoting. Now i want to do that in my entry, living and dining room too!

First off, I love many of your pieces and I really love that this feels like it is truly the home owner's style rather than a designers which someone who builds a house in Menlo Park can clearly afford. I find the colour story a bit all over the place but doing two room and trying to take your husband's style into account can do that. I also like that you have a lot of modern pieces that can seem harsh and that you have made them very femme and very personal.

One suggestion though, the lack of rug in the living room is very apparent especially since you have one in the dining room, perhaps a future purchase?

I also love that you did wainscoting in a new home and you have so many craftman style detail in a moderne setting.

This house truly looks like it was done by an interior designer. It is sophisticated, playful and eclectic all at the same time. It is obvious that the homeowner used various sources to create a look. Very impressive.

Love the colors. But what I especially like is the rug under the dining table. That pattern is perfect and adds some punch to the pastel color scheme. I saw your house many years ago and was darling then but now... wow!

I love all the things in the house... the openness, the architecture, the color combination, very sophisticated... It makes me redo my interior...very impressive... love it !!

ooo, acrylic! :)

this is not my style at all, but it is very nice looking. everything looks very high quality and it reminds me of a cute little boutique. nice job!

Nicely done, Nancy! It feels warm, inviting, and interesting. The eye moves smoothly around the room from one point of interest to the next. Your choices feel organic - not overly complicated or contrived. LOVE how the zebra print rug adds an additional bit of spice and masculinity to an otherwise very feminine palette.

Well played, Nancy! Is a rug for the living room area in the works?

Nancy's is the clear winner!
Larry

Fantastic! Can I buy that place!

Steve

hold the phone...those pink chairs are from room and board????? how did i ever miss those? I've been looking for the vintage version for years!

LOVE the use of the clear acrylic furniture!

Nancy's home is not only stylish, it accommodates a vibrant, happy family of 5, 3 of whom are under 5. So cudos to the parents who also entertain in this beautiful space. When you are in the living and dining room, it feels so spacious, yet it doesn't feel as if the furniture is "pushed to the side" and the design works so well! Comfortable and stylish for family gatherings, sophiscated enough for cocktail parties, too! Well Done - Fresh and Inviting!

Beautiful!!!!! I absolutely love it! I want to live here. Congratulations, I am truly inspired.