Name: Michael Brandes
Location: Design District, Dallas, TX
Style: Old World Traditional
Every one of our Inside Men posed a challenge, and Michael's room was no exception. We stayed traditional in our styling and used the absolute softest of all the Valspar Paint colors so far to brighten and open up this little room off of a kitchen. I know that there were some doubters of this color, Poppy Petal, in my last progress post, but I think you'll all be pleasantly surprised when you see what a great new twist this is on a man's room.
MICHAEL'S PALETTE
This color was really hard to peg. Drawing inspiration from Michael's antique map and a photograph of a Tuscan farmhouse, we tried four colors until we settled on Poppy Petal. Getting a color that reads this soft and warm and doesn't turn into pink is challenging, but we did it. If you look closely at the pictures we were aiming for (above), you can see the match. You can't do this by looking at chips alone. You've got to put paint on the walls and watch it through at least one night and day. Michael did all this after my first visit and we worked back and forth via email and photographs.
• Dove White 7002-7 (neutral walls)
Michael's home before
Take a look here at Michael's before pic. It's not terrible, but it has a heaviness about it and everything is clustered against the left wall. In addition, the dark red and dark furniture make the space seem really disconnected to the lovely light outside. Going for "Tuscan sun" was totally the way to solve this.
Michael's living room after
Check out how changing the color and moving the furniture have opened up the room. In addition, in a stroke of genius (thanks, Joe!) we removed the awkward door and window shapes by running curtains across the entire wall. The emphasis is no longer on the original dark red left wall, but on the curtains and the soft light being filtered by them.
You can now sit comfortably on the sofa and watch television, but also chat with anyone in the kitchen. And when you come into the apartment you don't see the television right away, as it's obscured on the left.
The dining table was a huge change as well. While I liked Michael's high wood table, this one fits into the room much more and doesn't separate the living room from the kitchen. The wood chairs are favorites. They're vintage campaign chairs that add a great, natural wood texture to the room.
Michael and I went back and forth on the wall color, and he had this to say when the project was finished: "Choosing a new wall color was scary as all get-out. I was presented with four colors that I would never have chosen on my own, but I appreciate that I was challenged to go with a bolder and brighter color. It really warms up the room in ways I could never have imagined. I love how it pulls significant colors from the antique French map. If it weren’t for this project, the map would still remain folded up in a safe; its beauty and symbolism hidden."
"I absolutely love the new sofa — it was very easy to select and fits right into my room. I would never have thought of a granite gray, but it works well and isn’t the centerpiece of the room — it serves a purpose without standing out like my old, leather sofa, and it's just as comfortable. I look forward to buying some accent pillows for it that pull in colors from the map, rug and wall. The additional seating in the room also makes it easier to have more guests over comfortably."
"I'm inspired by my new room, and I learned that anything is possible when decorating without fear or reservations. This project was really difficult for me to be a part of, since I'm typically a very private person. You helped me to allow myself to let go and to go with the flow throughout this process. Thank you Apartment Therapy, Valspar Paint, and team for helping me to create an environment that not only captures who I am, but also incorporates a sense of my past. Thanks so much to everyone who participated in this project — I had so much fun!"
It was so interesting working with Michael and uncovering his love of old things. While most of his apartment's furniture was contemporary, when I walked in the first time, his heart was clearly in a few items that were much more 19th century than 20th! His collection of family portraits are stunning and a pleasure to find a central place for. His curvy white armchair was desperately in need of company. Now it feels right at home.
A special thank-you to our painter, Chip Alsobrook, for his great work. And, as always, thank you to our tireless stylist, Joe Maer, and our photographer, Jim Franco, who helped to pull everything together and show it all off in style.
SOURCE LIST
- All paint courtesy of Valspar Paint
- Oval frame spray painted with Valspar Gloss Gray 64010
- Fern plant stand spray painted with Valspar Pewter Gray 65039
- Sofa — Macy's
- Kilim rug and oval frame — IKEA
- Curtain rods — Target
- Corner side table, pair of alabaster table lamps, vintage poker set — City View
- Garden gate, smaller plant stand, tripod floor lamp — Lost Antiques
- Iron hurrican candle holder, globe, Eiffel tower sculpture, bust sculpture, taper candle holder, carved wooden box, garden sculpture with arrow — White Elephant
- Coffee table and fern plant stand — Forrestwood Antique Mall
- Bistro chairs — Lula B's West
- Marble dining table — White Elephant
- Small chest of drawers and silver tea box — Lula B's East
- Carved wall ledge — White Elephant Antique Warehouse
- Vintage artwork — Michael's collection
ABOUT THE INSIDE MAN
We've teamed up with Valspar Paint to create The Inside Man, a special feature dedicated to daily (Monday — Friday) posts from Apartment Therapy and GQ about men's color conundrums and style questions. From sofas with cup holders to brilliant bachelor pads, we’re focusing on the décor dilemmas men often bring to us.
MORE FROM THE INSIDE MAN
• Michael's Design District Home: Phase 3 - The Progress Report
• Michael's Design District Home: Phase 2 - The Prescription
• Michael's Design District Home: Phase 1 - Local Inspiration
• Read more about guy style at theinsideman.apartmenttherapy.com.
• Check out GQ's guide to guy style at gq.com/theinsideman.
Photos: Jim Franco
Ashley & Kyle's Personality Packed Home 
Aftermarket Resources for Customizing IKEA Furniture 
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Comments (37)
A big improvement. The table area though just doesn't seem right. A heavier table might make it work better.
I totaly agree with KaBoomBOX, the Marble dining table corner gives an impression of unfinished job. The sofa and around is greatly done.
Well now that we see the completed project,I can confidently say, I still dont like the old lady peach color-
I do like the sofa area, but agree with the others the dining area looks unfinished
I agree 100% with Montreal Modern
Fantastic! This space is pretty AND masculine at the same time--not an easy thing to achieve at all yet here it seems so natural and almost effortless.
I wish President Barack Obama's new office had a little bit of the pretty mixed in with the overall masculine feel of his space.....
co-signing others: sofa area great!; rest... not so much.
with the fab ceiling height, why not floor-to-ceiling with drapery? the low-line looks odd against a statement wall.
I've noticed that all of these Inside Man makeovers end with some decidedly feminine paint choices. It always ruins the final effect for me because it looks like the room was designed for someone other than the owner. But maybe it's just me.
Good point on the drapery height-creative*type
Ha ha, I'm totally in the minority here, because I wanted to see what that pink would look like on more walls. Right now, as an accent wall, it looks very hesitant. Also, perceiving pink as "feminine" is relatively recent historically (I think twentieth century). I remember reading somewhere how baby boys used to be dressed in pink, and let's not forget how masculine John Fowler pink can be.
I just love how happy Michael (and all the other Inside Men) look standing in their newly designed spaces!
I think it's awful. It looks like a bad staging job on an HGTV's "Designed to Sell". The color is old lady, the decorative fence looks tacky... I could go on. Reminds me of a cheap hotel room.
I hate to say it, but if I saw this on a real estate site, I'd assume an elderly woman lived in the house and was looking to downsize. This isn't right for a single, stylish man...
In actually prefer the old paint color..
The dining area looks unfinished because it appears adrift from the area rug. Modifying the carpet arrangement would help.
The title "old world" made me chuckle because Benjamin Moore and Behr have coral shades like this one, named Old World. I am considering painting my hallway a similar shade, and this has gone a long way towards convincing me. It's a fantastic color to set off wood furniture.
Too girly? Yes, in the sense that women of all skin tones will look awesome in this room. I don't see that as a bad thing. ;)
Its definitely better than before...
...but sadly schizophrenic: one side with white walls and interesting antiques - the other side a "Shabby Chic" garden room .
I can't help but think how much better this room would appear if the wall color were carried around the room to the other two walls - if the draperies were floor-to-ceiling - if the portraits over the sofa were hung lower - if the rug were an 8x10 and laid so that it was under the front of the sofa rather than a 5x8 floating out in the the room - if the floor lamp in the corner also had a black drum shade - and if the dining table had a chunky wooden base to balance the visual weight of the sofa & lovely wooden dresser on the other side of the room?
It would have been nice if the walls are painted in navy/midnight blue and do some dramatic lighting highlighting the accent pieces.
But... if the owner wants to go girly and the designer wants to show his/her style -- what can we do? Looks like they love it. And that's what's important.
This resembles my great aunt's apartment, who is 83 years old.
bepsf, in a recent House Beautiful special publication on color, they asked designers what color to paint an accent wall. They also allowed the option <em>No to accent walls!</em>, and it had many takers.
In my last place, I painted one wall. Then I thought <em>jeez that looks kind of random</em>, and painted another one. Guess what happened next!
Couch side of the room seems passable. I like the lamps a lot, and the pictures as well, but question the height. The table side of the room looks like the snack bar at my father-in-law's assisted living facility.
The guy who lives here says he loves his new couch, and I trust him - but he looks a hell of a lot more relaxed in his old place.
I do love the chairs at the table. Does anyone know what that style is called or how I would go about looking for a pair?
Never mind - just found them on Restoration Hardware. On sale now for $99.
I would have gone with the yellow in the map.Pepto abysmal peach just doesn't do it for me. I'm glad he got rid of all the chaotic looking pictures.
Did he REALLY ask for Granny Chic? If so, then this was a resounding success.
Well hello, it’s Michael (Micheal) here – yes – the actual guy featured in this project. I have to thank everyone who has had an opinion and been engaged in this process from the beginning. It happily reminds me that we are all certainly entitled to our own opinions and creative perspective – the good, the bad and the ugly, and all of your comments have been greatly welcomed, and some comments have brought a big smile to my face. My gosh, how boring the world would be otherwise!
In all honesty, I am very grateful to have been a part of this process! I really do like the way the room turned out, and greatly appreciate the time and efforts that went into this project. It’s certainly made for a very exciting and interesting summer 2010! If you know me, you’d know that I am an extremely private person – a true Scorpio at heart, and allowing strangers into my space, and everyone who follows Apartment Therapy, has helped me to tear down some personal walls I tend to put up.
What should I address first? The cowboy boots or the color? Oddly, the color is something I suggested inspired by a picture of a Tuscan home a friend of mine gave me years ago, and it was also inspired by the antique map of France that my great grandfather left me. (I couldn’t be happier with how it was framed – I love it!) Having said that, I originally thought Maxwell was going to go with a green, like a pear green, and I was excited about that. And, then, when he proposed the other 4 colors, my jaw dropped – esp. the pinks. Going with a lighter green would have been well within my comfort zone, but the “poppy petal” drew me outside of my comfort zone, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. You have to know that it photograpahs a lot lighter than you might think - it's actually farily dark and richer at night, which I like Today, it is still a color of great conversation among my friends and family, and oddly, it’s a color that I stare at nightly wondering how I feel about it. It makes the room feel bigger. Poppy petal –it’s definitely a color that evokes happiness and a sense of calm.
I love the sofa and some of the antique pieces incorporated into the room! Thanks, Joe! I also love the wall of curtains, which brings an entirely different feel into the room and makes it really cozy and softer.
I have since made a few changes to find a balance between who I am and what has been presented to me. Many of you are right, when I first saw the finished room, I though, ODG, they recreated my grandparents living room. Even the butler coffee table is one that my grandparents owned and one that my parents have, so I kind of laughed to myself when it was introduced to room. Since the project, I actually put the Italian marble dining room table outside on a little terrace that I sit and write at in the morning and at night after work. I re-introduced my darker wood dining room table to the room, which actually pulls in the living room area and makes the room feel more cohesive and modern.
I also moved the framed map to the wall above my sofa, so it balances the “poppy petal” wall and also brings some color to that side of the room. On the poppy petal wall, I hung a gallery of photos (not in a schizophrenic way,) but very well thought-out and honestly the color really brings out the detail in many of the pictures, and also helps to “detract” from the wall and incorporates more of me back into the room.
To be honest, the rug is gone – I will replace it with something a little more modern and that will work better with some throw pillows on the sofa to bring additional color and pop to the living room.
I know the room may feel old”er”, but I’ve really worked to balance that; the kitchen (which is very modern) opens up to the living room and the wall color ties into the kitchen cabinets. I thinkin person, the space may seem more balanced to you than you can see from the limitied pictures on the site.
Prior to this project, I lived in smaller studio spaces which were easier to decorate, for me, but the larger space overwhelmed me and I wasn’t sure which direction to go in. Since the “re-do” I feel a lot more inspired to create a warm and inviting space that represents me, and one that I feel comfortable in.
-Peace.
This is a vast improvement over the original room. Great rug, if a little on the small side for my taste. I also would have hung the curtains much higher, but going the entire length of the wall helps a lot. Also, I would have chosen yellow for the walls to really maximize the wonderful light, and painting all of them would have shown more commitment to color.
Clear that table off, and then ditch it altogether for something with more size and weight. That side of the room is lost. If you have the money, buy a credenza for the television to sit. I don't get the gate thing, and it's just wrong to decorate with any Eiffel Tower knickknack without playful irony.
Wow!(Les gouts ne se discutent pas!)
That is what I love about design and colour:
the psychology that comes into play.
Individual likes and dislikes cannot be questionned(in the grand scheme of things) because one person's "Poppy Petal" paint sample is another person' "feminine, Granny peach".
While I do have colours that I could never live in, there really are no ugly colours.......only ugly colour COMBINATIONS.
I do think the space is muc improved and Michael seems happy....which is the important part.
Having said that, I do see some things that need tweeking.
#1- An attempt was made for the accent wall to be less heavy and overbearing by the placement of the drapes and sheers. Unfortunately my eye is now drawn to the curtain rod and the space above them.
SOLUTION: I would have hung everything just below th ceiling line to really play with the height.
#2- Both sides of the room are a better use of space but I feel that there is a disconnect between the two sides with regard to the colour palettes as well as with the overall themes that were created. The side with the accent wall feels to me to be more "Parisian flea market/found objects/architectural salvage" than anything related to Tuscany. And then the map and its colour palette usually brings to mind more of a "mid-century/ retro" feel to it than an allusion to Tucany.
Solution: For Tuscany colour I would have gone less "pink-ey peach" and more "terra cotta at sunset" ......while still keeping the hue luminous.
Now the other side of the room feels much more formal in comparison. And faded with its neutral colour palette. The formal vs. flea market could be a workable, dynamic contrast if they were not on opposite sides of the room. So I believe the two styles have to be mixed up a lot more.
And finally, some colours from the side of the accent wall need to be repeated on the other
side to create a more cohesive flow for the eye.
The art on the wall above the sofa is not enough to bring the eye back and forth between the two sides. Solution:throw pillows, more colours in the art work above the sofa.....perhaps more colour in the "knicky-knacks/collection (which seems too sober and fading into the background at the moment). A little more punch and playfulness......
'K.....enough of the BLAH! BLAH! BLAH!......
I'm all inspired out!
Oops!
PS: I have my doubts about the colours in the area rug being a good match to the room's overall palette.
I'm new here. So no throwing rotten tomatoes at me please... Thank you... :)
In: the sofa, the chest, the captain print, map of France...
Out: the fence,... well, everything else,... Michael Brandes...
;D
Wow! What a great change! My favorite part is the smile on Michael's face. The room looks so much more open and he looks so much happier.
I'm glad to see the he (you, if you're reading this, Michael) tweaked the room to your taste afterwards. It's so hard sometimes to have faith in your own discomfort with a designer's decisions.
Scaling it back to your comfort level, but keeping the larger changes is what makes it your place.
This is definitely an improvement, although I agree that the two sides of the room don't work together at all, and the curtain rail is definitely hung too low (although creating a whole wall of curtains there the perfect choice).
Thanks Michael for posting your own comments, it sounds like the changes you've made yourself would go a long way to addressing the split personality issue, and it was also nice to have it confirmed that the map was of sentimental value (enough to be kept in a safe!).
Would love to see your "After the After" pictures :)
Michael, it sounds like you made the perfect changes. I could definitely see a different rug, and I like the idea of a heavier table. I do agree with others, however, that the Poppy Petal should be continued throughout the room. It looks much more "pink" than "Tuscan" only because it's right up against a white wall! Putting an accent wall against white doesn't lessen the effect of the color, it heightens it! Also, as someone else mentioned, there really are no bad colors, only bad color combinations. Pinky peach + white is a little girly, I have to say. Try OFF white or tan or beige. But here's what will really up the masculine factor: pinky peach with heavy, rich brown is SO masculine! Put some dark woods up against your poppy wall and you'll see what I mean. Anyway, my vote is for MORE Poppy Petal. Be bold! (And post after/AFTER pics.)
Michael-you should post some pics-sounds like youve made some good improvements
Michael -- kudos on your attitude and the ability to keep things in perspective! It sounds like you you found a great balance throughout this process -- allowing the designer to nudge you out of your comfort zone, but retaining your own identity and aesthetic in the changes you've made since living with it for awhile. I hope you get comfort and pleasure from your new surroundings for a long time to come.
Cheers!
@saraband: it's true that pink used to be considered a boy's color.
http://histclo.com/gender/col/col-pink.html
"There has been a great diversity of opinion on the subject, but the generally accepted rule is pink for the boy and blue for the girl. The reason is that pink being a more decided and stronger color is more suitable for the boy, while blue, which is more delicate and dainty, is pertier for the girl." [Ladies Home Journal, June, 1918]
Personally, I find the notion of specific colors being attached to genders entirely useless, but that's beside the point.
As for this makeover, hm, well it's not my cup of tea. To me, the color is too close to the Terracotta/Tuscan family to bring the kind of POP that I like. But as long as Michael is happy, then it's a great makeover!
While I am aware that pink has not always been considered feminine, and I agree that affixing gender connotations to colors is arbitrary and unhelpful, assigning gender to colors and styles is pretty essential to a series titled "The Inside Man." Since pink has been associated with femininity for around 70 years, it's the relevant connotation today. I mean, if we stop assigning colors, styles, and items to specific genders, this whole Inside Man series becomes silly, irrelevant, and a little bit sexist...
Well, I'm not really feeling this makeover, but if he likes it, I love it.
Two things that really jump out at me. The draperies need to be raised to ceiling height, which will soften the transition between the poppy and neutral walls. And the Ikea rug looks too rustic for the traditional space. Something a little more refined would be more appropriate. Perhaps he can upgrade in time. I love the oval frame used in an untraditional way and his personal collectibles are now displayed in a very pleasing way. Overall, it's a big improvement and I'm happy that the homeowner is happy.
Just read Michael's comments. Sounds like he made some good changes. Glad he agreed the rug wasn't quite right and I still think raising those drapes would make a big impact.
Maybe it's because I am an old lady, but I LOVE the "old lady peach" color on the one wall! That's what made me vote for this one.
Sigh. Not to my taste but I'm happy Michael is happy with it. To me it seems ... very Dallas.