Welcome to the unveiling of the River House dining room – a super warm and cozy landing place with the most beautiful views, a cozy fireplace, and a painting that I’m not sure my brother is obsessed with yet (but we haven’t put it down yet!!). Adjacent to the kitchen, we used a common color palette and layered them to keep things warm and textured.
tile
Three years ago, Max and I tile Anne Sachs’s really simple but textured small brick tiles were stacked horizontally to create a large, quiet focal point with even a mid-century feel. My sister-in-law likes neutral colors and didn’t want anything bold at all, but she fell in love with the simplicity of this (and didn’t want it to detract from the view).
I couldn’t decide on the color of the grout. Understandably, grout color is a stressful decision because it changes the look of the tile and the room and is very difficult to change back. We ended up choosing the top right one. It’s a medium gray with a slight green tinge, creating depth and pattern, but not too dark or drab. You can also choose a lighter grout, but keep in mind that you often forget the concept of a stacking grid effect, which can end up looking more like a textured wall than a more graphic geometric pattern. I wanted this pattern 🙂
One of my most favorite details is how Ann Sacks sells these corner pieces so you don’t have to tack down the edges. See below. It’s so beautiful!
You will notice that the tile is exactly the same width as the fireplace. That means no ungainly little parts on either end. This is because JP (our contractor) did some calculations with the tiler (grout size must be taken into account) and basically built the structure underneath to make sure the diameter was exactly 19. These details make a huge difference to us/you with an eye for design.
fake tree & planter | artwork | rug
The interior box is finished with black shurter that is difficult to see. Oh, no, I don’t know what brand that firebox is. And yes, it was legal to put it on the tree (it had passed full inspection, so I guess the specs on that box were OK!).
This work of art is actually a collage of a very famous painting called “Portrait of Hanne Wilhelm Hansen” by Wilhelm Lundström. artist in LA has recreated these in paper collages, which she gifted me a year ago after I had searched for the right place and saved up. The colors here are so perfect!! I used command strips so I didn’t have to drill down into the tiles or anything. My brother and SIL were on the fence about it. I’m sure they like this as a work of art, but it just didn’t feel like them and felt a little intense here, which I fully understood. I told them to be patient and let’s just say it’s still there.
layout
chair | table (Currently unavailable) | vase | mug (Similar) | rug
Anne AsherThe architect designed and laid out the room with bench seats and a fireplace along the windows. This wasn’t just for warmth, but added a design element to make it more than just a box with a window. So it was very easy to place the furniture. at that time the rug is in my collection, I pulled the green out of my living room (I can’t wait to show it to you) and used a 9×12 here. Then I was late getting them a table and chairs, so Katie found this table from Rejuvenation on clearance (and was able to pick it up locally). She sent me the link and I said, “Let’s give it a try.”
dining chair
I found it these chairs Online that ticks all the boxes:
- Upholstered seat and backrest – They needed softness and texture, not just for comfort reasons, but to make this room feel warm and inviting.
- large and sturdy – My brother didn’t like fragile or flimsy chairs. These chairs needed to be comfortable to lie on (but we didn’t want all armchairs either).
- Kid-friendly, which means it’s not a light fabric – The living room is a large open space, so the color also had to match the stools and living room furniture.
There really is a hole in the market for colorful dining chairs, but I think it’s primarily for the design-conscious people (I mean, maybe there’s a reason there’s a hole, because most people are afraid of that level of color obsession; at one point, I almost got them to buy it) my green dining chair These are from Crate and Barrel (with a separate rug) and I really liked the back of these. Adds beautiful lines and shapes. They bought 8 of them, but they don’t want all 8 of them out on a normal day, so they have 2 of them in the family room so they can bring them in here when they need them.
window shades
We partnered with deco view They are installed throughout the house for window treatments and everyone was excited to use the motorized shades here. The overall style of the house is quite minimalist, so we chose soft, warm textures that blend in with the wood and wall colors. It’s all on one remote so it’s super easy to open and close (which I do every day).
lighting equipment
We cooperate with Rejuvenation on lighting equipment, This lovely linear and graphic chandelier It gave them plenty of light (no recessed lighting here) but wasn’t so crowded that it obstructed the view behind. Fun fact, at first I used a clear glass shade thinking it would give me a better view of the view, but it actually looked a lot busier (in this case, I think the light bulb inside and all the reflections were just distracting). Once the glass was replaced (Rejuvenation’s customer service was great) we all said it looked much better.
candlestick It’s actually a vanity light that can be installed horizontally or vertically, but since we had a very slim area, we thought it would look great here (and it does). Both fixtures are made of unlacquered brass, so they do develop a bit of a patina over time, in a good way, but they look pretty quiet in the room. At one point I regretted not giving both a contrasting finish (like black metal), but now that the entire project is complete, it feels simple and seamless throughout. This look isn’t suitable for every style of home (a more traditional home might want more contrast in the finishes), but we like that all the finishes are simple in this style, leaving behind a focus on wood and views.
bowl | napkin | plate | placemat (Currently unavailable) | glasses | wine glass | tableware
Bench seat!
pollack dough |Pillows from left to right: blue fringe | striped tasseI (Similar) | gold velvet |Long waist (from room service sofa) | gold | blue (Similar) | big stripes
There are so many bench seats in this house it’s laughable. And I also removed the two on the upper floor. Was this necessary? Not really, but it’s fun to sit there and stare out the window, and for me it was an opportunity to add some color and pattern (otherwise the room would have been just wood and cream). So I was really happy that they included them in the plan. I took this opportunity to push pollack dough The velvet pattern was so beautiful and really complimented the room. I then styled it with some fairly simple pillows to add even more texture and warmth.
pollack dough | cream pillow | gold velvet | blue fringe (resemble)
I love how it turned out! That’s right, all the bench seats actually have storage drawers. I didn’t want to add any hardware to it so I could read more simply (besides looking like every dresser in the house), but the fun fact is that it has a push mechanism that my heel hits right on and accidentally pops it all open. of. time. I hope this is funny and not annoying:
vase | bowl | napkin | plate | placemat (Currently unavailable) | glasses | wine glass | tableware
We thought this was a good opportunity to set the table and add more color, texture and warmth. They ended up storing everything (most of it was purchased at World Market and Crate and Barrel) so they could recreate it when they had a better dinner.
fake tree The corner pieces look great (from West Elm!) and added a little softness and color to the left side. This room is very well connected to the kitchen and living room. All finishes, colors, and textures are similar, but still feel customized and special.
Here you can see the kitchen and how everything flows. For this reason, designing an open space from scratch is actually quite difficult. They don’t all have to match (that’s boring), but they all have to make sense. I love the way all the lights work together, the colors (green island, green rug) and the pops of black in the lights and charcoal seating.
Don’t forget to use the sliders to see how it will look before you place and style your furniture 🙂
Personally, I think all the fabrics, colors, and styles really brought this room to life. At one point, I was admittedly worried that we weren’t making strong enough bold choices (which I really wasn’t), but now that it’s all said and done, I remembered that it’s super easy to layer neutral palettes to get it just the way you want it.
Dining room resources:
tile: Ann Sachs
Bench: Custom
Bench fabric: Walleye
Main wall color: sherwin williams alabaster
Candlesticks and chandeliers: rejuvenation
Fake tree: west elm
chair: all modern
Lug: rug america
window shade: deco view
Windows by marvin windows and doors
Flooring: Stuga
*Architect: Anne Asher
**General contractor: JP Macy of sierra custom construction
***Interior Designer: Emily Henderson (me!) and Max Humphrey
****Styling: Emily Henderson (me!)
*****Photo credit caitlin green
Source: Emily Henderson – stylebyemilyhenderson.com
