For more info on our styling service, copy and paste this link into your browser: http://carlaaston.com/styling / Miro Dvorscak, photographer

Beautiful hand carved settee/swing hanging from heavy solid. Settee shown sitting on the floor in picture.
Inspiration for a mediterranean living room remodel in New York

The formal living room has had a lot of attention given to accessorizing and cold coordination. Natural light is part of the freshness but plantation shutters deserve credit in the overall scheme.

Ashley Batz
Eclectic porch idea in San Francisco

"Round Hill," created with the concept of a private, exquisite and exclusive resort, and designed for the discerning Buyer who seeks absolute privacy, security and luxurious accommodations for family, guests and staff, this just-completed resort-compound offers an extraordinary blend of amenity, location and attention to every detail. Ideally located between Napa, Yountville and downtown St. Helena, directly across from Quintessa Winery, and minutes from the finest, world-class Napa wineries, Round Hill occupies the 21+ acre hilltop that overlooks the incomparable wine­ producing region of the Napa Valley, and is within walking distance to the world famous Auberge du Soleil. An approximately 10,000 square foot main residence with two guest suites and private staff apartment, approximately 1,700-bottle wine cellar, gym, steam room and sauna, elevator, luxurious master suite with his and her baths, dressing areas and sitting room/study, and the stunning kitchen/family/great room adjacent the west-facing, sun-drenched, view-side terrace with covered outdoor kitchen and sparkling infinity pool, all embracing the unsurpassed view of the richly verdant Napa Valley. Separate two-bedroom, two en-suite-bath guest house and separate one-bedroom, one and one-half bath guest cottage. Total of seven bedrooms, nine full and three half baths and requiring five uninterrupted years of concept, design and development, this resort-estate is now offered fully furnished and accessorized. Quintessential resort living.

"Round Hill," created with the concept of a private, exquisite and exclusive resort, and designed for the discerning Buyer who seeks absolute privacy, security and luxurious accommodations for family, guests and staff, this just-completed resort-compound offers an extraordinary blend of amenity, location and attention to every detail. Ideally located between Napa, Yountville and downtown St. Helena, directly across from Quintessa Winery, and minutes from the finest, world-class Napa wineries, Round Hill occupies the 21+ acre hilltop that overlooks the incomparable wine­ producing region of the Napa Valley, and is within walking distance to the world famous Auberge du Soleil. An approximately 10,000 square foot main residence with two guest suites and private staff apartment, approximately 1,700-bottle wine cellar, gym, steam room and sauna, elevator, luxurious master suite with his and her baths, dressing areas and sitting room/study, and the stunning kitchen/family/great room adjacent the west-facing, sun-drenched, view-side terrace with covered outdoor kitchen and sparkling infinity pool, all embracing the unsurpassed view of the richly verdant Napa Valley. Separate two-bedroom, two en-suite-bath guest house and separate one-bedroom, one and one-half bath guest cottage. Total of seven bedrooms, nine full and three half baths and requiring five uninterrupted years of concept, design and development, this resort-estate is now offered fully furnished and accessorized. Quintessential resort living.

"Round Hill," created with the concept of a private, exquisite and exclusive resort, and designed for the discerning Buyer who seeks absolute privacy, security and luxurious accommodations for family, guests and staff, this just-completed resort-compound offers an extraordinary blend of amenity, location and attention to every detail. Ideally located between Napa, Yountville and downtown St. Helena, directly across from Quintessa Winery, and minutes from the finest, world-class Napa wineries, Round Hill occupies the 21+ acre hilltop that overlooks the incomparable wine­ producing region of the Napa Valley, and is within walking distance to the world famous Auberge du Soleil. An approximately 10,000 square foot main residence with two guest suites and private staff apartment, approximately 1,700-bottle wine cellar, gym, steam room and sauna, elevator, luxurious master suite with his and her baths, dressing areas and sitting room/study, and the stunning kitchen/family/great room adjacent the west-facing, sun-drenched, view-side terrace with covered outdoor kitchen and sparkling infinity pool, all embracing the unsurpassed view of the richly verdant Napa Valley. Separate two-bedroom, two en-suite-bath guest house and separate one-bedroom, one and one-half bath guest cottage. Total of seven bedrooms, nine full and three half baths and requiring five uninterrupted years of concept, design and development, this resort-estate is now offered fully furnished and accessorized. Quintessential resort living.

Beachy glam living room
Example of a large beach style formal and open concept light wood floor and beige floor living room design in Miami with blue walls, no fireplace and no tv

Re-PDX Photography.com
Example of a large arts and crafts open concept medium tone wood floor living room design in Portland with beige walls, a standard fireplace and a stone fireplace

Updated Spec Home: Foyer and Great Room In our last post, we introduced you to my mom and sister’s Updated Spec Home; the Foyer and Great Room will be featured in this post. Foyer As you enter their home, to the right is a hall closet and a french door which leads to the Basement. To the left is a long wall which was perfect for an extra long console table in a rustic finish that served as a sofa table in their previous home. I love repositioning furniture, and by using this table in the entry, it makes it feel new. Additionally, we placed a vibrant piece of art previously used in my sister’s Bedroom above the table. This piece not only sets the tone for our color palette, it also makes the kind of statement you want in your Foyer – Wow! We added accessories and an unique lamp to complete the space. Great Room In the Great Room which is open to the Foyer, we installed our inspiration artwork in the place of honor over the mantel. Since the piece was vertical, it did not take up enough space. I do not like a “fussy” mantel with lots of accessories so we found these two vases in a silver leaf finish. They were perfect because they were large enough, but not too deep. Accessorizing mantels can be tricky because the majority of them are not deep. We went to Jan’s Floral Design to add vibrant color and interesting textures to the vases. The original mantel was too small and uninspired. Therefore, we had our contractor Brad Anderson built a new one based on a photo of a mantel we liked. The new mantel has lots of great detail and is the appropriate proportion for the fireplace. We replaced beige 12×12 ceramic tiles with gorgeous large pieces of smoked carrara marble for a striking fireplace surround. Check out this other mantel that we updated. For furniture, we purchased a shorter sofa in a gray tweed fabric. Typically, two throw pillows come with a sofa.We added a fun fringe to the pillows that came with the sofa. I recommend ordering pillows that match your sofa fabric and layering with custom pillows that support your color palette. We added a patterned custom pillow and a striped throw. Next, we got a small scale recliner in a yummy gray leather for my mom and a chair and ottoman in a small scale mint and gray geometric pattern for my sister. We added an accent chair in a fun small scale stripe to fill a corner and add additional seating – which is always a good thing. Remember that this was a Spec Home so there were no built-ins. As a result, we needed a media cabinet for the television and some bookcases to display my mom’s decorative box collection and my sister’s collection of blown colored glass. This set from Ballard Designs fit the bill perfectly. The back is open and airy with nice detail. The wood finish also adds a richness to the space. My mom needed a space for her computer, and this small writing desk fit the space perfectly. Finally, for finishing touches, we added a patterned rug, cornice boards in a mint leaf fabric, and great lamps for ambient lighting. These two rooms are stunning, vibrant and livable. Can’t wait to show you more in our next post! Enjoy! Photo by Tim Furlong Jr.

a large happy room, shared by two girls, ages five and seven. The room is painted in Benjamin Moore Lavender Mist. The beds, rug and nightstands are from Land Of Nod. and the artwork was made by the girls themselves.

Photography: Cary Hazlegrove
Large beach style master carpeted and beige floor bedroom photo in Boston with white walls and no fireplace

Mid-sized french country master dark wood floor and brown floor bedroom photo in Miami with white walls

This is the dining room, I wanted this room to make a statement. The paneling design on the wall was already white, so I decided to paint the walls needlepoint navy. I dressed the window with a white custom drapery and bronze drapery rod. I used a live edge table with white dining chairs. The rug was my inspirational piece for this room, it just brought everything together. The one piece that the customer had to have was cotton, so I accessorized the table with a vase with cotton and brought in a blue table runner and some white dishes.

We lifted this house several feet in the air, and reworked all the interior spaces to accommodate three private guest suites, each complete with their own bathroom. The beachy, casual vibe carries throughout the spaces, thanks to the owners' (an architect/artist duo) creative vision. Builder: Blue Sound Construction Designer: Aaron Bush of Workshop AB2C Photo:Alex Hayden

Our Long Island studio gave this Manhattan home an eclectic, colorful look. The home flaunts multiple living areas like a mid-sized, open concept family room with medium-tone wood flooring, gray walls, a metal fireplace, and no tv. The other living areas are accessorized with comfy furniture, quirky accents, and pops of bright color, while the L-shaped kitchen has a medium-tone wood floor and white flat-panel cabinets.

This little guy was growing out of his crib and changing table and needed an update to his room. His parents are avid golfers and he in turn has picked up the sport. His parents requested a room that he can grow in to, so the space will last many years before having to redesign it again. His mom suggested a golf theme room and I loved the idea, so we rolled with it. We kept the original plantation shutters and millwork and built a toddler-friendly space he can enjoy for years and years. I had my muralist paint an argyle wall to set the tone. I used new custom furniture combined with some store bought pieces. Accessorizing the space was a fun task. Instead of using store bought items, I had some custom wall art made for him to personalize the space. I had his great grandmother’s golf clubs mounted onto graphic green and white fabric studded with chrome nailheads. An Etsy seller made us a custom metal piece with all their favorite golf brands. Another Etsy seller made us wall hooks fashioned from golf balls. No golf theme room would be complete without a putting green, so had one of those thrown in to so he can practice his putts. He now loves his new room and enjoys spending time in there (not to mention now sleeping in there too!).

Inspiration for a timeless dining room remodel in Phoenix

This family residing on North Euclid in Upland, requested a living room they could actually live in. A space that was not too formal but nodded toward formality in a subtle way. They wanted a space where many people could gather, converse, watch TV and simply relax. The look I created I call “California French Country”. I achieved this by designing the room in layers. First I started with new dark wood floors to match their staircase. Then I had Board and Batten installed to accentuate ceiling height and give the room more structure. Next, the walls were painted above the Board and Batten Mood Indigo by Behr and the ceiling beams white for a clean, classic, crisp, fresh look. I designed custom inverted pleat drapes with a navy blue band to be installed. A new chandelier in loft area was installed to go with the existing entry chandelier from Restoration Hardware. Then it was time to furnish the space according to my new space plan. I used a mix of new and existing pieces, which most were repurposed and refinished. New furnishings included a goose down sofa, wool rug, tufted navy ottoman. Existing pieces I reused were the armoire which I had finished in a cranberry to match loft chaise. A wing back chair , ottoman, cane back chair and client’s entry bench that was made by her father were all reupholstered. I had a custom marble table top fabricated to sit atop 2 antique Chinese meal box holders that the client has been holding on to, which created the perfect entry table. I accessorized the room with red, blue and white accents to give the room that “lived in” feeling. The loft houses a large antique mirror that I found in a local shop, a velvet chaise to lounge and their daughter’s artwork was hung in the loft area to make the space feel like their own little getaway.