Mid-Century Meets Bohemian Chic
It’s been a busy winter at BHD, both wrapping up existing projects from last fall and meeting with new clients ready to redo their homes for spring. Getting to know new clients is always exciting, especially when we learn a bit more about what drew them to us.
Being big lovers of color, texture and pattern, we find that most of our clients are drawn to the same bold schemes we feature in project photos and on our Instagram feed. We can do neutral, no doubt, but we feel we’re at our best when our clients let us take a spin on the colorwheel.
One of the latest projects to capture our attention is refreshing a New York apartment with an open floorplan that connects the kitchen, dining and living spaces in that highly sought-after L-shaped layout. We’ve commissioned a honed stone-top table to accommodate the slim dining space as well as a banquette dressed in a beautiful leaf-green performance velvet. Given the space restrictions, these pieces really needed to be custom.
Before hiring us, the client had wallpapered what will become the banquette wall in Timorous Beasties’ Birds n’ Bees: a whimsical print featuring feathered friends clad in a kaleidescope of colors. So that piece of the puzzle was a given; our scheme would have to work with, incorporate and complement this exotic wallpaper.
Because the living room, dining area and foyer all connect, we were also tasked with revisiting the rug situation while dressing up her existing gray sectional and adding some new lighting, a custom chair, end tables and ultimately throw pillows. After expressing her love of mid-century pieces, she also said she was drawn to some slightly more bohemian touches. Above all, she said she wanted her home to feel refreshed, but not brand new; lived in and a little bit loved; that with a young family, pristine just felt like too much pressure. Here’s where what we proposed:
All of the dining fabrics depicted are performance, so they can take a beating, but because they’re a mix of velvet, linen and faux ostrich they lend their own blend of texture and dimension. The banquette is set but the dining chairs are still being debated and we may end up with a wishbone silhouette, either in a natural teak tone or even a powdery blue, like so: 
The rugs are a mix of old and new, but even the new 9×12 for the living room is a cotton dhurrie from Madeline Weinrib with a lovely stonewashed patina that adds a sense of history. The other rug is an Oushak runner that will act as a transition between the living room and her dining area – it helps inform and connect the palettes between the two spaces while satisfying our shared love of unusual rugs.
Our proposal is to upholster the classic bamboo-detailed barrel chair (pictured above) in a Bailey Griffin velvet featuring a moss-green fretwork print that echoes the color of the banquette, but we may end up with a different silhouette…or fabric…still a work in progress.
Because of building restrictions, we can’t hardwire for sconces, but we found a fantastic pair of walnut and antique brass plug-ins that we’ll mount above her sofa. We’re also replacing the down-lit pendant above her dining table with a rhombus shaped pendant that will create eye-catching shadows and patterns on the ceiling. We’ll share more as we get closer to installation!
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