It is very common to walk around in Valerie's house and say, "where did you find that?" She may reply with "I found that in this woman's garage, you wouldn't believe the deal I got" or she might say "can you believe no one wanted that, so i grabbed it!" Valerie has a true talent - she mixes old with new perfectly. Her keen eye in finding timeless pieces has me motivated to keep digging because what I want, already exist - now, if i can only find the twin sisters of each piece she has. It is always gratifying to use other people's yesterdays and incorporate them into your own home mixed with your key pieces - it brings a story to every corner of the house. She's done this beautifully, the pictures are only a teaser to the true stories behind them.
A corner as simple as this captures so many adjectives: polished, etched, rough, reflective, elegant and textured. Valerie's love for texture is shown throughout her home. She likes "objects with patina, a history".
Not only does Valerie acquire stunning pieces, her rooms represents moods, moods I'm sure she is unaware of. This is a picture of her living room, completely calm and not intimidating or stuffy - instead welcoming - it naturally invites you in.
What I admire about Valerie's decor is that everything is layered and easily moves around from one room to another. Her advice in accomplishing this is to "buy things you really love - true to your taste and style, that you can move from room to room, even a set you can break apart." Her dining room is a perfect example of that philosophy. You will notice the gold accents throughout this room. There are pieces in this room, that belong to a set in another room.
Valerie fills every opportunity in her home, creating vignettes - a seated area for a paused point. This corner is part of her dining room above. The prints are grouped together in this space instead of distributing them throughout all four walls, creating a sitting area, outside the norm of a formal dining room. Again, a mood to reflect that the dining area is not just for eating, but for conversation.
Every piece of furniture she welcomes home is family-friendly. It is her #1 requirement. She adds "don't bring something home you will worry about." The gorgeous sectional and ottoman in her family room are slipcovered so it's washable if needed. The homework table is added to keep the family in one central place after school into dinnertime.
This set of exquisite chairs were purchased at a second hand store after many eyes kept giving them a pass. They finally found their forever home in Valerie's family room. She takes an unique item like the urn on the table, and utilize it's texture and color, not it's purpose, to fine tune the design message here - refined royalty.
The steel cabinet disguising craft supplies, art activities and school supplies is one of Valerie's proudest finds. Consistently, she is attracted to the same lines and patterns - this helps to blend new finds with old ones. With matching lines, she can incorporate these pieces together easily. The structure above the cabinet has a swirl detail that matches the steel cabinet - both found at very different times. Valerie originally purchase the item to cover the vent and noticed the similarities later on.
This is an example of how a room can evolve around one piece of furniture. This antique sink was a pain to work with, but was the definer for this powder room. The only downfall when working with older pieces is finding people who can work with them and make them efficient in today's extremity. A long road well worth its journey, just look at it.
Valerie admits to adding a splash of red to each room - "it's a strong visual point". She suggests "decorating neutral backgrounds with a hint of red, you can never go wrong." You'll find this true, especially in her kitchen and eating area. Red is also the color to many beautiful (accessible) objects such as apples, flowers and a perfect partner to both white and black. What a fun combination of the rolling industrial island paired with rustic wood island. And those red chairs? So chic.
Who is this woman behind all this incredible work??? One of Valerie's favorite places is The Chicago Botanic Garden, her favorite event of all time, The Antique and Garden Fair is coming up April 16 - 18, 2010. She has a love affair with Italy and appreciates the way they live, the food, the fashion and the people. Her nights and weekends are spent at the hockey rink with her 3 kids: Taylor, Katie and Jack. Wife to Ted and mama to Coco, her dog. Her advice to staying warm at the rink is layering, layering and layering. If she wasn't at the rink, she would spend her time at a museum. Enjoys her day trips to the city when she can visit her favorite home stores for inspiration, Jayson's Home and Garden and Holly Hunt in the Mart. Adores the book "Designing Woman" featuring the work of sixteen contemporary trendsetters. Together, we are scheming a trip to Paris to visit the Paris Flea Market, or the English reference for "Le marche aux puces de Saint-Ouen" - a big birthday trip plan in the works for the both of us. We knew if we put it in writing, we'll feel some obligation.
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