Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Two is (sometimes) better than one

Digging deeper into last night's post, there were so many things to love about Emily's room. One thing I'd like to discuss is her use of "two" coffee tables. One being the awesome brass vintage piece, and the other being the pair of trunks (Yes, I realize that is three.. but the two trunks acts as one vignette.) I love this because it breaks rules. Sometimes people get so caught up in rules when decorating their house, and I think working with a decorator helps break these rules. For example, I'm working with a client who didn't think she could put a rug in her living room because the fireplace surround jutted out into the living space. Well, I told her it's an easy fix - cut and bind the rug around the fireplace. She asked - we can do that? Of course!

Back to coffee tables. When space allows, sometimes two different coffee table options are perfect. Emily's is a great example - she has the space and went for it. And it works perfectly:



Here are some other examples:



[ katie ridder ]


[ Virginia MacDonald ]



[ carrier and company ]




[ zoldan ]


[ heather garrett ]


Some no fail pieces to create this look are....



18 comments:

  1. That's funny, I had the same thing with a client the other week. I brought in two tables and was showing her that she could "layer" them and it was so confusing for her...I had to stop a minute and reassure her it was totally "normal" to do so. In the end she still didn't like it, so I took the second table home and now I get to use it. Bonus for me, but it's hard sometimes to sell people on an idea that is such a no brainer for us.

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  2. I love this look, funny that every room you posted has that quirky, sophisticated hybrid look that I love!

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  3. I love the look too! We kind of accidentally have two in our family room and now I love it. It started off as just storage for our son's toys and I thought eventually, I would move one of them out of there, but now I love the look...so both will stay! :)

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  4. Don't hate me, but I'm not a fan of two tables. It could just be because we have a small space - but it seems like throwing furniture in a room and leaving it be. Sorry!

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  5. This is taunting me--I love how these look, unfortunately the two things I have on hand to make this work (a circular Heywood-Wakefield coffee table with a lazy Susan top and a big square leather ottoman) take up waaaay too much real estate in my LR. Alas!

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  6. I like this look as well. It's not something I would have thought of myself, but I do like it! I'll have to see about doing this in my own living room.

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  7. Bonus for lazy people you don't have to get up and set down your drink!

    Beautiful images!

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  8. I also love the "two" rugs. Her layering effect here with the cowhide and the neutral fits great together. Loveit!

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  9. I heart Emily too but the jury's still out on the two table thing. I guess if it's done right, but I think it tends to look disjointed sometimes. I do love the 2nd Virginia McDonald room though, something about that works for me.

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  10. such an interesting post! never really thought about it. love it. actually

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  11. those pics are beautiful!! i love that big orange ottoman :-)

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  12. Im with anonymous, I could not handle any of those rooms, 2 tables seem like someone couldn't decide so they just left the both of them in the space. Sorry, but it's a taste thing and you know how traditional I am.

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  13. I've never done it before, but in the right space its adds another dimension of interesting. It might be too eclectic for more conservative people, but it's definitely a fun look!

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  14. I've never done it before, but in the right space its adds another dimension of interesting. It might be too eclectic for more conservative people, but it's definitely a fun look!

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  15. such an interesting post! never really thought about it. love it. actually

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  16. I like this look as well. It's not something I would have thought of myself, but I do like it! I'll have to see about doing this in my own living room.

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  17. Don't hate me, but I'm not a fan of two tables. It could just be because we have a small space - but it seems like throwing furniture in a room and leaving it be. Sorry!

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  18. That's funny, I had the same thing with a client the other week. I brought in two tables and was showing her that she could "layer" them and it was so confusing for her...I had to stop a minute and reassure her it was totally "normal" to do so. In the end she still didn't like it, so I took the second table home and now I get to use it. Bonus for me, but it's hard sometimes to sell people on an idea that is such a no brainer for us.

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THANK YOU for taking the time to share your thoughts. I appreciate each and every comment.

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