Romantic Decorating Ideas
Just in time for Valentine's Day, we're bringing you the most romantic home designs.
Romance doesn't have to be saved for February 14. Here, we show you how to do romantic decor with five different designers and in every room of your house.
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Arrange a Single Bloom
A large flower, like a magnolia, doesn't need any other adornments. It looks stunning all on its own, floating in a low Limoges bowl. Interior designer Hal Williamson chose the fragrant flower for his clients who live in New Orleans.
2Media Platforms Design Team
Try a Little Toile
In the home's dining room, Louis XV chairs are upholstered in a toile called Louisiana Purchase. "Each chair depicts different iconic imagery," Hal Williamson says, including St. Louis Cathedral, plantations, and flatboats on the river.
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Pretty in Pink
The Louis XVI wing chairs and sofa may look formal, but the chairs "have a wonderful pitch, so you can sit comfortably for hours," says Williamson, "and many naps are taken on the sofa." The chandelier, the urns flanking the fireplace, the mirror on the mantel, and the tiered sconce were found in New Orleans antiques stores.
4Media Platforms Design Team
Sitting Pretty
Williamson made the living room is alluringly feminine with its subtle range of purples: amethyst, lavender, lilac, plum. Walls are Benjamin Moore's mauvey Driftscape Tan.
5Media Platforms Design Team
Bring the Outdoors In
For a cozy garden feel, Williamson hung life-size banana leaves — the Beverly Hills Hotel signature wallpaper — in the kitchen, to give it not only drama of scale, but a continuity with the courtyard and the real banana leaves just outside the French doors.
6Media Platforms Design Team
Know that Blue can Be Romantic Too
"When I pulled out the cream, purple, lavender, blue, and aqua embroidered silk for the duvet, my client was catching her breath, she was so excited. It was one of those rare, beautiful finds," Hal Williamson says.
7Media Platforms Design Team
Meant to Be...
An etched Venetian mirror and a blue-painted commode were meant to go together.
8Media Platforms Design Team
A Pink Parlor
In the second-floor parlor — "the Ella altar" — a photograph of Ella Fitzgerald, taken at a New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, hangs above a carved French desk. Walls are Martha Stewart's Grisaille for Sherwin-Williams.
9Media Platforms Design Team
Green — and Pink — with Envy
Tart green walls (Benjamin Moore's Castleton Mist) set a jovial mood in the garçonnière. Louis XV chairs are covered in an African-inspired ikat print by Kravet. Interior designer Hal Williamson surprised himself by finding a rare hot pink, gold, and citrus green antique Oushak rug that pulls the room's colors together.
10Media Platforms Design Team
Romantic Dining
"Entertaining is what Palm Beach is all about," says designer Gary McBournie. Everything white, including a sideboard from Lars Bolander and vintage Chinese Chippendale chairs, makes a crisp contrast to custom-glazed duck-egg-blue walls. Though new, the Dennis & Leen chandelier was found in a Palm Beach antiques shop: "It was probably too large for someone's house. But here, it fills that void at the center of the room and gives it character."
11Media Platforms Design Team
Install Soft, Sparkling Lighting
A romantic glow was what designer Gary McBournie aimed for in the living room of this Palm Beach home. On the pilasters between French doors, he mounted Baguès crystal sconces from France for a bit of sparkle. Chosen for its Venetian silveriness, the mercury glass gourd lamp is from Walker Zabriskie.
12Media Platforms Design Team
A Little Bit of Old Romance
To reupholster a pair of antique Biedermeier armchairs, McBournie concocted his own strip from three fabrics: "Besides getting exactly the colors I wanted, I like the added texture." The 1950s Italian cabinet is lacquered with an automotive finish, "the kind they use on the interiors of antique racing cars."
13Media Platforms Design Team
A Sweet Family Room
The citrus colors aren't the only sweet things in this family room. The touches of pink and white also add a bit of femininity. The wall color is Benjamin Moore's Lemon Meringue. Rug from Stark.
14Media Platforms Design Team
A Luxurious Loggia
Open a bottle of wine with a loved one on the loggia. Very romantic! Brown Jordan furniture, from the Venetian Collection, is casually placed at random angles on the loggia. Cushions are in three harmonious Sunbrella solids. Pillows from Crate and Barrel; lanterns from Period Furniture Hardware.
15Media Platforms Design Team
A Very Feminine Bedroom
In a Palm Beach house, the master bedroom's Loire iron bed is by Niermann Weeks, and the pink, brown, and white linens are from Restoration Hardware. A Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams Thad sofa is covered in the softest color imaginable — Groundworks' Academy Weave in light pink. "The pink isn't gag-me pink," designer Gary McBournie says, "It's utterly soft. The iron bed helps to control it, and so do the brown and pink bed linens."
16Media Platforms Design Team
A Romantic Bed
What is more romantic than a detailed headboard and beautiful linens? The "carving" on the headboard in the guest room by designer Gary McBournie is trompe l'oeil.
17Media Platforms Design Team
Embellish a Mirror
In a gorgeous guest bedroom, McBournie found a romantic solution for a too-small 1920s Italian gessoed mirror. "We added that sash to help the scale," he says.
18Media Platforms Design Team
A Romantic Setting
Architect Wayne Leong based the design of this Napa Valley guesthouse on rural Provence structures. The loggia's stone columns were constructed with stones excavated from the site. The 10-foot-long 17th-century table is cast iron and slate. The iron chandelier is from Formations. And the view is breathtaking....
19Media Platforms Design Team
A Theatrical Kitchen
Architecture and applied ornament conspire to make the kitchen lighthearted and a touch theatrical. Artist Michael Duté's blue-and-white design brings walls and even the barrel-vaulted ceiling to life. A farmhouse sink and marble counters keep to the rural, primitive quality of the building. A Sub-Zero drawer refrigerator means the only obvious appliance is the stove. Casement windows and doors fling open, ushering in breezes and light.
20Media Platforms Design Team
A Trip to Paris?
If you can't swing a trip to Paris, why not treat your significant other to dinner in this Parisian-style dining room? The hutch was found in France. The French wood-and-iron chandelier composed of antique parts came from Antique and Art Exchange. The 19th-century Spanish walnut dining table is from Habité. Anna dining chairs from the Taylor Scott collection wear Serment D'Aimer, a Nobilis toile.
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