Golly, so many “epic” stories over the past few months (Kate and I are crankin’) that it seems like … we don’t just stop and look at one pretty room — one pretty paint color — anymore. Kind of, “stop and smell the roses.” Or: Stop and ogle the gorgeous Tiffany blue paint in Hillary’s living room. Hillary uploaded this photo in our recent festival of 176 reader fireplaces. She noted, cryptically, “Traditional FP in 1949 cottage – Hillary.” Oh Hillary, this room is so glowy! And see, everyone, how I always talk about the sun dappling through sheer curtains? Dappling! I am getting sheers for under my pinch pleats this year once and for all, that’s that. But Hill — may I call you Hill? — what is the paint brand and color — we must know. Yes, for now, I’m calling it Tiffany Blue — just like the Breakfast at Tiffany’s blue — what a wonderful mid century provenance that is. And, umm, is that a real Saarinen womb chair? And is that your grandma’s sewing machine? Your two-tone color palette, rich noble woods, mix of modern and traditional — all laid on with a light touch… with restraint: Nicely done, grl. Now: What is the paint? xoxo
Reader Interactions
53 comments
Hillary says
And to address everyone’s comments on the sheers, I really like having them. They were the only window covering we had (with the colored panels) until we hung some honey-comb shades this past year. They let in light without anyone really being able to see in. We put up the shades because we get a pretty serious glare when the sun sets in the winter.
Hillary says
Wow, I was so surprised to see my living room on Retro Renovation! Thanks for all the kind comments, everyone.
The wall color is “Strawberry Pot” by Martha Stewart and seems to still be available, though we painted our wall 11 years ago. Most of our furniture is thrift store and garage sale finds, and luck brought it all together! I combined a few older pieces I love with the Mid-century, because people collected antiques back then, too!
To answer your question, Pam, I do have my great-grandmother’s sewing machine, but it’s a treadle machine. The one you see here is a thrift store find, a lavender Necchi Supernova Julia. 🙂
Elisa says
Mmm. Lavender Necchi Supernova. Lucky girl.
We have sheers at a minimum in all of the windows (kitchen in rear excepted) of our 1953 Modest Trad. Love the dappled light, subtle privacy, and traditional “look” from the outside, which can be as important as how it all looks from the inside.
Jay says
Yes, like everyone else, I was taken by this room when it appeared in the fire place slide show – the fireplace wall as well as the rest of the room. Very comfortable room. I have way too much formal upholstered pieces.
I was laughing about everyone ogling the shears. They were left for me by the previous owner, along with the pink pinch pleat traverse drapes. When I moved in, outa here! I like to see out the windows. I think the window treatments here are just panels hanging at each end, a look i like. Hillary, where are you? Please enlighten us on the room’s particulars.
Hillary says
I’m in Kentucky, Jay. We live in a 1949 asbestos-shingled house – not modern at all, so I consider it a “cottage.”
When I moved in, there were traverse rods at the windows, but at the time I just thought them horribly old-fashioned and took them right down. You’re right that there are just small panels at the ends. I made them myself and hung them on the same rod as the sheers because I didn’t want to block too much light. There is a porch that runs across the front of the house, and a shade tree that blocks quite a bit of light from the picture window. The sun was getting low when this picture was taken.
Jay says
Hillary, thanks for replying and wow – great job on the curtains. I like what you did with the fireplace window treatments, a single panel on each and the single panels on the picture window. Here in PA, Capes/cottages were just as popular as ranches after the war and all of them are nuetral palettes that can take on any style of interior. Thanks again for your patience in answering everyone’s questions.
nina462 says
picture perfect!
Emily says
Love, love, love everything about this room. I just want to file it away in my brain and make it my happy place.
We painted the living room, dining room, and hallway in our 1960 ranch a similar color– BM’s “St. Lucia Teal.”
hannah says
That is the EXACT same coffee table my parents had, with the little curved edges (and end tables that matched)!! Boy, did my crowd party around that thing – too many times to count. 😉
Nancy says
My parents had that same coffee table as well–I’d love to have it back.
Mick D says
Wow! *Love* this living room! Everything about it says “Peaceful” to me – and its a beautiful mixture of colors. My personal favorite color in the WORLD is “Tiffany Blue” – or (close to it) a paint color from General Motors that they put on the 1963 cars called Azure.
This is close. Its stunning, with the hint of red in the bricks, combined with the Puce (my term for the carpet color) and i never thought of combining the two – but the Navy Blue sofa is an excellent compliment to all the other colors! Way to go, this room is a knock-out.
By the by: I have an accent wall behind my headboard from Benjamin Moore called “Azores” – its very close to this color, but a tad bit more green. At any rate – this room is a winner!
bux1234567 says
A good example of basics—scale, proportion, color, line—handled with awareness and to positive effect, namely interest, harmony and wholeness. First, each piece of furniture, the amount of furniture, and the furniture’s distribution is proportioned to the essential, hard-to-change features of the room: the room’s size, its windows and its fireplace. The window treatments are neither underscaled nor too heavy for the windows. Second, the Tiffany Blue, the range of neutrals—white, off-white and wheat—the mahogany of the brick, and the hints of black are so well proportioned and strategically applied that the room is clean but not sterile; the furniture, window treatments, accessories and other interior elements read legibly; and accent falls where it should. I appreciate the warm-cool yin-yang placement of repeating colors: The Tiffany Blue of the accent wall repeats in the seat and back of the chair to the left of the fireplace, in the side drapery panels and in accents of the lamp shade in the foreground. The wheat of the Womb Chair’s upholstery and the black of its legs repeats in the picture over the mantel and in the lamp in the left background. The mahogany of the afghan on the blue chair repeats in the fireplace brick and in the console table in front of the picture window. Whenever colors mix, there is enough contrast that every part of the room stands out clearly, while at the same time, there is enough color similarly that the room holds together as its own whole. This integration is not only accomplished through color, but through line. Despite different historical styles and level of formality of the furnishings and millwork, the styles work harmoniously because they share common lines and visual weight. The mantel is formal, traditional and rectilinear, while the Womb Chair is casual, modern and organic, but they hang together because the fluting and shadow lines of the mantel and the legs and edges of the Womb Chair are similarly weighted. This mixing of the past and present styles was thematic in mid-century design, and is realistic, too. Most of us purchase furnishings over time, we hold on to cherished inherited pieces, and rarely do we compose a room all at once with a God’s-eye view. This room is in keeping with the mid-century’s, as well as today’s, spirit. Good eye and well done!
BTW, Pam, happy birthday. You’re looking great—much younger than the fifty-four years you claim!
JKaye says
It appears that the lovely color appears on just the fireplace wall. The window wall looks like it has a dove gray color, perhaps. So, Hillary, if you could let us know how many walls are the Tiffany Blue, and what is the other wall color, that would be nice.
The fellow in the portrait reminds me of Henry Clay.
Hillary says
It is Henry Clay! Good eye!
The other walls are just an off-white. I always resisted off-white as too “blah,” but nothing else seemed a good choice with the accent wall, and I’m glad I went with it.
Brian T says
This is SPOOKY! My own living room has the same color, same window layout, same white mantel, same brick fireplace, same placement of ancestral portrait …
We bought the house (1954 Cape Cod) from the estate of the original owner, and this room was our first glimpse in the interior. We loved the color, which we think of as robin’s-egg, though maybe it’s greener than that. We needed to freshen the paint but wanted to keep as close to the color as possible. The Behr paint we used was “Balmy Seas.” (For the adjacent hall, we went one shade darker with “Eucalyptus Leaf,” similar to the leather color in Hillary’s chairs.)
I love how clean Hillary’s incarnation of “my” room looks! Mine had to accommodate more upholstery, since it’s the logical place for our pre-existing forest green velveteen sofa and recliner, plus an ivory chaise and a Persian rug. I was unsure that the green would work with the aqua, but it’s been fine. I’m planning to make some accent pillows in either a coral or a marigold yellow. But yes, the aqua/Tiffany/robin’s-egg is a wonderfully retro color that’s interesting but not flashy. People seem to love it.
Kate says
How cool BrianT! You must have done a double take when you first saw this post! That particular shade of aqua is great for vintage and mid century homes. 🙂
Hillary says
How interesting! I’d love to see your version of our room! 🙂
Brian T says
Hillary — I posted it yesterday on the Retro Renovation Facebook page. And I see that Kentucky is another point of overlap — I’m in Lexington.
Hillary says
Wow, that is like looking into an alternate universe! I really love your cornices – now I’m tempted to make my husband build some! Your living room looks very serene and relaxing too. I think that’s just a great color. Thanks for sharing the pic!