This holiday season Merida got into the giving spirit by partnering with Heading Home to provide a local family with a new house.  If you are not familiar with Heading Home, they are a non-profit organization committed to ending homelessness in the Greater Boston area by providing permanent housing for families and support services to help them become self-sufficient.

For this move, a group of a dozen sixth graders from Temple Israel in Boston and a handful of adult volunteers helped a single mom and her three children transition from a homeless shelter into a permanent home – just in time for the holidays.  The family had no furniture of their own, so the Heading Home team took the time to learn about their personal style preferences, interests, and favorite colors to take into consideration when picking out furnishings.

Helping hands laying down Viewpoint rug

After acquiring furniture and household items, participants got to work scrubbing and cleaning the house from head to toe.  Once the apartment was in tip-top condition, the students and adult volunteers decorated the house and stocked the kitchen with food.

Scrubing down the bathroom floor

Bathroom will shine after this guys are done with it!

Kitchen is sparkling clean!

We are particularly pleased with the living room – the playful stripes and bright colors seen in the Viewpoint wool rug create a sense of warmth and comfort.  The family was excited to see their personal taste reflected in their individual bedrooms and throughout the house and is thrilled to have a new home that embraces their style.

At the end of the grueling project, Heading Home helped transform an empty apartment into a warm and inviting home with charm and personality.  We commend them for their efforts and for dramatically changing one family’s life!

The gang in the living room on Viewpoint rug

Little volunteers - big hearts!

WELCOME HOME!!!

If you are inspired by Heading Home and would like to make a donation, please click here.

The Elle Décor showhouse came to a close last month, and for those of you that weren’t able to make the trip we are happy to reveal photos of the exquisitely designed rooms and provide a rundown of the event.

From Merida, esteemed CEO Catherine Connolly, superstar sales gurus Roxanne Hanna and Sandi Hammond, and creative genius Maegan Fee headed to San Fran to take in the interiors in person and host a private dinner for the designers. Everyone was blown away by the house and what a fantastic job all of the designers did – check out the photos below and let us know what you think.

Gary Spain – Living Room
Featuring Cortina area rug in Black Diamond

Spain achieved a classic, sophisticated appeal by pairing simple pieces with heavy bold statement pieces. To complete the look, Spain selected a dark textured rug to ground the room and tie the different elements of the space together. The eye-catching black rug compliments the large furniture pieces and contrasts the light walls and large windows and defines the room.

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Erin Martin – Family Room
Featuring Cortina area rug in Glades

Martin’s family room has a very subdued, relaxed atmosphere. To create visual interest in the neutral room, Martin mixed a variety of unique textures. From the soft, smooth suede couch to the wrought iron chair and the hammered coffee table, the room shows how contrasting textural elements can play off each other for a cohesive and distinctive look. To continue the textural interest on the floor, Martin selected a wool and sisal blend rug. The soft wool and coarse sisal fiber are woven together to emphasize the sturdy uniform weave. The pigskin binding plays off of the smooth couch to tie the look together.

View Cortina product info >
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Palmer Weiss – Kitchen
Featuring Kyoto area rug in Tupelo

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To add visual interest to the floors in the kitchen, Palmer Weiss selected our textured Kyoto pattern. The linear pattern is bold and the light Tupelo color helps brighten the dark floors and open up the room. Weiss used two area rugs on either side of the kitchen island. Area rugs and rug runners are a great way to instantly add interest and define a space.

Will Wick – Library
Featuring Purl Sweater rug in Cream

Wick’s room showcases a traditional, masculine look that is very well suited for a library. To soften the room and brighten up the heavy pieces Wick selected a Purl Sweater rug. Made in the USA of 100% un-dyed wool, this rug is sophisticated enough to work in a library and the soft, subtle texture helps break up the room and off-set the linear components.

Kendall Wilkinson – Foyer and Office
Featuring Veledo Angus leather tiles in Bone & Cortina area rug in Glades

To enhance the sophisticated, educational feel of the office, Wilkinson selected our hard surface Veledo recycled leather flooring. The Angus Bone color seen here helps offset the dark wood furniture and the unique subtle print compliments the texture on the walls. The neutral colors and tonal pattern in the flooring allow the stunning washed out metal frame turquoise chairs to remain the focal point of the room.

To make a dramatic first impression Wilkinson took a bold risk by implementing a tricky stair installation in the foyer. The result is flawless – the textured Cortina rug adds dramatic texture to the stairs that helps draw the eye up toward the striking artwork.

Grant K. Gibson – Kids’ Room
Featuring Bali jute rug in Volcano

Gibson stepped out of his comfort zone and took a risk with the kids’ room and created a fun, whimsical teenage girl’s room. We love the playful hand-painted pink wallpaper and the wild zebra headboard/bedskirt combo. The soft jute rug brings an element of grown-up sophistication appropriate for a young woman growing into her own. It adds interest to the floors without distracting from the bolder elements in the room.

Elizabeth Martin – Guest Room
Featuring Paraiba area rug in River

Martin creates a soothing guestroom by keeping things neat and simple. The neutral tones are elegant and the fun pops of color – the plant and the pillows – give the room life and personality. The grey Paraiba rug fits in seamlessly with the neutral color palette and makes the room feel larger with its small, uniform pattern.

Jay Jeffers – Master Bedroom
Featuring Mandacaru area rug in City

Jeffers creates a luxurious master bedroom with modern appeal by sticking to a neutral color palette and adding a few striking pieces that can stand on their own. Jeffers selected stunning contemporary pieces to add interest and excitement to the room. From the unique shape of the sitting chairs and the platform bed to the bold bedside lamps, Jeffers has selected unique finishings that play off of each other. The linear pattern of the Mandacaru rug compliments the other geometric shapes in the room and adds another textural element.

Want to get up and personal with the Elle Decor Showhouse?
Check out their 360 degree virtual tour here!

We’d love to hear your thoughts — leave us a comment below and let us know which room is your favorite!

Photography by David Livingston

The Elle Décor showhouse has come to a close and, while all of the rooms turned out beautifully, we were particularly inspired by the surprising and creative kids room designed by the talented Grant K. Gibson. We want to share the concept and design with those of you who weren’t able to make it to the showhouse to see it in person. We hope that this fun project helps inspire your inner creativity and shows you how thinking outside the box can lead to astonishing, outstanding design.

When Elle Décor approached Grant to participate in their annual showhouse they gave him free reign to decorate a kids room. Grant’s initial concepts included a tailored boy’s room and a young girl’s room, however, he decided to seize the opportunity to step out of his comfort zone and take a design risk by decorating a teenage girl’s fantasy room. As such, he spent a lot of time exploring the psyche of teenage girls and tapping into their hopes, dreams, emotions and passions. After hours upon hours of pouring over teen magazines and watching teen drama shows, Grant was able to successfully pull off a fun, creative and believable bedroom sanctuary for a budding young woman.

From the wild zebra headboard/bed skirt and hand-painted pink wallpaper, to the mounted photo of teen sensation Robert Patterson, Grant did not overlook a single detail. To finish off the look and add playful texture without detracting from the bold statement pieces, Grant selected a wall-to-wall Jute Bali rug in Volcano.

A lot of designers overlook the possibility of using jute for wall-to-wall installations, so we applaud Grant for thinking outside the box and displaying how gorgeous the outcome can be. Softer than other natural fibers, jute is a great way to brighten and add understated elegant textural interest to a bedroom. The unique grey tone seen in the Volcano color here works beautifully with the bright pink walls and accent pieces.

Congratulations, Grant, on taking a design risk and pulling it off with perfection!!

Tell us what you think! Would you have wanted this room as a teenager?

View more of Grant K. Gibson’s work here
View all of Merida’s jute offerings here
Start a price quote to use jute for your next project here