Here at Merida we were privileged enough to work closely with the talented Elizabeth Martin of Elizabeth Martin Design as she brought her vision for the guestroom in the Elle Décor showhouse to life. From bare bolts to a stunning room featuring unique textures and colors, Martin had a challenging road ahead of her. Below is her personal reflection on the experience from beginning to end… Enjoy!
“The how of it regarding the Showcase house: I was published in ELLE DÉCOR (ED) in May 2009. The project was for a home I decorated in Washington DC for George Stephanopoulos and Ali Wentworth. The feature story also made the cover, which incidentally later I was told, was the best selling issue of 2009.
The Showcase in San Francisco this last November was ED’s first undertaking in the arena of showcase homes. I was privileged to be one of ten bay area designers that were chosen for the project. In short, it was a wonderful experience. Love the magazine and everyone that I worked with there… fantastic, creative, talented group of people.
Inspiration and considerations: Given floor plans and a photo…the 4500 sq. ft Mediterranean style home sits within the neighborhood of St. Francis Wood where streets are wider, homes are older and yes the properties are more wooded.
At 12’ .5” x 13’ the guest room (and bathroom) I was to decorate was one of four bedrooms…complete with French doors opening onto a terrace leading to the back garden with views of the bay in the distance.
When I first made it to the house I entered a construction zone with studs existing as walls. A terrific way to see a space I may add as one can quite literally see the possibilities for change. And so I jumped at the chance to make a modification by simply moving the entrance door six feet to the other side of the room, closer to the closet….seemingly small though impacting the room in a significant way allowing for a better right of entry, better possibility of placement of furniture and an improved access to the terrace.
Aside from the space planning- the room screamed for it to be light and bright, as the garden peaked through the French doors.
I also wanted to bring in a Spanish or Mediterranean inspired element to the room so that the space melded well with the architecture of the home- generally a jumping off place for me with the design that I am either incorporating such considerations or going completely against them.
And my last thought was that this guest room needed to be a place that both men and women would feel comfortable spending time in-so a good balance of masculine and feminine elements was necessary.
Building the room: I pretty much built the room around the bed for its material- wrought iron which hit the mark for the Spanish element (with a contemporary interpretation) and then literally its weight acting as the grounding piece for the room.
The platform that the mattress sits on and the headboard are purposefully upholstered in softer more feminine materials (mohair and linen accordingly) as counter points to the wrought iron.
The lightness of the room comes in the way of the rug, as I wanted to play with texture in bringing the outdoors in with a natural fiber. I choose Merida’s Paraba in River because of its quality and incredible color. Hands down Merida makes the most beautiful collection of sisals and jute rugs on the market and uses the highest quality of natural fibers. The “River” color is a whitish neutral tone, which also was important to the palette of the room, as many types of sisal have yellow or green undertones to them.
The other elements that bring interest to the room came in the way of the large painting and then two etchings over the bed by bay area abstract expressionist Walter Kuhlman…(intending to include a local artist to represent the talent of San Francisco.)
The slipper chair was chosen because of its feminine shape and proportion and then upholstered in a hair on hide cowhide to bring a bit of whimsy to the room.
The draperies were chosen to bring softness and a bit of pattern.
The concave bedside tables bring storage while creating the perception of more space in this area because of their shape and color appear against similar monochromatic linen wallpaper.
The C Jere lamps (vintage) bring a sculptural element while adding height.
The antique Syrian table adds a well-traveled feel to the room.
And so one can begin to see how when creating a room each element plays off another. Design and decoration is sort of like a puzzle… and how fun are puzzles?”
We are stunned by Martin’s room — let us know what you think of her design journey and the final outcome of her room!
