It’s difficult to believe that Dana Gibson starts an embellishing project by painting everything white. “If I started by putting colors on the wall, I wouldn’t understand how the light would work or what I was going to require,” she states.
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Choose Bold Design
While she collected intel, Gibson and her contractor partner, Mark, tackled renovations. They peeled back dark paneling, ripped out kitchen cabinetry and carpet, and rebuilt the front actions. Came the beauty: highlighting the adequate windows– and sidetracking from the low ceilings– with crown molding and a wainscot.
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Become A Color Expert
With the structure arranged, she included back the color, remaining on the brilliant side of the spectrum to capitalize on light. Cheerful wallpaper of her own design set loose schemes, however Gibson didn’t stress about precisely collaborating colors as she layered devices on top of neutral furnishings. “The colors do not have to match,” she states. “That is what makes it feel vibrant.”
Some may call the appearance “Richmond preppy,” however Gibson believes of it as just Southern. “There’s an openness to Southern culture that’s influenced me,” she states.
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Before: Exterior
Crumbling and dilapidated outside that lacked curb appeal.
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After: Exterior
When the home’s brick steps started to crumble, Gibson decided to improve the character with fieldstone ones. “The stone added charm to the home that the brick just didn’t provide,” she says. It’s the first image someone gets of your home, so it’s essential,” she states.
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Before: Entry
Dark and dated corridors made a far-from-welcoming entrance.
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After: Entry
” A lot of designing is simply solving issues,” Gibson says. Eight-foot ceilings drove a number of her style choices. “I’m always trying to make them appear higher,” she states. Her roof-raising trickery begins here, where new crown molding and a chandelier draw the eye up. An antique Virginia huntboard that stands at rib height also helps, though Gibson likes it more for the method the simple pine piece contrasts with the ornate treasure mirror than for its stature. The wallpaper is Dana Gibson for Stroheim’s Peregrine in Multi Bright.
These marble-tile look-alikes are in fact long lasting linoleum. Gibson installed them as a tribute to her granny’s house.
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Before: Living Room
Absolutely nothing is more dull to this artist’s eye than a plain area of wall.
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After: Living Room
” I’m not a fan of drywall and will do anything to make it more fascinating,” she states. The wainscot pulls a one-two punch in the living-room, confining the area with panels that stimulate the European manors that Gibson remembers checking out in her youth and giving the low ceiling the designer’s desired visual uplift. Limited wallspace above the wainscot provided Gibson the leeway to paint it a zippy yellow (Bridget Beari Colors’ Bing Bong).
“You need to have a ditsy pattern,” Gibson states, using the trade term she discovered while designing collections of fabric and wallpaper for Stroheim. In her living room, a cadre of blue toss pillows in Guppy acts as a foil for the oversize Suki style on the drape panels (both are Gibson’s studio collection materials).
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Before: Dining Room
Dull and blah room with little minutes of wow. Gibson saw the potential.
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After: Dining Room
Gibson got as far as hanging her own wallpaper style in the dining room before stalling on the decoration. Came an aha moment: “We took the living space rug and put it in the dining room; that provided me hints for what to do next,” she remembers. Gibson’s gray-and-red flower, Poppy, perked up the recreation dining chairs and directly nodded to the theme in the vintage carpet. Pillows in a fuchsia stripe on the chairs continue the style. “One thing leads to another; I never have a set plan,” she says. The chunky antique table demands a basic however sizable focal point. Gibson pulled in 5 potted plants in mossy terra-cotta pots to fill the expense.
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After: Primary Bedroom
” I like mixing international pieces with conventional ones,” Gibson says. If a space feels a bit too stuffy or anticipated, she heads to a vintage store. The lampshades, chaise upholstery, and curtains are Gibson’s own materials.
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After: Primary Bath
” I like how bathrooms in Europe are rooms, not just closets,” Gibson states. After expanding the one off her bed room, she included plantation shutters, marble tile, and a Ro Sham Beaux beaded chandelier to make this room a destination, not just a practical area. A shiplap treatment on the wall unwinds the more precious touches, like the gilded mirror and floor-mounted bath fixture.
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After: Vanity
Even the tiniest warrens in Gibson’s home get her signature dash of raspberry pink, and most often, it comes from wallpaper. “It’s so transformative,” she states. “People don’t utilize it enough.” She slipped Fatima, a hot pink paper she printed herself, into her vanity to make the little bay appearance present covered. If it gets untidy, she can shut the doors.
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After: Backyard
On her back terrace, Gibson focused on boosting the lavish foliage with a less-is-more style. “I like how the stripe mixes into the natural world but still gives it a bit of an edge,” she states.