A Single Piece of Wallpaper Inspired the Colorful Style of this Entire House
Here's how to do color with confidence.
Jenn Chiarelli was looking to go against the grain when she and husband Pete, daughter Amelia, and son Theo, decided to build a new home in Los Angeles. "Our last house had a vintage grain-sack vibe, with a lot of cream and beige and navy," she says. "This time, I wanted a house that felt bright and cheerful and more reflective of who we are as a family." Fortunately, Jenn knew the right person to help her make those Technicolor dreams come true: designer Alison Kandler, who is known for her cheerful checkered floors, colorful kitchen islands, and playful pops of pattern in unexpected places. With the help of architect Joan Swartz, the trio landed on a "polished farmhouse" approach. While the outside says "understated Cape Cod," the inside celebrates rustic staples—exposed beams, vintage furnishings, and ample collections—in a refined and radiant way. And then, that's where the color fun begins...
The Wallpaper That Started It All
When it came to choosing a palette, Jenn fell in love with a bold chinoiserie motif wallpaper swatch that proved to be the starting point for the entire house.
Get the look:
Wallpaper: "Chiang Mai Dragon" by Schumacher
A Serene Sitting Room
Alison challenged Jenn and Pete to head to a paint store—separately—to pull paint chips of colors that simply make them happy. It's a technique she employs with most of her clients. "Once we get together to review one another's selects, I find I'm part interior designer, part marriage counselor," she says. Case in point, Jenn came armed with 25 swatches featuring mostly corals, yellows, and pinks, while Pete came back with swatches in white and a few shades of blue. "He's sensitive to anything that seems too hokey," Alison says. "But since they both really loved sky blue, we knew we could weave that throughout the design." In the quieter, more formal sitting room, that sky blue shows up on wingback chairs that Alison paired with bright orange window cornices and ivory sheers on the windows.
Get the look:
Cornice fabric: Ceylon Batik by China Seas
Curated Bookcase
Blue-and-white wallpaper lines the bookcase, which is filled with more blue and green Bauer pottery, red vintage encyclopedias (passed down from Jenn's great grandparents), and a vintage portrait found at a local flea market.
Get the look:
Wallpaper: Indigo Wallpaper by Baker Lifestyle for a similar look
A Cheery Kitchen
Jenn initially wanted to paint the kitchen island a color that Pete deemed too "Holly Hobbie," so the couple settled on a yellow-green blend. But in the end almost every color in the spectrum showed up in the kitchen—save one lavender straggler. "The only color we didn't use was purple." The citron island is topped it with
honed statuary marble. The woven stools add a grounding element to the candy-colored space.
Get the look:
Island paint color: Tropical Moss by Dunn-Edwards Paints
Colorful French Range
White custom cabinets offer a visual break in the colorful kitchen while the striped Cornishware and jade and lemon Bauer pottery pieces pop against the white tile. Sky blue is the showstopper in the kitchen, though, thanks to the stunning Delft Blue French range.
Get the look:
Solid pottery: Bauer Pottery pieces
French range: Delft Blue range by Lacanche
Posh Pantry
For the pantry, Alison painted a screen door (“the more ornate, the better”) from a big-box hardware store the same kelly green as the vintage breakfast table.
Get the look:
Screened door: Hinged Screened Doors from Lowe's for similar
Paint color: Kelly Green by Benjamin Moore
An Inviting Breakfast Nook
Complementary light green, navy, and fuchsia throw pillows in outdoor fabrics make for an extra-peppy banquette. Jenn chose a neutral wallpaper to offset the boldly furnished breakfast nook. The Tolix-style chairs were powder coated—yes, sky blue—to match the blue range.
Get the look:
Wallpaper: Twig Stone wallpaper by Stroheim
A Happy and Hardworking Living Room
A pair of tailored navy sofas and two pink wing chairs, all covered in durable outdoor fabrics surround a distressed green coffee table (a flea-market dining table Jenn had cut down to coffee-table height). The pretty-meets-gritty assortment reinforces the "polished farmhouse" aesthetic. A mix of throw pillows—from bright yellow (with coral piping!) to navy to a multicolored block- print—piles on the pattern. The citron side table is a nod to the island in the adjacent kitchen, and indigo curtains frame a backyard of artificial green grass (yes, really). "You can always use your backyard when you have fake grass," says Alison.
Get the look:
Navy sofa fabric: Dark blue fabrics by Perennials Fabrics for a similar look
Curtains: Blue fabrics by Robert Allen for a similar look
Wall paint color: Whisper by Dunn-Edwards Paint
A Bright Place to Study
The pocket door leading into the home office is the same orange as the front door.
Get the look:
Paint color: Pomegranate by Dunn-Edwards Paints
A Personality Lined Stairwell
Vintage portraits line the stairwell to the upstairs suite. "I gravitate toward portraits from the '20s, '30s, '40s, and '50s," says Jenn. "Nuns, wrestlers, sorority girls—I don't discriminate! If they speak to me, I'll buy them.
Get the look:
Portraits: Vintage portraits on Etsy for a similar look
A Pretty Bedroom Suite
When it came to decorating the kids' area, which includes both Theo and Amelia's bedrooms, bathrooms, and a playroom, Alison chose to unify the spaces with a turquoise-and-lime painted floor that runs throughout. The peach walls of Amelia's bedroom complement a yellow bed, marigold window treatments, an orange-red side table, a coral chair, and pink-and-red-and-navy linens. The blue lantern features a sweet scalloped trim.
Get the look:
Bed: Quincy by Ethan Allen
Window treatment fabric: Stephan Gold fabric by Pindler for a similar look
Lantern: Little Girl Hanging Lantern by Stray Dog Designs
A Punchy Kids' Bathroom
The kids' bathroom is home to a custom pomegranate tub and a chirpy light blue, green, and orange wallpaper.
Get the look:
Wallpaper: Birds wallpaper by Galbraith & Paul
A Fun-For-All Playroom
In the playroom, French doors are sunnied up with a bright yellow paint, and book-filled shelves feature navy wallpaper and bright red sconces.
Bright idea: Use garage paint! Typically used for garage floors, Break-Through! paint by PPG dries in less than an hour, which makes applying two-toned patterns much easier.
Get the look:
Wallpaper: Navy wallpaper by China Seas
The Chiarellis
Jenn stands in her doorway with children, Amelia and Theo.
Get the look:
Paint color: Pomegranate by Dunn-Edwards Paints
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