Room of the Day: High Eclectic Style in a Luxe Sitting Room

“This sitting room is right off the master bedroom, so we wanted to make it romantic,” says interior designer William Peace. The room is layered in antiques and contemporary art, making it feel as though everything has been collected over years, and that each item has an interesting story behind it — perhaps an item was plucked from a Paris flea market, salvaged from a Venetian palazzo, negotiated at a Turkish bazaar or bid upon at a New York art auction. As a whole the room tells a story of travel and a love of art and design history. Here’s a closer look at how Peace pulled together a luxurious and quiet space that he and the homeowner refer to as “the haven.”

Room at a Glance
What happens here: Lounging in pajamas, reading, drinking a morning juice or an evening nightcap, enjoying a fire on a chilly night
Location: Atlanta
Size: 12 feet by 14 feet, with 12-foot ceilings (168 square feet; or 15½ square meters)
Designer’s tip: Use very little pattern to let unique textures and artwork stand out.

Peace continued the European exterior architectural style of the house indoors. He began the layering underfoot, with a luxe Oushak rug from Turkey. The high ceiling left room for a 19th-century French crystal and bronze chandelier. In between he gave the walls a Venetian plaster treatment. A low antique French settee upholstered in mohair keeps the view to the garden open. Custom silk mohair drapes dress the windows.

With 12-foot ceilings, “I knew we needed a chandelier with a sense of presence, some opulence and a big scale; it adds a wonderful glow to the room,” Peace says.

Oushak rug: Keivan Woven Arts; barrel chair: Robuck; chandelier: antique, Parc Monceau


“This is a small room you enter from the hallway and walk through to get to the bedroom, with a view of the garden,” Peace says. “We wanted it to be a quiet place that was comfortable and luxurious.” It is a TV-free zone, layered in luxe fabrics. “There is a lot of action in here, but it’s also subtle and quiet,” he says.

However, the room is anything but some frozen-in-time mini Versailles. “We wanted the room to have a sense of tradition and feel current at the same time,” the designer says. The armchair is a modern take on a traditional wingback chair, with exaggerated proportions that stand up to the high ceiling. Its soft blue velvet upholstery and updated silhouette tie it to the abstract artwork, while its traditional roots tie it to the antiques in the room. The art deco fire tools and screen represent a style era somewhere between that of the chandelier and the contemporary pieces.

Fire screen, fire tools: Parc Monceau; horns, onyx hurricanes (on mantel): B.D. Jeffries



A mahogany sculpture by Pascal Pierme perches atop a Macassar ebony and stainless steel coffee table, bringing modern design to the center the room.

The antiqued mirrored cabinets have French-inspired detailing. They hide a refrigerator, a sink and storage for glassware, making it easy to enjoy morning juice or a nightcap without leaving the master suite.

A modern painting by Sharon Weiner hangs above a traditional marble fireplace surround. Its high-gloss finish contrasts with the Venetian plaster walls. Sconces on either side add more soft, romantic light to the room.

Silver kindling bucket: Parc Monceau; Milano Wing Chair, Infinity sconces, occasional table with petrified palm top: R Hughes


A side chair and one throw pillow bring in the only patterns seen in the room; the chair fabric is hand-blocked printed velvet. The little industrial side table is modeled after an antique cigarette table, just large enough for a cocktail and an ashtray.

For the Venetian plaster finish, Peace used Agreeable Grey by Sherwin-Williams as the base color and diluted it with white paint.

Painting: Sharon Weiner, Alan Avery Art Company; chair fabric: Veneto, Coleman-Taylor


At a little more than 7 feet square, a large mixed-media piece by Caio Fonseca adds strong graphics and has dramatic contrast. Along with the carved wood legs of the hide-hair stool, it helps keep the room from feeling too serious.

Peace’s advice for creating quiet luxe: “Keep it simple and go for texture.”

Mahogany sculpture: Pascal Pierme; artwork: Caio Fonseca: Alan Avery Art Company, Hair on Hide Bench: B.D. Jeffries

URL: Room of the Day: High Eclectic Style in a Luxe Sitting Room http://www.decor-ideas.org/cases-view-id-25024.html