One Room Challenge · November 2, 2020

ONE ROOM CHALLENGE: THE VIRTUAL ROOM DESIGN BOARDS

Blue lacquered dining room with built-in bookshelves and traditional furniture on Thou Swell #diningroom #diningroomdesign #lacqueredwalls(via House Beautiful)

After a few weeks of teasing the design of my One Room Challenge virtual loft design, I am excited to share the final boards today with all of my product selections from designer brands at High Point Market! This year’s challenge pushed me to create in a vacuum, and although I have myself a few parameters in terms of the location and architecture of the space, I really left the possibilities open when it came to the decor. I started with neutral, traditional shapes and then layered in texture with accent pieces and lighting, then color and pattern with a selection of beautiful upholstery fabrics. I opted for a dramatic teal blue in the dining room and had fun with a couple of statements case goods you’ll notice in both rooms. There’s a great mix of styles in this design and the result feels very grownup and collected, with a designer touch through showroom sourcing and custom upholstery. See the boards and all of my sources below!
“ONE ROOM CHALLENGE: THE VIRTUAL ROOM DESIGN BOARDS”

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One Room Challenge · October 28, 2020

ONE ROOM CHALLENGE: MAKING SELECTIONS FROM HIGH POINT MARKET

Lauren Santo Domingo's Paris apartment with classic French interior design on Thou Swell(via Thou Swell – Lauren Santo Domingo’s Apartment Tour)

This first-ever virtual round of the One Room Challenge is supported by High Point Market, which I’ve covered here on the blog before. It’s one of the largest home design markets in the U.S. and happens each October. While I didn’t go this year, I did check out some of the new collections that debuted in the showrooms this fall. It’s always exciting to get a first look at what’s new and next for the design world, and High Point has some of my favorite showrooms. I sourced pieces for this virtual room design from a few favorites and some new ones I discovered. I pulled from a range of styles, silhouettes, and as you started to see last week, made some risky moves with my fabric selections. I’m hoping this higher risk will lead to a higher reward, but we won’t know until reveal day! For now, get a first look at some of the foundational furniture I selected for this room design from High Point showrooms below.
“ONE ROOM CHALLENGE: MAKING SELECTIONS FROM HIGH POINT MARKET”

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Kevin Francis O'Gara is founder of Thou Swell, an Atlanta lifestyle and interior design blog named for an old jazz tune, sharing home, garden, and entertaining projects and inspiration. Stop by to find an avant-garde mix of contemporary and traditional design curated by an emerging voice in Southern design.
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West Midtown Project · October 27, 2020

WEST MIDTOWN TOWNHOUSE: THE BOLD KITCHEN RENOVATION REVEAL

This post is sponsored by The Home Depot, but all text, images, and opinions are all my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that keep Thou Swell running!

Bold kitchen renovation makeover with wallpaper backsplash, black cabinets, green island, terrazzo countertops, and the Samsung Family Hub refrigerator #kitchen #kitchendesign #kitchenrenovation #kitchenmakeover

More-so than ever, technology is bringing a new frontier of functionality to our kitchens with smart, connected appliances! I’ve never had a “smart” fridge, so I was thrilled to learn about all of the features of the Samsung Family Hub refrigerators, which bring style and function to new heights in the kitchen. I’ve been obsessed with dark finishes on appliances for a while now, so I was excited to discover the Black Stainless Steel option on this french door refrigerator from The Home Depot for this West Midtown kitchen renovation. Refrigerators are not usually part of my design process, but this one added so much to the room by blending into the newly-painted black cabinetry. See the entirely new kitchen design and all the incredible features of this smart refrigerator below!


“WEST MIDTOWN TOWNHOUSE: THE BOLD KITCHEN RENOVATION REVEAL”

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One Room Challenge · October 21, 2020

ONE ROOM CHALLENGE: VIRTUAL DESIGN FLOORPLAN & FINISHES

Inside Tangiers book - red striped banquette design on Thou Swell(via Inside Tangiers)

Welcome to the third week of this virtual One Room Challenge round, where I’m designing the living and dining areas of an airy loft in Atlanta’s historic Fulton Cotton Mill Lofts building. This week I actually had to start making some hard decisions about the furniture in my space, and the design took a turn in a much bolder direction (if the image above didn’t already give that away)! While I’m not ready quite yet to show you the actual design board for the living and dining rooms, the fabrics and finishes (especially the dining room paint color) will give you a hint of what’s to come in the design board reveals! See how I’m laying out this virtual space below, and let me know what you think of the daring new direction for the dining area…
“ONE ROOM CHALLENGE: VIRTUAL DESIGN FLOORPLAN & FINISHES”

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Decorating · October 19, 2020

ARTFUL INSPIRATION FROM ANTHROPOLOGIE’S FALL HOME COLLECTION

Fall home decor ideas from Anthropologie's artful autumn collection on Thou Swell #anthropologie #falldecor #homdecor #decorideas #falldecorideas #homedecorideas #interiordesign

With cozy fall days around the corner, it was a visual treat to explore Anthropologie’s seasonal lookbook with their signature dose of whimsy and artful elegance (and beautifully styled as usual). Inspired by the Anthro’s sculptural case goods, sherpa upholstery, and rich leafy wallpapers, I pulled together some of my favorite vignettes and products from their fall collection. Included in the mix are pieces from their exclusive collaboration with designer Christiane Lemieux, who’s “artisanal modern” collection is material-forward and full of nods to historic furniture silhouettes. Dive into all of the autumnal design goodness below!
“ARTFUL INSPIRATION FROM ANTHROPOLOGIE’S FALL HOME COLLECTION”

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