Darryl Carter

I know you've probably already seen all these pictures but I just had to express my love for Darryl Carter so here are some pictures of his work & his country home in Virginia.

BUT -- I'm torn. I LOVE his interiors and I also LOVE color. There's such a struggle going on inside me! Sometimes I want this all-white look (my friends make fun of me for how much I love white & neautrals!) and other times I want a really bold, gorgeous, colorful room.

I usually settle for neutral bases & then switch out my accents & certain furnishings seasonally or whenever I feel like it (I'm so bad I can't even decide between warm and cool!) to try to get the best of both worlds.

The above bedroom is just perfect to me. It's a base that I'd have to work from. Sometimes I'd want it all white like this & other times (like Christmas!) I'd love to inject a little color & fun.

I don't think I could ever be as much of a purist as Darryl Carter, but I seriously can't get over his interiors. Below, there's a bit more color & texure that I could live with year-round:

This picture (below) is from the Washington Post a few years ago. My grandmother cut if out for me & she's the one who introduced me to Darryl, saying she thought his style was similar to mine & that maybe I should call him. :) yeah.

His mixes are always perfect contrasts (modern-traditional, rustic-clean, rough-smooth, etc.)

The wisteria climbing the breezway is a dream of mine: (I could handle grape vines too.)


I LOVE his stacked log nooks. They're in so many of his rooms in 'The New Traditional,' his book. (I've now got two floor-to-ceiling log nooks planned to go on either side of my fireplace in my future house... that has yet to be purchased... or found... or saved up for... ;)

The painted white floors are amazing & would work for us because our dog is white & we have what we call "white dirt." (You know white dog hair, light dust bunnies, ets.) I think the best thing is to figure out the color of your dirt & decorate around it. (I love white upholstery too, so now we always have to get white dogs in the future so you can't see dog hair on the furniture... the sad part is I'm SO not kidding.)

Below, this is such a great dining area to me. (Table, anyone?? ;) ;) You could switch up your tableware & flowers Eddie Ross-style anytime you wanted with this neutral backdrop.

I love the modern-rusitc feeling of his countryside living room. I also hope to have a living room large enough to have two distinct areas like this one. Then the whole family can be in the room & be doing their own thing if needed. Picture hanging out, talking, watching movies on one side & someone reading or working on the other... love it

More of his sculptural simplicity:

And a very cool tub:

This dining room blows me away: the lines on the chandelier, the furnishings, the horse= so well thought-out

The white stairs are amazing. talk about rustic-modern look:

And, finally, check out this living room. He so effortlessly pairs a modern sofa with a traditional wingback & Queen Ann's chair & rustic-modern table. All in a sea of perfect white :) It's another perfect base room.

pics from Elle Decor & washington post

How do you feel about color vs neautrals & the "struggle"???

xoxo