River House Diary

Once I decided on darker throw pillows for the sofa , the decision about the lumbar pillow was an easy one. The Gabrielle Chambray fabric from Ballard Designs would be perfect. Gabrielle Chambray fabric; courtesy of Ballard Designs It picked up the darker blue fabric as well as the beige-y gold sofa fabric. Of course, I ran into another issue, because nothing about the great room has been easy. Ballard Designs no longer carried the fabric. This time eBay came to the rescue and I was able to order enough for a lumbar pillow.

 Once I had decided on the dark Romilly Embroidered throw pillows for the great room sofa, I needed to order a second pillow. I had originally planned for it to "live" on a wingback chair so had ordered only one. Romilly 22" Square Embroidered Pillow; courtesy of Pottery Barn However, the pillow was no longer available from Pottery Barn. Google saved me. A website I had never heard of -- BLINQ  -- had three left in stock. The second Romilly pillow waiting for its insert; personal collection

 The decorative pillows for the sofa have been quite a puzzle. When the sofa was first delivered it looked like this: Sofa with the too dark lumbar pillow; personal collection The lumbar pillow was too dark and the Baker Furniture occasional tables overwhelmed the sofa. On to attempt number two: Three throw pillow option; personal collection Okay, kind of boring as there isn't much contrast between the pillows. The small occasional table on the left is too yellow. Five pillow option; personal collection Still not enough contrast and it looks a bit crowded with the extra long lumbar pillow (originally made for the bench), but the David Francis Mahogany Swirl end tables look great! Final option; personal collection Darker large pillows and and paisley fabric for a small lumbar pillow that picks up the color of the sofa and the darker blue.

I backed away from the edge of fabric selections that did not complement the coastal theme of our house. Instead, we hung the water color painting of the creek behind our old house in the back hallway. That got me back on track for some lovely blue and white fabrics for our primary guest bedroom -- the one with the river view and access to the screen porch. Eastern Accents Penelope bedding collection from Eastern Accents; courtesy of  Eastern Accents The draperies will be in the embroidered fern leaf fabric. They will be fully operable, blackout lined and stacked on the right hand side so there is easy access to the sliding glass doors. The bed will be the Carmine upholstered bed in Blick Denim -- the velvet fabric on the Euro shams in the photo above.  Penelope bedding swatches; personal collection Hopefully, everything gets delivered in time for Thanksgiving. Also, in the room are the David Francis Charleston Mahogany Swirl chest (which has been discontinued), the Uttermost Rowena m