12 Nov Design Inspiration at its Best – Timothy Corrigan’s Book “The New Elegance”

I’m sure you’ve noticed, in 2019, I’ve been a Guest Participant in two exciting One Room Challenges (ORC’s) – spring with the Bold Blue + White Bedroom and fall with the drab to fab Breakfast Nook. I’ve been lucky to have my design inspiration for both ORC’s come from two very unique interior designers and their recent design books. Before I give you a brief overview of one of the best design books out there, The New Elegance: Stylish, Comfortable Rooms for Today, by designer extraordinaire, Timothy Corrigan, let me first share a little background of how one of his spectacular dining rooms became my inspiration.

(Note: This is not a formal book review, but more about my experience using the design book as it relates to the Breakfast Nook Makeover I did for the fall One Room Challenge. For formal reviews of the book, please visit the Rizzoli Books website.)

You can’t learn and grow in your comfort zone

In the spring, it was the Madcap Cottage’s book Prints Charming: Create Absolutely Beautiful Interiors with Prints & Patterns that gave me the confidence to step out of my comfort zone. I had met the dynamic design duo, John Loecke and Jason Oliver Nixon, at January Dallas Market.  In April, I then applied to be a Guest Participant for the spring 2019 ORC to makeover our humble bedroom. Boy, did that sure open a new and fast-paced chapter in my design life!

I wanted to test myself on mixing patterns on a larger scale (beyond pillows), so I used the Madcap gents book for both inspiration and a how-to manual. I was delighted to discover that I could successfully mix patterns and design an entire room. (You can read about it HERE.) But I swore I would never do a One Room Challenge again, as the 6-week deadline was extremely intense.

Then along came Timothy Corrigan’ s gorgeous new book, The New Elegance: Stylish, Comfortable Rooms for Today. I had no idea, at the time I ordered his book in September, that I’d be doing the fall One Room Challenge starting October 3rd, let alone that his book would be the catalyst for my design inspiration.

 

But the fall One Room Challenge (ORC) was too strong of a draw to not apply again to be a Guest Participant and the book too amazing to not have such an important influence on me.

I mean, you DO finish a room. And look at how drab and unfinished our lonely breakfast nook was. I mean really….who would want to eat in this nook?? Remember, we had these paper shades for an entire year. It was time for a dramatic change and Timothy’s exquisite design book helped make that possible in a big way.

Sometimes delays happen for a reason.

 

Is your creativity there all the time?

Like most of us, probably not.

My creativity seemed to be lying in wait for a whole year for inspiration to come this fall.  And for good reason. What better time to do a Breakfast Nook Makeover than the fall, when we’d soon be celebrating the holidays with family and friends? (Naively, I thought it would be easier than the bedroom. Yes, it was smaller, but that doesn’t mean there were fewer design decisions to make.)

When Inspiration Strikes

I knew the breakfast nook would be a real challenge since the nook was smack dab in the middle of our living room and kitchen. I wasn’t sure how to approach it because of this, and neither of the other rooms was completed.  I also struggled with which color palette to use.  What if I selected something for the breakfast nook that didn’t work with the living room later on when we re-decorated that room?  I was filled with self-doubt.

So I stayed up late one night and pulled out all my favorite vintage textiles to see what colors might inspire me. Well, not very helpful, as I ended up having 4 different colorways from which to choose.

So on another late night, I thought to myself, maybe Timothy’s new book will help me. So I turned to The New Elegance to see if I could get inspired and gain design direction for the breakfast nook.

It was this spectacular, intense blue-green ornate dining room (below) by Timothy Corrigan that lit my creativity on fire!

There it was staring right at me on pages 76 + 77 in his book.  I knew that that was what I wanted to create.  Obviously, on a completely different scale and it would be a breakfast nook, not a dining room, and I’m not Timothy Corrigan. But, this gorgeous room he designed sealed the deal. It not only helped me finalize my color decision, but also gave me the confidence to execute my vision.

You see, I have these beautiful, gold-encrusted place settings and stemware (below) from my great grandparents Robert and Fannie Main and I really wanted to incorporate them into my design.

Here’s what I knew:

• I had 2 gold-rimmed, family-heirloom china plates and stemware
• I had incredible inspiration from Timothy’s gorgeous ornate dining room in the blue-green and gold colors,
• I already had vintage textiles in this colorway that I loved,
• I’d be able to order fabric in these colors from our textile sponsor, Kravet,

 

Everything kept telling me that this was the right decision and Timothy’s book really gave me the confidence to go for it. So I did!

For the love of jewels

I’ve always been drawn to jewel tones, vintage textiles and jewelry, and classical design and architecture. In The Pillow Goddess design studio I’ve been creating one-of-a-kind luxury pillows filled with color and texture for 15 years. Put me in a French Chateau or Italian Villa and I’d be perfectly at home. I’m not sure why, but I love the jeweled, gilded look. It speaks to me in ways a neutral setting does not.

You can see my love for it in my ornate pillows decorated with vintage jewels (above),.

But oddly, my home has mostly been a very neutral color palette. That is until I opened Timothy Corrigan’s new book.

Classical design

I have long admired Timothy’s design work and have followed his French chateau restoration project on Instagram.  He is highly regarded as one of the nicest people and one of the best interior designers in the world. He has numerous fabric and home furnishing lines for many different luxury brands that are coveted by other designers. (You can read more about him online.) I can’t wait to meet him in person some day!

What I love about his new book is that it is steeped in classical design, but his approach with it, and his design philosophy, is to make everyone feel comfortable with elegance.  That’s my kind of guy!

As he makes clear throughout the gorgeous book, elegance does not have to be stuffy and unattainable for the average homeowner.

The Simplicity of The New Elegance

Here were some of my thoughts. I certainly had to make our Breakfast Nook comfortable, but I admit I was a little worried I was making it too fancy. But who says a breakfast nook has to be casual? I was beginning to doubt my vision when everywhere I looked at breakfast nooks on Pinterest and Instagram I only saw casual ones.  Was I wrong to want to create a more elegant one?

That’s what I love about Timothy Corrigan’s book, The New Elegance: Stylish, Comfortable Rooms for Today.  He simply states in the opening sentence of his introduction that “Elegance is misunderstood.”  In reading the book and learning about his vision of elegance as comfort, I began to understand that my vision wasn’t wrong.  It might be different for a breakfast nook, but with Timothy’s premise, I never doubted my vision after reading his book.

When elegance means comfort

 

Timothy Corrigan states what he believes very clearly:

Elegance, like beauty, should be part of your life every single day.

Well, didn’t I love to create beauty and elegance every day with my pillows?  Well, why can’t I have that same comfortable elegance in my own home?

And you can too!

What really drew me into his new book, and what I think you’ll love, was all the rich color and texture throughout the book and how easy and approachable it is.

5 Reasons to Love The New Elegance book

 

1. It’s chock-full of gorgeous rooms for inspiration
2. The layout of the book is user-friendly so you don’t have to read an entire chapter to glean the kernels of design.
3. The 11 chapters are divided into rooms he has designed with examples of how he approached the design of the room.
4. He lays it all out there for you in “Interludes” that come at the end of each chapter.  These “Interludes” give the reader 4 – 5 clear examples of how he achieved a certain look, why it works and why another way wouldn’t work. For a novice like me, this was very helpful.
5. The design tips in the Interludes are priceless!  For example, the dining room that inspired me is in the chapter Packing a Punch, right between two important Interludes filled with excellent design tips – The Power of Color and Drama and Surprise

 

I learned so much from this book and I know it will be a handy tool for inspiration and tips for years to come.  It’s a very practical book in that way, and not merely a pretty picture coffee table book.  It is filled with substance and an entire education on design.  I cannot do it any justice trying to explain it here.  You have to get the book for yourself and you’ll know what I mean.  Today’s the last day on my Instagram to snag a signed copy, so be sure to follow me @thepillowgoddess and enter the Book Giveaway Contest for a chance to win this fantastic book!

Here are a few images from the book (from the internet). You can see clearly his dramatic use of color and texture throughout his designs. (My apologies for not knowing the specific photographer; all I believe are credited in the book.)

 

 

 

 

I didn’t plan this, but I think my Breakfast Nook turned out to be a good example of what Timothy communicates through his new book, The New Elegance: Stylish, Comfortable Rooms for Today – that elegance can be achieved at many different levels and your home can be elegant and comfortable at the same time.

Below are a few of the pillows we made for the Breakfast Nook – both textiles from our studio and sponsor Kravet – in the blue-green-gold colorway inspired by Timothy’s ornate dining room (the dining room image in his book is in the middle of the pillows.)

 

What I learned through this excellent design book is that in the end, I feel like Timothy not only inspired me with the color palette but gave me permission to go all out with a crystal chandelier. That it was okay to have an elegant breakfast nook. That I didn’t have to compromise in comfort, design, or style to have a beautiful, elegant, cozy nook.

And I am really happy with the result!  I think our family is going to be able to enjoy it for years to come and build new traditions in this brand new elegant, cozy Breakfast Nook.

I’m grateful to the One Room Challenge and Better Homes & Gardens for creating this opportunity for me to spread my wings in design. Please see over 250+ incredible room makeovers for inspiration on their website. And to Timothy Corrigan and his new book, The New Elegance, for giving me the confidence to go bold and “Pack a Punch” with color, texture, drama, and surprise.

To purchase a copy of this terrific book, please click any of the book images above which connects you to Rizzoli Books. You can also purchase it in most book stores and online at Amazon. I highly recommend you add this beautiful book to your design book collection!

Till next time, where I talk about Pottery + Pillows and the exciting event coming up at Modern Redux, stay warm with this cold front that blew in today! XO PG

Note: This is not a sponsored post. After photos of my Breakfast Nook are by Gregg Cestaro.  Photos of the book cover and rooms in The New Elegance are from the internet, except for the photo I took directly of the blue-green dining room. All opinions are my own.