A Charming Palm Beach Home by Ellen Kavanaugh

The cover of House Beautiful's October issue really spoke to me.  Rich lilac and amethyst hues, a cheeky chinoiserie wallcovering, a hint of a channeled bench upholstered in a playful pattern, a shirred lampshade trimmed in pink: I had to find out the story behind  this stunning room that contained so many things to love!

Designer Ellen Kavanaugh is based in Palm Beach, Florida, and was taxed with renovating and styling a classic Mediterranean home in to a more fresh, livable space.  The construction and renovation process had to be completed in a very short time span, as is typically the case.  Ellen was careful to maintain much of the beautiful interior and exterior architecture, like the columns throughout the rooms, while making the home feel fresh with the furnishings and decor.

In my opinion, the most delightful part of decorating is getting to design custom, dreamy lampshades.  I love that Ellen paired a light blush glass lamp with a lilac shirred fabric shade in the living room (similar options to buy here).  And the channeled bench reupholstered in an ikat is very bohemian chic:

I always appreciate a good mix of high and low- like these wicker Serena & Lily chairs with a trestle dining table (and how great is that wallpaper?):

Moroccan-inspired tiles line the kitchen walls, with a Greek Key border following the perimeter of the window:

Ellen's take of the design direction for this house is summarized in the story:

“The client, who’s a former art teacher, wanted the quirkiness and retro-nostalgic pastels of a Wes Anderson movie…what’s cool about his cinematography is how it nods to childhood the way it’s remembered, not the way it was lived, so the visual style is singular and very fun,” Kavanaugh shared with House Beautiful. “It’s the same with these rooms. They are elegant and playful and don’t take themselves too seriously.”