:: Mt Laurel Public Library Design by OCAI ::

I was thrilled to be a part of designing such a wonderful library. I'm commonly asked for the exterior paint colors that were used. The body is Benjamin Moore Gloucester Sage, the trim is Benjamin Moore Clarksville Gray, and the shutters are Benjamin Moore Narragansett Green. I love the unexpected pop of color the shutters provide. 

One of my favorite parts of the interior is the hand painted oak tree done by artist Rorie Scroggins with it's faux wood grain pendants from the Land of Nod and tree stump chair for little bodies to sit and read a book. 

I am absolutely in love with every light fixture in the building. They are the perfect mix of craftsman style and modern simplicity. 

This library is such a blessing to all living in our community and surrounding areas! Thanks for letting Olivia Charles Antiques and Interiors be a part of something so special. 

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:: My obsession with NAVY ::

Blogging with three boys (two of which are two and under) is proving to be almost impossible so I've decided to throw perfect out the window and just blog what I can, when I can. Which in translation basically means you'll get a lot of images and not much text. Sorry!  It's better than nothing, right?

Today I'm sharing some images from my own home which feature my current favorite accent color - NAVY!  

One of my favorite tricks is painting woodwork an unexpected color. In this case, our mantle. 

I echoed the navy color (Benjamin Moore's Hale Navy) on our custom baby gate. After two years of staring at our ugly metal gate at the bottom of the stairs I finally decided to have a custom "pretty" gate built to keep my boys from escaping to the second floor. It's one of the first things I see when I walk in my front door and it just makes me happy. 

The antique gold pull is from House of Antique hardware and I love that it elevates the style of the simple wooden gate. Not shown in the picture is the latch, which is behind the gate to keep little fingers from finding it. 

And the Hale navy doesn't stop at the gate!  It continues in the form of a painted stair runner down to my unfinished basement. I wanted to jazz up the unfinished floor so I painted the stairs to mimic the look of a runner and added brass house numbers from Lowes that ascend as you go up. 

 As the painted "runner" makes the corner it turns into a down arrow on our kid's basement slide, which was lovingly crafted by their daddy (also known as "Bob" as in Bob the builder). 

As you can see there are touches of navy throughout the main living spaces of our home from the living room through the dining room and into the kitchen. 

 If you are looking for the perfect navy I highly recommend Hale Navy from Benjamin Moore. It has just the right amount of black to keep it sophisticated. There's nothing worse than painting a room thinking it's going to be navy and it turns out looking like the perfect space for a little boy to live! (If you want a little boy navy, try Newburyport Blue, also by Benjamin Moore) 

Hope this blue post cured some of your Monday blues! 

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::Vance's Outdoor-Inspired Nursery::

The inspiration for this nursery came from Cavern Home's 'migration' wallpaper. I wanted to keep the wall and ceiling colors the same and the paper was in the perfect color scheme to do just that. It added a bit of outdoorsy sophistication that can grow with Vance and the brothers that may eventually use this room without requiring a new paint job, which cut down on costs. 

The walls and trim in the room are both Benjamin Moore's 'fieldstone', the trim was painted in a high gloss while the walls are eggshell.  This provides a subtle visual contrast without the choppiness that can be created with bright white trim in a small room and lets the dark brown ceiling and wallpaper accent wall take center stage. 

I framed Vintage felt shooting badges myself using inexpensive white gallery frames and pre cut mat board to save money. Glue dots were used to secure the badges in the middle of the mat board (frames are from Michaels). These are hung in a rectangular pattern that almost reaches the baseboard to frame out the crib and to break up the patten of the wallpaper. The badges themselves give a nod to the hunting/camp theme without going overboard.  The VW garage sign was a shower gift from a clever friend and references Vance's initials in a cute and decorative way. 

I love to use antique store finds whenever possible in my designs. They give a room character and a uniqueness that can't be found when using only brand new pieces. 

The nursery lighting is an example of this. It is an old, caged gym-light-turned-chandelier and I love that it has a history and is another subtle nod to the fact that a boy lives here. 

In fact, the boy that lives here is the precious one laying on his changing table in this picture. :) But I digress. 

The changing table itself is an old chest that has been used by all my babies. Originally completely finished with a dark stain, I decided to update it with a coat of glossy white paint on the body while leaving the drawers in their original finish. This two tone design updates the piece, allowing it to work in both traditional and transitional spaces. 

The shield mirror (another vintage find and nod to boyhood) is surrounded by framed pictures of Vance's grandparents and parents as babies. 

In the middle of the gallery wall is a monogrammed plaque made from another thrift store score...large laundry bag pins from WWII that I overlapped and glued to a red-painted plaque to form a "V". Don't the pins look just like diaper pins?  Just goes to show it often pays off to leave no stone unturned in an antiques store, including the glass display cabinets with their daunting amount of small objects and ugly jewelry! ;). You just may run into some inspiration like I did when I spied these pins!

The rocker used by Vance's big brother was updated with a gray camp plaid on the seat cushion and wooden buttons on the back in place of covered buttons. 

The bookshelf side table is actually an old concession stand rack from Bryant Denny Stadium and a vintage folding camp stool does double duty as an ottoman. 

Curtains were made from inexpensive black out lining fabric and trimmed in the same camp plaid. The valence was personalized with a 12" felt Varsity 'V' for Vance and is another reference to masculinity without taking the theme too far. 

A throw pillow stitched with a camper also brings in subtle personalization and was purchased from the etsy shop 'a little world.'  

Vintage Girl Scout canteens make a decorative statement on a wall in the room while also lending some color. 

The final sentimental touch for the room is a framed collection of arrow heads found by Vance's great grandfather. I used a camel toned fur fabric as the backing for the arrowheads and purchased the shadow box frame from Hobby Lobby. My favorite part is the piece of paper identifying where the arrowheads were discovered in Big Jack's handwriting. Family heirlooms make such a decorative statement, but more than that they are treasures that will be enjoyed by generations as reminders of the unique interests of the family members that came before them. Things like this are what, in my opinion, make a house a home!

Along with the people who live in it!  💙💙💙

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