Even the powder room is wallpapered with natural history books.
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For an adventurous and creative young Minneapolis family, a former set decorator transforms an art-filled 1920s colonial with theatrical flair, daring gestures and exotic animal prints. It's showtime!
Interview by Melissa Feldman | Produced by Melissa Colgan
Dallas designer Janet Gridley traveled to the Twin Cities to decorate this Minneapolis colonial.
The entrance vestibule is papered in Equateur from Hermès. An antique carved European mirror hangs over an inlaid demilune console. The vase is Nate Berkus for Target.
Gridley freshened up the dining room by painting the cabinet interior in Marlboro Blue and the elaborate spoon-carved millwork in Muslin, both by Benjamin Moore. The Milo Baughman cantilevered chairs, re-covered in a Great Plains faux leather, were sourced from Etsy and Metro Retro Furniture in Houston.
A Milo Baughman for Thayer Coggin rosewood dining table is set with plates by Seletti and placemats and napkins by D. Porthault. The modern elements contrast with vintage stemware, sterling flatware by Royal Danish and mother-of-pearl salad and dessert forks.
"Lush and not prissy," says Gridley about the living room's facing sofas, which are covered in an Old World Weavers blue linen velvet. The vintage coffee table is by Tomasso Barbi. An artwork by Katherine Tzu-Lan Mann hangs over an Outpost Original hide bench that "is pulled into action," Gridley says, for extra seating during parties.
In the library, a pair of custom curved sofas is covered in a linen velvet from Lee Jofa with blue pillows in a velvet by Old World Weavers. The Warren Platner glass coffee table is from Knoll. The walls are in Benjamin Moore's Caribbean Azure.
Brass accents — Huntley sconces from the Urban Electric Co., dome pendants from Allied Maker — add warmth to the kitchen. The cabinets and island are painted in Farrow & Ball's Hague Blue, and the A. Rudin sofa is upholstered in a Holland & Sherry wool check.
A breakfast nook is a cozy place to dine, do homework and play guitar. A vintage pietra dura stone table is framed by a tufted banquette in a Kravet leather and Serena & Lily chairs. The walls are sheathed in a Phillip Jeffries grass cloth, and the olive tree photographs are by Joann Verburg.
Pages torn from the iconic book Cabinet of Natural Curiosities cover the walls in a powder room. The sink is from Kohler and the fixtures are by Barber Wilsons & Co.
In daughter Beatrice's room, Gridley reused the headboard from the owners' former master bed, re-covering it in Brunschwig & Fils's Les Touches fabric, which also sheathes the walls. The coverlet and shams are by Jonathan Adler.
A corner of the master bedroom is occupied by a funky vintage elephant desk from Again & Again, which is painted in Benjamin Moore's White Dove.
A custom mural wallcovering by artist Thomas Darnell for Area Environments depicts massive peonies. The curtains are in a Lee Jofa silk, and the bed is dressed in Leontine Linens. Read more about Gridley's inspiration for this space here.
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This story originally appeared in the October 2017 issue of House Beautiful.
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