To create a chic space for two adventure-loving clients, interior designer Meghan Shadrick relied on a curated mixture of vintage and modern pieces for the Rhode Island home. A calming color palette weaves throughout the Midcentury residence, from the antique-filled foyer to the elegant dining room. Shadrick was inspired by the architectural style of the home, as well as the client’s personal collection of furniture and artwork. We spoke with Shadrick, who goes behind the design of these bright, cheerful spaces.
When designing the living room, where did you draw inspiration?
The living room was a blank slate. My clients are fun-loving and adventurous personalities, and they really wanted to take a leap with color and style. I decided to pull in Midcentury modern and Midcentury traditional furnishings to tie back to the style of the house, a 1950s ranch. The history of a home plays so much into my overall design inspiration for projects.
How did you incorporate a mix of vintage and modern pieces?
My client leans toward more transitional design, but this house was calling for some pieces that added a bit more personality to the space. The sofa and daybed are new, but take their cues from the Midcentury era. I love the more traditional vintage wing back chairs, but we made them fun and current with a Kelly Wearstler fabric. My clients are also avid travelers, so I added some globally inspired pieces that touch back on that, and because those pieces are vintage or antique, it helps to weave a cohesive design story.
How did you incorporate color?
The living room was a nice, bright space that would suit saturated colors well. The client had used blues and grays, along with bits of yellow, elsewhere in the home. I think it’s important that the color scheme flows throughout a house, but the injection of reds and greens give the room a completely new vibe. This room happens to be completely closed off from the rest of the house, which allowed us to make this room distinct from the other areas.
How did you source artwork for the space?
My client had a couple of pieces already, but there was plenty of wall space for more impactful pieces. I spotted the green abstract online and we both fell in love with it. One expanse of wall was particularly large, and I knew it would be difficult to fill without blowing her budget. I came across this old, tattered Chinese room screen in an antiques store and came up with the idea to cut out the best sections and have them sandwiched in lucite panels. It filled the space perfectly, and is quite the conversation piece. When selecting art, my advice is to find things you love rather than finding things that “go.” In the end, you gravitate toward similar colors so they will naturally work in the room.
What do you like most about the design in the foyer?
I think the foyer should always be a preview of “what’s to come” in the rest of the house. Likewise, I tried to combine a little bit of the living room palette with the dining room. The calm gray-blue paint color combines with a vintage Persian rug with tinges of earthy red. The yellow trellis pattern in the ottoman and lucite console are hallmarks of the Midcentury era.
How would you describe the style and mood of the dining room?
This is a quieter and moodier space. The room is not that big, so I think it would have been a mistake to overfill it visually. The addition of the floor mirrors helps bounce a little more light in the space and also make it feel a bit larger.
The clients already owned the dining set and the piece of art was a gift from her parents, so those two things were my jumping off point. Given the transitional nature of the dining set, I wanted to bring in more texture and pattern to tie back to the living room which is just across the hall.
What is your favorite element in the dining room?
The grasscloth wallpaper! It really brings the room to life. My client was nervous about the linear pattern and thought it might be dizzying, but the opposite is true. It has a yin-yang feel to it — energizing and calming all at once.
