Hi Everyone,
Wow, yet again, regarding the post about my tiny patio garden. I am still reading and digesting all of the comments. I so appreciate all of this great advice. Also, you didn’t let me down. I think with all of your sage advice, it really has become the ultimate small garden guide!
Quickly, in other news, my darling son has come and gone. Also, I did meet one contractor the other day. He was super nice, and I was impressed with his knowledge. I am going to produce some drawings so that he can give me some estimates.
Today is a new high-low post featuring Steve Cordony Style.
I love these posts, and I know that many of you do too. Steve Cordony is more of an interior stylist than an interior designer, I believe. However, he can do anything, so titles aren’t really all that important. I feel the same way about Furlow Gatewood.
However, before we begin, I have a little musical treat for you.
Please enjoy Mozart: Concerto for Piano and Orchestra (d-minor) K.466 conducted AND played by Dame Mitsuko Uchida. I’ve started it at 30 seconds so that you can see the beginning where she looks like she’s about to conduct a séance instead of one of the greatest pieces of music ever composed.
Isn’t this fun? While the second movement is the more famous one, I’m addicted to the first movement.
Okay, let’s get started with Steve Cordony style while Mozart is stimming your brain cells. Many of you will recall that I featured Steve and his partner’s incredible home, Rosedale Farm, in this post last year. And, I featured his bathroom here in this post about Laurel’s Mistress Bathroom.
However, the first time I discovered Steve Cordony was while writing one of my favorite posts where we saw the stunning Palazzo Ralph Lauren in Milan.
Dang! I was supposed to go to Milano exactly a year ago. And I could’ve seen the shop for real.
First, let’s bring up a few photos of Steve’s incredible home in Australia, Rosedale Farm.
By the way, please follow Steve Cordony here, on Instagram. And, also Rosedale Farm, here.
Alright, I’m going to start by telling you what I think is the primary key to Steve Cordony’s style.
Many of you already know the answer. However, it’s the same reason I chose to play Mozart for y’all.
It’s the bones, the structure, the harmonies, the knowing when it’s time to embellish and when it’s time to back off.
Steve’s masterful work begins with super high ceilings, mouldings, white walls, and dark stained floors.
In the living room, he added these unbelievably exquisite French Regency (or something of that ilk) mirrors.
And, there it is…
Do you have it?
Here, let me see.
haha, for all of us Amadeus lovers. – BTW, That was the first gif I’ve ever made. I did it on giphy.
Now, before you get your knee britches in a twist.
No. This is not the ONLY way to get an exquisite design. However, this one is a can’t miss. Even empty, the room is gorgeous.
Unless one mucks up their room with horribly proportioned architectural embellishments, this is a sure thing. For help with interior architectural proportions, please check this out.
Does it mean if you only have an 8-ft ceiling, you’re screwed?
Not at all!
However, I feel that lower ceilings look better with small to medium-sized rooms.
Also, if you want to give the illusion of a higher ceiling, there are some great tips here.
And, for many posts discussing architectural embellishment and mouldings, etc., please go here.
Alright, it’s time to dive in here with more details of Steve Cordony’s style.
Let’s start from the floor up. And here we see a fabulous neutral jute rug. However, seagrass is also terrific and quite affordable.
Steve’s rug is a custom piece and quite expensive, I’m sure. However, you can find good-sized jute and seagrass rugs in many places. If your room is fairly large, then it’s fine to do two rugs that are the same.
Or, you can also have custom rugs made that might cost less. For example, you can do a custom bound rug from Fibreworks in any size up to 13′ x 16′! That’s quite a large rug.
Steve has neutral square-armed sofas in a soft linen fabric.
You can do a similar sofa from Pottery Barn or One King’s Lane. Or, perhaps you can find a used sofa somewhere else and have a slipcover made.
The rest of the furnishings in the parlor are a combination of traditional classics and modern pieces.
I love the plain white linen (and very full) curtains against the white walls.
However, the obvious factor to getting Steve Cordony style is the showstopper in every room. And, that are Steve’s glorious vignettes, usually featuring simple vases overflowing with leafy stems, blooming branches, and the like. Most, if not all, are from the phenomenal Rosedale Farm property.
In the widget below are many of the items Steve incorporated in his home. Most of them have a relatively inexpensive counterpart. Or, at least the best I could find at this time. Some of the captions give a snippet of useful information. For more about any of the items, please click on the image.
All of this can be adapted for homes with less grand proportions.
In fact, the upstairs bedrooms at Rosedale Farm do not have high ceilings. You can see those on Steve’s Instagram.
Please be sure to visit the companion post to this one that focuses on the color scheme. That is also a huge part of Steve’s style.
Also, this post on panoramic murals might be helpful if you’d like to get the look for your dining room or another room in your home.
xo,
PS: Please check out the newly updated HOT SALES!
And, also the outdoor shop and Mother’s Day Gift Guide.
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My Renovation Mistakes + A House Tour via YouTube!
Can This Boring Bland Living Room Be Saved?
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23 Responses
Hi again,
I could not get the reply to your response to cooperate so I am writing here instead.
Thank you so much for your response. While I have searched the vast wilderness of the internet in my searches I just couldn’t wrap my head around the idea that the 26.5” one was as stunning. My instincts have been that the larger Linden lamp is too big for me and you have confirmed it, Laurel, and I thank you! I think I would simply love to move right into Steve Cordony’s room in its entirety. It’s not just the lamp 😉…
I may have to give the smaller one a chance just to satisfy my desire for this lamp. It’s quirky and different. Thanks again!
Just love Steve Cordony’s style. I have a question about the lamp size in his living room. Would something of those proportions be too large for a smaller living room with 8 foot ceilings? I’ve looked at the smaller version of this particular lamp and think the wow factor may be lost in the smaller version but am concerned the larger one would grab all the attention in my room and look out of place. It makes quite a statement in his room after all!!! Thoughts?
Hi Elle,
The large Linden lamp is HUUUUUGE at 34.25″ high with a whopping 23″ diameter shade. The medium is 26.25 inches which isn’t small, but probably better for your eight-foot ceiling.
It’s difficult for me to advise without seeing the room. I think the only way it could work is if the sofa arm and end tables are low, like a 23″ arm and end table height – max. I would not go with everything huge or the room will look cartoonish, I feel. However, again, this is without seeing what you have in mind or what your room looks like.
One thing I do when I’m uncertain which is frequently, is google the item and then hit images. From there, if it’s a popular item, you should find many rooms with that piece in it. I just did that and found many examples on Circa Lighting. Some of the images do have the smaller lamp. You can pick out the smaller one because the shade is slightly more drum-like. The larger one is more of a classic cone-shape.
However, this page has only images of the medium size. Please note that some of these ceilings are also quite high.
What a beautiful and resourceful post! One of my favorites, for sure. Thank you for finding these special things, like the Kelly W lamp!
Tasty Treat.
Such a beautiful home decor style…I love this post
Laurel, Uchida and the Mozart Piano Concerto 20 are my all time favorites, 1st movement is the best. In the last Van Cliburn competition 7 out of 12 semi-finalists played it and we listened to all of them. Ha, Ha! You must check out the version with Daniel Berenboim and the Berlin Philharmonic, also on youtube. The opposite of the seance. We call it “white men in white tie in a white room.” You will appreciate the interior architecture! Thank you for the enjoyable post.
I just love the idea of the dark painted door and window trim while everything else is white.
Great inspiration as always! Just be aware the jute rug looks good, is durable, reasonable and forgiving….BUT it sheds horribly and creates lots of extra dust and also gets all over your clothes….I would never buy again.
Oh I love our Aussie, Steve Cordony! Hope to get to Rosedale Farm one day. We used to have a country property not so far way, but have since moved yet again, so no longer close. Plus, I bought a gateleg table for our home in Canada many years ago. It came with us to Cote d’Voire and there it stays, loved by someone I hope. Our then carpenter, who did fabulous work with the most modest hand tools, was amazed to see the table open up from really small to full sized, and to seat at least six. Seeing his delight was a great pleasure, to keep in my memory always. You will never go wrong if you use Steve Cordony as your decorating muse. Thanks again Laurel for your excellent information.
Laurel, I “stumbled” onto your website probably a year and a half ago on Pinterest and have been hooked since. Your design advice, your humor, and your overall wisdom are quite insightful! I will say you are the one and only blog that I MUST follow. But so far, I have never left a comment, although always inspired.
I purchased your blogging guide (mostly for my daughter) more than a year ago. With my full time job for a law firm, I don’t have much time to do other things, but I have read and follow your blog religiously since finding it. And I have been trying to catch up on all older posts as time permits.
With that said, your last few posts (and particularly the links to past posts on gardening), plus the music from time to time, just have me stopping and saying I must let you know how much I appreciate the absolutely outstanding amount of knowledge, content, and “eye candy” you provide. Still love magazines, but your blog is now my go to “magazine”.
Good luck with the garden. You have gotten tremendous advice. Since I live in Texas, not going to even try! But you have great bones and will get it done! In the meantime, even a few pots with some pretty plants will make the beautiful space alive until you decide what you want to do long term.
First the spring spectacular post and now this one, I vote all the blog posts come with a song link from this point forward 🙂 So fun!
Laurel, Steve Cordony’s style set to Dame Mitsuko Uchida’s Mozart Concerto is just what I needed after a long, busy week. Thank you!
I get all my branches from Jamali Garden here in Manhattan. So many options and far less $$ than PB or anywhere else.
where is the beautiful rug in the pix at the head of the 4/23 sale section from?
thank you!
Hi Fiona,
That should be in the rug section on One Kings Lane.
I love your emails, you inspire me!! Thank you!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️
Two thumbs up for Furlow!! Two thumbs up for Steve!! Basically a neutral backdrop with all sorts of exquisit items curated from who knows where. Men after my own heart. I’m assuming Steve’s master class at Rosedale Farm last fall got cancelled due to the pandemic. I envisioned myself sipping Australian wine with my feet up at Rosedale Farm. We can all dream, can’t we?
The link to the widget of the Roman shades on French doors is broken. Can you fix please? Love this post but agree with another on square armed sofas…I love the English roll arm!! Also totally enjoying the Mozart and the pianist is superb!
Mozart, the best!
She reminds me a little of the Canadian Composer Glenn Gould in her performance.
SKU: W002309606 on Wayfair is a very inexpensive alternative for the glass end table. “Birch Lane Double Glass Top End Table”
Yes to the Cordony style. But don’t go overboard on the square-arm sofas: I promise (from experience) that the arms will wear out faster than you would think, because of the angles. Roll-arm sofas exist for practical as well as aesthetic reasons.
To return to your garden post, what you say here (It’s the bones, the structure, the harmonies, the knowing when it’s time to embellish and when it’s time to back off.) applies to the garden space as well. I’m not going to add to the ideas from Wednesday, but you’ve also got to get the practical aspects right. And any garden grows all the time, when it’s done it isn’t done!
Hi Laurel,
Everything is
Exquisite
Thank you