A designer utilizes a range of beautiful blue hues to create a serene, modern bedroom in the San Francisco Bay area.
San Francisco based designer Heather Hilliard creates deeply personalized interiors that honor both classic detailing with modern restraint. Her work, which includes some of the region’s most striking homes, has been celebrated in House Beautiful, San Francisco Cottages & Gardens, Luxe Interiors + Design, and Traditional Home.
For a young family living in a traditional home in Los Altos Hills, Hilliard imagined a master bedroom that satisfied her clients’ passion for mixing beautiful antiques with contemporary art and furniture. “They wanted the house to feel classic and traditional, but also fresh and chic,” says Hilliard who cast the space in a clever mix of blues with cool, glam accents.
Continuing a blue and green color story throughout the home, the overall effect in the master is serene, cool, and utterly original. Hilliard walks us through the design process and shares her secrets for creating a space that is endlessly intriguing.
If this room/bedroom had a name, what would it be?
"Periwinkle Dream”
Indeed. The room has a lovely palette of blues...
"Blue is a wonderful color for bedrooms, as it evokes a sense of calm. Knowing our client’s penchant for color, we proposed contrasting powdery and super bright periwinkle to give the room a little edge.”
What do you think this color brings to the space?
"The blues are welcoming and soft on the eyes and the Matouk shams and sheeting are the perfect counterpart. The crisp white with black edge detailing provides contrast to the bright periwinkle color, and allows the bed to stand out in the room.”
There’s a lot of great, subtle pattern and detail throughout this space. How important was that?
"If you want to use a lot of pattern in one space as we did, small, subtle patterns are ideal. We chose the traditional French pattern, Bruschwig’s Les Touches in blue and green, as it’s a graceful, memorizing design that creates a sense of coziness and restfulness. We paper backed it and installed it on the walls and the ceiling so the clients would feel enveloped in the pattern.”
What are the other key elements here?
"Maintaining balance and femininity were key to the room. We wanted to layer various patterns, colors, and textures, and furnishings both old and new to create a rich and inviting space. The bold and pastel colors make this space feel chic and youthful, while the mix of antiques and contemporary pieces give it gravitas. The antique suzani throw and carved wood bench play wonderfully with the new Matouk bedding and upholstered pieces. And of course, a luxe alpaca rug doesn’t hurt!”
"Maintaining balance and femininity were key to the room. We wanted to layer various patterns, colors, and textures, and furnishings both old and new to create a rich and inviting space."
Can you give us 3-4 tips to keep in mind when trying to achieve this look?
Don’t be afraid to mix and match...
"Using large and small-scale patterns and both geometric and traditional silhouettes creates visual curiosity.”
Play with the light...
"Incorporate hierarchies of light to create dark and light spots for drama: ambient lighting for flow, task and decorative.”
Placement is everything…
"Utilize placement of furniture to create balance in the room. This is key in making the room feel larger or more intimate, depending on which one you’re trying to achieve.”
Tell us about the Matouk linens you used here.
"We used the Butterfield Collection as we love how the scallop detail echoes the soft curves and movement found throughout the room. Bedding should never be an afterthought—it should add visual interest and provide the finishing touches to a bedroom. The scallops are whimsical yet refined, which play well with the shape of the headboard, curved settee and wallcovering pattern. The white percale is also clean and crisp, grounding the space without competing with the rest of the room. We can always rely on Matouk’s quality and lush feel to create the luxe retreat our clients desire. Matouk also provides a range of designs and well-curated thread colors that suit many projects, no matter the style.”
