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buh-bye, beige!

Real Simple

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September 2024

Magnolia Network star and interior designer Natalie Papier colorized a classic 1920s Oak Park, Illinois, home using lots of paint, some wallpaper, and a bunch of brilliant tricks.

- ERICA FINAMORE

buh-bye, beige!

Dining Room

This room had a little molding, but Natalie added even more, plus a ceiling medallion, to emphasize the home's classic feel. Then she painted everything the same shade. "I color-drenched the entire dining room to give this space warm, cozy vibes-so you'd want to spend hours around the table catching up with friends and family," she says.

SHOP THE ROOM

Smoky Azurite SW 9148 Paint, $70 per gallon; sherwin-williams.​com Angelo Dining Chairs, $439 each; roveconcepts.​com Artcraft Comet Chandelier, $382; lightology.​com Art by Juniper Briggs; juniperbriggs.​com

Magnolia Network star and interior designer Natalie Papier colorized a classic 1920s Oak Park, Illinois, home using lots of paint, some wallpaper, and a bunch of brilliant tricks.

imageNATALIE PAPIER IS NOT (we repeat: not) a fan of most neutrals. The designer, who cohosts Artfully Designed on the Magnolia Network and cowrote the upcoming decorating book Start with the Art, often goes for bold, saturated colors that pop against clean, bright whites. Meaning: She was the right person to call to liven up a beige suburban Chicago colonial.

"The family wanted more personality infused into their home," she says. She started the project as she usually does-by picking a color palette to use throughout the house. Pulling shades from pieces the family already owned and loved, they landed on olives, blues, blush, and terra-cotta.

Next, she figured out how to combine them with the house's traditional elements to create a truly happy place. How'd she do it? Allow her to explain.

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