The Seal Room

11 Sep The Seal Room

It’s kind of a running joke with good friends. Let’s go sit in the “seal” room. It’s a small study close to our bedroom that we decided to paint with a completely different color from the rest of the house, and it gets the most comments once people walk in. It’s a dramatic dark bronze.

Once we tell them the paint color is “Sealskin” (Sherwin Williams), they are smitten.   I think because the rest of our walls downstairs are painted a warm white, Soft Chamois (Benjamin Moore), this feels like a little jewel box.  It envelopes you and makes you feel protected.  Another blogger friend of mine calls it the sexy room. It does have a lounge feel. We like to have a cocktail in here at night.

  When we first moved in, I really didn’t know what accent color to use. I thought about yellows, pinks and then settled on green. Chartreuse really. And that happened after I found a fabric sample at Margi’s Chairs in Nashville.  I ordered a pair of the velvet beauties that are also very comfortable.

The fabric on the pillows in the photo below was custom ordered from Margi. Love the contrast with the stripes. The love seat was my mother-in-law’s and it’s perfect in this intimate room. It’s just my opinion but I think incorporating antiques or something that doesn’t come straight out of a showroom adds character and interest to a room instead of everything brand spanking new.

  I found the zebra rug at Pottery Barn which also works well with the sealskin paint. And the gold painted stool was on sale at Pottery Barn. It’s the perfect size instead of having a large coffee table in a tight space. And if you  have four people in here at one time, everyone has room to sit a drink down.

I’m still collecting pieces to sit on my book shelves. I want all white and acrylic or glass. Look at this watercolor nude by our friend, artist Mary Keith Robbins (Jackson)!!! 

We actually came up with the idea of painting our study Sealskin after having all our window and door trim done in this color. A good example is the large set of doors and windows on the foyer wall that give you a view of our back porch and yard.  The color really pops against the Soft Chamois walls.

And since I’m sharing these darker paint colors, I thought you might like seeing another one we used in our powder room.  It’s called Rubidoux (Pratt & Lambert). 

It’s more of a deep gray tone. The mirror is a family piece that was my grandmother’s. The brass sconces are new. We purchased them from Graham Lighting.

So if you’re looking at changing paint colors for a smaller space, I think these are good choices that you won’t get tired of quickly. And if you’re like me with predominantly white or cream walls, these rich darker colors are a nice change and a bit of a surprise too. I really don’t follow the trends when it comes to paint colors. I just know what I like. Same with fashion.  And dogs.

   Our new puppy Jack looks good against any color or fabric.  But he was only allowed on the sofa for a few seconds so I could capture this shot.  He’s my new and best home accessory!

Thanks for following Stylish Retreats!!!  I love hearing from readers of the blog. If you’d like to share your home or have an idea, shoot me an email;  Amy@stylishretreats.net