Grab a Chair and Relax

A fresh use of color and a romantic banquette help define David Mitchell's dining room. (Len Spoden - for The Washington Post)

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Thursday, April 17, 2008

Full disclosure: I love the color lavender, so David Mitchell's dining room had me at hello.

But what made me want to sit down and stay was the fresh combination of colors (lavender, green, teal and ivory), some fabulous furniture rehab (dining chairs originally covered in yellow vinyl reupholstered in a crisp lavender linen), the mingling of old and new (vintage alabaster lamps topped with frisky flowered shades) and the cushy wall-to-wall banquette with the softly curved back. Oh, and did I mention the glam crystal chandelier?

Mitchell's harmonious mix of contrasting colors, patterns and textures results in a fun and flirty take on a typically formal -- and often overdone -- space. "When you work with color, it's all about the contrast," the D.C. designer says. "If you don't have contrast, it becomes too matchy-matchy. No one lives like that."

But if lavender isn't your thing, not to worry. Mitchell revealed his prediction for the next big color trend: gray.

Works for me. It just so happens that I love gray, too.

Terri Sapienza