A Chat With Nancy Braithwaite

Molly Pastor: What's the first thing you buy when designing a room?
Nancy Braithwaite: The large upholstered pieces of furniture. They anchor a room. They are the pieces around which everything else revolves.

MP: Is there a particular style of upholstered furniture that you find timeless?
 NB: I revert to the classic style with simple linens and no gimmicks. I love the contemporary styling of '30s French Art Deco designer Jean-Michel Frank and classically designed English sofas. Whether I am doing a contemporary or traditional room, I like the furniture to be slightly overscaled.

MP: Is there a particular furniture designer that you favor at the moment?
NB: André Arbus, the late French artist whose furniture is revered for its lean, modernist lines.

MP: Do you prefer furniture to be slipcovered or upholstered?
NB: If a piece is going to get a lot of wear and tear -- especially from children -- upholstery is best. While slipcovers add a relaxed attitude to a piece of furniture and can be done in many creative ways, they tend to shift and wrinkle.

MP: You seem to prefer using solid fabrics. If a client likes patterns, how do you incorporate them?
NB: Solids are what I like to do best. If the form of a piece of furniture is great, solid fabric will show it off. On the other hand, if you don't like the lines of a piece, a pattern will cover its flaws because your eye is looking at the pattern, not the form. If a client likes strong patterns, I'll use them in places that can be easily changed -- pillows, throws, or slipcovers. Patterns I like are checks and stripes. If I do use flowered patterns, I prefer ones with softer colors and subtler designs.

MP: I love the way you use unexpected color combinations. Do you currently have any favorites?
NB: I recently did a living room with a trim that was very large in scale. I used Benjamin Moore's Rockport Gray (HC 105) on the trim. Although it looks dark on a chip, it brought the scale of the trim down and balanced the room. A combination I have used recently is Benjamin Moore's Dry Sage (2142-50) and Gray Mirage (2142-40). The greens are very soft and helped blend with nature.

MP: What three paint colors could you not do without?
NB: Pratt & Lambert's Pearly Gates (used in double formula), Phantom, and Shadow Beige.

MP: People often feel obligated to paint their ceilings white. How do you address ceilings?
NB: A general rule is not to paint the ceiling white unless the trim is white. However, all rules are meant to be broken. For example, if a room has a "pool house" feel, white trim and a dusty blue ceiling can be fabulous. For ceilings, I usually mix white with either 25 or 50 percent wall color. If the ceilings are too high, painting the ceiling the same color as the wall brings down the ceiling.

MP: What is your theory on selecting trim color?
NB: For a subtle effect, paint it one or two shades lighter than the walls. For a more dramatic effect, bring attention to the trim by painting it a totally different color than the walls. If a trim is a simple 1-inch-by-4-inch board, it's best to paint it the color of the wall or one shade lighter so as not to draw attention to its meagerness.

MP: How can people avoid saving living rooms for special occasions and use them for actual living?
NB: The furniture should be comfortable and slightly overscaled. Fabrics should be relaxed and without a "don't touch me" attitude. However, it can also be nice to have a living room specifically for entertaining. In my house, my living room is for entertaining, not everyday living.

MP: What if you don't have great architecture?
NB: If your rooms have less-than-great architecture, such as 8-foot ceilings, I would mount draperies just a few inches below the ceiling, without a cornice. Cornices shorten the verticality of a room. Also, stripes used in window treatments introduce vertical lines and visually counterbalance low ceilings. If a room has low windows, I mount a Roman shade under the draperies -- again close to the ceiling to camouflage that the window is not tall. When accessorizing, avoid using many little objects and choose a few well-scaled objects.

MP: For floors, natural materials are very popular right now. What are some of your favorites?
NB: I prefer abaca and raffia. They have a much heavier, coarser texture than sea grass. Two of my favorites are Stark Carpet's Irish Abaca and Alagaw Bind (which is 100 percent raffia). But of course, they are also more expensive. So if you are on a budget, sea grass is a good choice.

MP: What is your favorite type of lighting?
NB: If you are doing a contemporary interior, recessed lighting is appropriate. For a more traditional look, use table and floor lamps. I like to highlight art, and in some cases, I love the look of multiple chandeliers.

MP: If you have a client with a large collection of family photos, how do you display them?
NB: I try to put them in a private room, such as a study, and I frame the photos in similar frames. Painting the frames the color of the wall can keep the look organized. If I use wooden frames, they are all the same style and color.

MP: What are your favorite kitchen countertop materials? Do you like painted cabinetry or stained wood?
NB: Although I am not terribly fond of granite, there is a granite called Verde Agave. It's a pale, soft-green granite, uniform in character with few mica chips. Also, I like soapstone coupled with properly sealed antique wood for edge-trimming details. I like both painted and stained cabinetry. I prefer soft, subtle, dusty, and muted colors in painted cabinetry. I like soft, unusual, Armani-like stain colors. When staining wood, consider the grain of the wood. Heavy grains can be too busy for a kitchen cabinet. I like rift-cut wood because this technique eliminates heavy graining.

THINGS NANCY LOVES

• Dusty, muted shades; a color I love now is soft, pale lime
• Quilted fabrics
• Antique stone by Paris Ceramics
• Simple window treatments that enhance the window rather than bury it; simple ripple-fold heading or top tack
• Hand-painted decorative finishes and milk paint; upholstered walls
• Natural-fiber rugs; don't cover up floors if they are beautiful

THINGS NANCY AVOIDS

• Orange
• Chintz
• Three-inch oak midtone brown flooring
• Fussy, big valances that shorten windows; curtains that are stuffy, over-trimmed, or have too much puddling on the floor
• Faux finishing, ragging, stippling -- just stop!
• Oriental rugs, unless you have a big budget and can afford the finest

RESOURCES: Nancy Braithwaite Interiors, 2300 Peachtree Rd., #C101, Atlanta, GA 30309, 404/355-1740; Bielecky Brothers (T), 212/753-2355, www.bielecky.com; Rogers & Goffigon (T), 212/888-3242; Chelsea Editions (T), 212/758-0005, www.chelsea textiles.com; Benjamin Moore (M), 800/ 344-0400, www.benjaminmoore.com; Stark Carpet (T), 212/752-9000, www.starkcarpet. com; Paris Ceramics (R), 212/644-2782, www.parisceramics.com; Pratt & Lambert (M), 800/289-7728, www.prattandlambert.com.

IN THE MAGAZINE ...
You'll find more advice from Nancy Braithwaite -- including her color and swatch selections for an ideal country home -- in the March-April 2004 issue of Southern Accents. The story begins on page 106.