Rich Colors Turned a “Gray Blank Canvas” into a “Cozy, Classical” Home
Adrienne Breaux
·11 min read
My home is a conglomeration of many different collections — books, stones, photographs, plants, vases, lamps, clothing, mirrors, trinkets — and I aim to move through the world with everything I create being a work of art," begins artist and floristJillian Elliott. Credit: Jillian ElliottCredit: Jillian Elliott
"The blue room is the foyer and front door with my collection of vintage purses hanging on the walls. I installed basic brass hooks for this purpose. The small wooden table I got off of Etsy from a very kind seller," Jillian explains. Credit: Jillian ElliottCredit: Jillian Elliott
Jillian says the living room is her favorite room. "It is just so cozy! It holds a large collection of my travel photography, photos with loved ones, books, and extremely comfortable furniture, and I spend most of my time relaxing here." Credit: Jillian ElliottCredit: Jillian Elliott
"I have the bookcase that I designed and my mother's partner helped me build as a sort of end table for the sofa," Jillian describes. "The books are a mixture of old textbooks from my fashion design degree, children's books from my childhood, and other classics I've thrifted." Credit: Jillian ElliottCredit: Jillian Elliott
"The pitcher and white budvases I got thrifting in Michigan, along with most of the games. The small donkey figurine was either my great-aunt's or grandmother's." Credit: Jillian ElliottCredit: Jillian Elliott
"The art is a mixture of my own travel photos; vintage postcards that my ancestors saved, as they couldn't afford cameras; and my own and other people's original art — some of them done by my friends and family members." Credit: Jillian ElliottCredit: Jillian Elliott
"The coffee table is a mid-century glass table that I got off of Marketplace and took home on the train," Jillian describes. "The small bookshelf was a hand-me-down from my mother and refinished from a rather stained blonde wood. The lamp is one of my favorite ones that I own. It was broken at some point and has been glued back together, but it makes me adore it even more. It has a Japanese-inspired floral and bird illustration on it, and I believe that it was originally my aunt's in her childhood bedroom." Credit: Jillian ElliottCredit: Jillian Elliott
"The chandelier I acquired from an old job when they moved spaces and left it behind. It was originally white and pink. I sprayed it a glossy black, changed the bulbs to a warm Edison, and put it on a dimmer and added crystals so it is very drippy." Credit: Jillian ElliottCredit: Jillian Elliott
"The plants I have had for many years through many apartments. The sofa I purchased from Anthropologie. It was their House of Hackney collaboration, and I fell in love with the design that reminded me of my grandmother. I have to have velvet sofas because my cat won't scratch them and this design also helps to hide his hairs." Credit: Jillian ElliottCredit: Jillian Elliott
One of Jillian's favorite things is the art above the door — "a postcard that my best friend sent me during her extensive solo travels. We had been living together for a bit in Australia and found a doughnut shop that changed our lives (RIP Donut Shop in Fitzory — I have their logo tattooed on my arm) and she came across this doughnut-themed art/postcard while in I believe Thailand and sent it to me. I then framed it in a shadowbox frame from Target." Credit: Jillian ElliottCredit: Jillian Elliott
"I am a big home cook, and the apron hanging by the door is my absolute favorite. It is from Food 52 and has built-in oven mitts and measuring conversions." Credit: Jillian ElliottCredit: Jillian Elliott
"The bed frame is a Zinus (lorrick metal platform bed). It comes in an 18" height, which through all of my NY apartment living has come in huge use for storing things under it. The rug I purchased in Oaxaca," Jillian describes. "The fiddle leaf fig was a return from a customer that said it was dying a week after they bought it and I have had it since. The low dresser I use as a foot board and is the Anthropologie piece that I changed the pulls on." Credit: Jillian ElliottCredit: Jillian Elliott
"The tall dresser was a hand-me-down from my mother, and I have had it in my bedrooms since middle school and I plan to refinish it soon. I love that it is on wheels and is so easy to move from place to place," Jillian writes. Credit: Jillian ElliottCredit: Jillian Elliott
"The bookshelf I got from Wayfair and it is a solid eucalyptus wood. The books I have collected over my lifetime," Jillian describes. "The hatbox was a great-aunt's and the vintage luggage was as well aside from the blue vintage carry-on that I found thrifting with my mother. I believe most of them hold fabric that I have been saving for the right project." Credit: Jillian ElliottCredit: Jillian Elliott
Jillian's apartment came with a small den that she uses as an art studio. "I initially thought I would try to make it a tiny, cozy bedroom, but there is not enough room to be able to get around a queen bed on both sides and it was strangely echo-y. So I instead set up my studio in here," Jillian writes. "The cabinet closest to the camera is from an old roommate. I caned the front and added a vintage knob. It still needs some fixing up and I'd like to refinish the top, as we used to have plants that lived there that ruined the finish." Credit: Jillian ElliottCredit: Jillian Elliott
"The chair was my brother-in-law's grandmother's. My desk is a folding table that was a hand-me-down from my mother. All of the art is my original work and available on my website. Credit: Jillian ElliottCredit: Jillian Elliott
The pink leopard rug is from Facebook Marketplace. "The bookshelf is from Wayfair and the end table is from Amazon. They were both purchased when I was doing art fairs full-time and needed things I could easily schlep from place to place. The red stool is a hand-me-down from my mother. I think originally from my grandmother," Jillian describes. Credit: Jillian ElliottCredit: Jillian Elliott
"This is the entrance to the bathroom from the foyer. It came with these '70s/'80s pink marbled tile with pink flower details that I originally thought I'd cover with peel-and-stick tile, but they grew on me as I stayed in the space and I opted instead of color match the pinks and paint the walls," Jillian writes. Credit: Jillian ElliottCredit: Jillian Elliott
"The bath mat, towels, and shower curtain are Anthropologie. The print on the far wall is from Bed Threads, and the prints on the left wall are Fucci." Credit: Jillian ElliottCredit: Jillian Elliott
Jillian Elliott is both an artist and florist, but has also been passionate about interior design since she was a child. “As a teen, I adored redecorating my room and my mother was kind enough to give me free rein to do so within strict budgets — she was the person who first introduced me to the joys of thrifting, antiquing, and finding unique pieces for a good deal in general,” Jillian writes.
I have painted the walls, multiple light fixtures, and some vintage chairs in the dining room; reupholstered other dining room chairs; switched out knobs on the closet and drawer pulls on my Anthropologie dresser; and installed hooks for my purses, among other things! Credit: Jillian ElliottCredit: Jillian Elliott
“She was, and is, an avid collector of antiques with many collections, and I have inherited her collector gene,” Jillian continues. “In university, I had initially intended to study interior design, but ended up opting instead for fashion design and merchandising. Apparel is still a love of my life, and I have a large collection of thrifted clothing that lives among my mostly thrifted home goods.”
"Although I have primarily dark wood furniture, I do enjoy mixing wood tones and think the medium wood of my dining table really lightens the space a bit," Jillian writes. "The mirror on the far wall I thrifted in high school for $8; the candlesticks on the table were a gift from a client when I worked in Bermuda; the placemats were crafted by university students in a shop supporting higher education from a trip to Oaxaca; the dining room end chairs were gifted to me by a friend who was inheriting her grandmother's dining set and I reupholstered the seats with a beautiful honey bee jacquard fabric that I have been saving for the right project since university; the folding dining chairs were my mother's from the '70s and used to have red backs and seats that I painted a glossy black; and finally both the blue and patterned curtains are from Anthropologie." Credit: Jillian ElliottCredit: Jillian Elliott
Jillian describes the 650-square-foot, one-bedroom Brooklyn apartment she’s rented for over a year as a “gray blank canvas” before she moved in. But after adding “rich colors, heaps of travel memorabilia, my various collections, and beautiful comfy furniture,” she describes it as “[c]ozy, classical, and cosmopolitan.”
“While I have decorated every apartment that I have lived in, this is the first space I have been able to make entirely mine (and my cat’s). I was greatly inspired by my grandmother’s home, as it was one of my favorite places to go when I was a child. Everything in it was so comfortable and well-thought-out with really rich textures, colors, and patterns. Her sofa in the front sitting room was my favorite and had a pattern that reminded me of the sofa that I purchased for this apartment, although in a very different colorway. I built most of my decor in this space around that purchase and existing elements such as the tile in the bathroom and kitchen,” Jillian writes.
"Let everything have its own place, and collect things that bring you joy," Jillian advises. Credit: Jillian ElliottCredit: Jillian Elliott
“I gravitate toward saturated earth tones, as they help me feel grounded in the city and I feel like they always coordinate with one another. I love how color can so easily differentiate the spaces in an apartment and make an otherwise banal space feel interesting and cozy. My interior decor exists primarily of things I have collected while traveling, thrifting (sometimes while traveling), travel photos, art, art supplies, and books (most of which I’ve read but all of which I intend to). Having a quiet, beautiful space to spend my free time in is an essential oasis from the city and work.”
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