Room Recipe: A Folksy Wood-Paneled Living Room

A step-by-step guide to translating inspiration into real life

A few months ago someone wrote to me asking about finding tangible ways to translate inspiration images into real-life design choices. I answered them in April’s FAQ post, which you can read here, but I’ve been thinking about it since.

What I wrote was focused on understanding what it is you like about the things you save for reference and being able to find realistic ways to implement those things into your home, or closet, or something else. For instance, I’ve pinned a lot of rooms featuring intricate plaster molding; I don’t think my landlord would appreciate me giving the walls of my rental a total makeover, but I can bring that texture in through, say, textiles with a similar relief pattern.

But something I didn’t really touch on was the how of it all. Once you get down to the bottom of why you like something, what then? What do we do with these aspirational images of French chateaus and Moroccan riads and homes designed by renowned interior designers? It’s so fun to look at these fantastic spaces that have likely been designed by an expert with a substantial budget, but oftentimes their essence doesn’t quite translate to our own homes.

So, I thought I’d start a new thing here on À La Carte called Room Recipe. I don’t know if it’ll be a one time thing or if I’ll do one every month—you’ll have to tell me if you find it helpful or not. But anyway, the idea is that I’ll pick an image of a room I love and break down its “ingredients”, walking you through step-by-step how you can get the look yourself. It’s not about copying—it’s about understanding how and why certain things work together, what to keep in mind if you’re looking for something similar, and ways to derive inspiration from an image, both literally and abstractly.

So, I’m starting with a living room that has lived in my saved folder for years: Eliza Harris’ wood-paneled living room in Salisbury, Connecticut.

Image by Read McKendree

Eliza Harris is the great-granddaughter of Sister Parish, the beloved American interior decorator famous for her unrestrained use of patterns, painted lampshades, wicker furniture, antique quilts, and baskets. Parish is best known for designing the Yellow Oval Room in the White House and for her studio Sister Parish Design, which opened in 1933 and is now operated by Harris and her mother (and Parish’s granddaughter) Susan Crater. A 1999 Architectural Digest article described Parish's style: "Her interiors as a rule were refreshingly unstudied, unself-conscious, and unstrained… A Sister Parish room overflowed, to be sure—but buoyantly. It was romantic and whimsical but not sentimental; and, always, it was light—the rug might be Aubusson, the mirror Chippendale and the chandelier Waterford, but she undercut these ‘brand names’ with all manner of charming distractions. Her living rooms lived: They were friendly to the world."

Sister Parish’s work toed the line between folksy and elegant, and while Harris’ home and design perspective are her own, traces of the aesthetic made popular by her great-grandmother are definitely present. The rest of the house isn’t totally my style, but I’ve always loved this shot of this room, partly because I love a good “Grandpa’s cabin” vibe and partly because it’s a master class in pattern-mixing. It can be tough to get this look without appearing like you’ve lost the plot in a thrift shop, but Harris’ intentional choices here are proof it’s possible. 

Let’s break it down!

PART 1: FURNITURE

I’d be willing to bet that almost none of us have wood paneling in our homes, and if we do it’s either a) decades old and looks like it, or b) has been installed recently and cost a ton of money. So assuming you’re not in either camp and want to embark on building a room like this one, I think the best way to get the wood-paneled look is through your furniture.

What to look for:

• Antique pine. I gravitate towards Swedish mid century designs—they tend to lean more cabin-y than country.

• Clean lines, right angles, and minimal ornamentation.

What to avoid:

• Wood that is too yellow or orange. You want something sort of honey-colored and without a shiny finish. 

• Anything with scallops, cutouts, or cutesy little details.

• Furniture that looks like it’s meant for a dollhouse.

For example:

This is a great Swedish pinewood sofa from the ‘70s. The flat sides mimic wood paneling, and if it were floating in a living room it would do a lot of heavy lifting in getting us close to the feeling of Harris’ living room.

I see sofas like the already-sold one below—which I’m still kicking myself for not buying—on Facebook Marketplace all the time. It’s basically the entire vibe of our inspiration room in one fell swoop.

You could bring pine in through other pieces, too; there are tons of great chairs and nightstands and side tables out there.

Plaid chair from 1st Dibs, Side table from Etsy, Oatmeal chair from Chairish

If you decide to forgo a sofa with a wood frame and want something closer to what’s in our reference image, I’d look for something that doesn’t have curved arms, overstuffed cushions, or a weird skirt; you want to avoid looking like you stole the sofa out of your parents’ basement. This one is a little on the traditional side, I think, but I like its profile and I think you could compensate for its lack of folk in other ways.

And finally, if you’re REALLY committed, you could always reupholster something in the exact fabric Harris used, which is, of course, from Sister Parish’s design archive.

PART 2: RUGS

Textiles are obviously the star of the show in Harris’ home. What makes the six different prints visible in our inspiration image work within such close proximity to each other is the variation between their color palettes, patterns, and scales. I think a rug can make or break a room, and since it’s likely your biggest opportunity for pattern here, it’s especially important. 

What to look for:

• A woven rug in natural fibers with some texture to it. 

• Stripes of varying thicknesses.

• Something big! Part of what makes the patterns in Harris’ living room work together is that they’re actually interacting with each other. The sofa sits on top of the rug, the blanket is draped over the sofa, etc.

What to avoid:

• Anything with perfect stripes that look like a giant American flag—it’ll read too beachy.

• Printed rugs. Some cheaper websites print patterns on top of rugs rather than weave them in, and I promise you, it will look bad.

For example:

This rug from Etsy could feel sort of boho in a different context, but I think it makes up for it with stripes that follow a pretty classic pattern.

I also like this one below, which comes in a bunch of different sizes. If you go with a sofa in a heavier print (ie. largely scaled gingham,) I think this daintier stripe might be a good match.

Or maybe you have a plain Jane white sofa (like I do) and want your rug to really pack a punch. These two embody the atmosphere of the room all on their own:

Navy and red plaid from Etsy, Red and cream pattern from Etsy

PART 3: ACCESSORIES

The easiest, least expensive, most noncommittal way to bring patterns into a room is through accessories: Pillows, blankets, and smaller pieces of furniture. A lot of the folksy, cabin-y vibe coming through our inspiration photo is via the little extras. A wooden backgammon board sitting on an upholstered ottoman, a graphic piece of artwork on the wall, and hand-painted plates all bring texture and personality to the space.

What to look for:

• Woven blankets. Search “Welsh blanket” if you’re looking for something similar to Harris’ or “Scottish wool blanket” if you’re leaning towards plaid.

• Pillows in prints not represented elsewhere in the room. They’re a good way to bring in a touch of a floral print, a gingham at larger or smaller scale, or even something a little novel, like a pillow made from bandanas.

• Pops of color. Right now the majority of our room is in red, white, and blue, so I’d add some green, brown, or gold to the mix to de-Americana it a bit.

What to avoid:

• Going overboard. Harris didn’t go wild with throw pillows or tons of art on the walls for the sake of maximalism. There aren’t actually that many objects present in this shot, but it still feels lively and abundant.

• Kitschy knick-knacks. I can see this look feeling twee if styled with anything gimmicky, like a vintage clock.

For example:

This Welsh blanket is similar to Harris’ and breaks up all of the linear stripes, ginghams, and plaids:

Or, here are some good smaller-scaled options if the other patterns in the room are chunkier:

Scottish plaid blanket from Locharron, Portuguese dot blanket from Etsy

There are a million ways to go with pillows, but I’d do something like one or both of these:

Bandana pillow from RRL Ralph Lauren, Gingham pillow from Zara Home

You could even add texture to a solid-colored sofa with a patterned mattress topper, like this one from Zara Home, or add a little upholstered ottoman for extra seating.

If you’re looking to bring in ceramics like Harris did, some good options:

Horse plates from GreenRow, Lamp by Rebekah Miles for Nickey Kehoe, Criss-cross plates from Everyday Elegance

Some artwork to bring in a little extra color:

Dancer by Isabelle Hayman for Partnership Editions, Picasso Lithograph from Etsy

Joan Miró poster from Poster Child Prints, Flowers by Georgia Beaumont for Partnership Editions

And last but not least, your very own backgammon set.

Et voilà! Your very own Eliza Harris-inspired living room. Just like a regular recipe, you can deviate and experiment whenever and however you’d like. I think it’s useful to break things down like this sometimes—doing so always helps me focus as I stroll through flea markets, brake for yard sales, and hunt down things that I truly want and love.

x 

Ali

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