AVE Style: AVE Blue Bell

How to Achieve Refined, Modern Farmhouse in Your Apartment

While styling the AVE Blue Bell apartment model, AVE, along with the interior designer team at Bernardon, was inspired by warmth, simplicity, and the market’s rich history. It was AVE and Bernardon’s vision to design an apartment that was modern, yet approachable, blending sophistication and natural elements.

Creating Flexible Apartment Spaces 

The alcove was designed for flexibility. While some may use it to create a dedicated home office, the team wanted to style it as a dry bar so renters could see how the space could easily translate into a built-in bookshelf or bar for entertaining. They incorporated floating wood shelves with assorted metal hardware to balance natural and industrial elements. The wood itself is reminiscent of the wood barrels in which the alcohol is fermented and the diverse hardware creates visual interest and a touch of whimsy. The accessories were intentional for balance such as alternating glasses left and right with bottles and vases. The planters and books are grounding, adding warmth and comfort to the space.

Like the alcove, the kitchen peninsula was designed for flexibility. It offers a space for gathering or an alternative to an eat-in kitchen. The kitchen finishes are clean and contemporary, providing a canvas for personalization. The rule of thumb for selecting counter stools is to leave 10-12” for leg room between the bottom of the counter and the seat. This peninsula is 36” high, so the team selected a 24” seat height counter stool with slim lines and mixed materials for optimal comfort and to balance the design elements in the adjacent dry bar. The distressed-leather seat wrap and seat back add warmth to the industrial-inspired, metal tube legs and metal seat clips. Its airy frame makes a streamlined statement. 
 

Creating an Inviting Dining Area

The team chose a wood table as the foundation for the dining room to set a tone of warmth to inspire people to gather. They added two forms of seating to create visual interest and to shape the room – tailored upholstered chairs with accents of color at the heads of the table add sophistication but also define the space. These chairs are then balanced with more minimal, Mid-Century modern-style wood-toned chairs with curved backs that feel softer and more inviting.
 
The team wanted to balance its modern place settings with natural elements, so they chose placemats in steel blue faux leather and a succulent arrangement as the centerpiece. Succulents are popular houseplants today because they are easy-to-maintain and their leaves have an ombre effect, easily adding a lot of color to a space. 

Creating a Cozy, Clean Bedroom

The team started with a solid wood bed – to once again create a foundation of warmth and comfort. Every piece of furniture in the bedroom is classic with clean lines and distinct farmhouse elements. The nightstands feature a simple lattice pattern reminiscent of late 18^th century barn doors.
 
They approached the linens with simplicity and elegance in mind. The team selected a washed organic cotton duvet cover in steel blue, adding white sheets and pillows for contrast. To add layers of warmth, they topped the bed with a heavier, knit throw in dove gray.
 
The artwork also played a role in the selection of the linens and accessories including the table lamps. They wanted the color palette and lines from the prints to flow throughout the room in a way that appears effortless.

"I wanted prospective renters to feel like they could recreate this space or elements of this space in their own apartment; that while it looks refined, it is achievable," says Christina Salvitti, interior designer with Bernardon.