Grab Interior Decorating Tips from the Pro – The Purple Martin Room
Putting on Rembrandt’s Cap
You might be looking at a room in your home at a complete loss for how to decorate. This happens to a lot of us. We might even have some ideas but are unsure about the execution. Imagine for a few seconds that you do not have just one room to transform but 22 individual rooms.
Jean Cowell is the mastermind behind the interior decorating at Whitestone Country Inn and the Tennessee resort gets a lot of compliments on it’s decor. We thought it would be fun to pick the brain of Mrs. Cowell to see what kind of decorating tips she could give us.
This is for the Birds
Jean Cowell is a delight to engage in conversation. When we asked about decorating tips, Jean asked that we meet her at Whitestone’s Purple Martin room. The Innkeeper explained that every room at Whitestone is named after a local bird found in the nearby wildlife refuge. The Purple Martin room resides inside the secluded Rose Cottage surrounded by natural beauty. The room itself has pleasant and uplifting colors that are both romantic and relaxing. After looking around, Mrs. Cowell explained a portion of the process for decorating this room…
Purple Martin Room from Whitestone Country Inn on Vimeo.
The Process
- Pick a focal point for the room – a picture, a fabric, a paint color, etc
– for this room Jean used a picture of two purple martins a friend gave her - Pull out the colors from the object
- Consult your paint chip book
– Find the colors that you’re pulling from the object
– Jean encourages people to use the differing hues of a color
– Take your paint chip book with you EVERYWHERE 
Travel to the fabric store
– Again use your paint chip book to find your room colors
– If you are making linens make them reversible
Travel to the fabric store
