Design 101- Casual Elegance

This past weekend my husband and I attended the wedding of one of his co-workers. It was a real treat since we don’t get out to go on dates as much as we should.

For it being late June they had amazing weather for their outdoor wedding. It was held at 5:30pm when the sun wasn’t so intense and there was a nice gentle breeze making for an oh so lovely atmosphere.

There was no else from my husband’s work there so out of the 135+ guests the only people we knew were the groom and his bride (that we had met once at a company get together). Anyways, it was kind of nice because we were able to just hangout, the two of us, at the reception.

As the other guests drank cocktails and socialized we took ourselves on a tour of the reception center soaking up lots of decorative eye candy. It was tastefully decorated and I was very impressed with how well they were able to create a elegant space without sacrificing comfort. We snapped some pictures on my husband’s cell phone to share with you (so sorry in advance for any poor quality pics). I hope you enjoy viewing them as much as I did in person.

This is my absolute favorite style of decorating which I like to call, Casual Elegance. It’s beautiful and chic yet down to earth and comfortable. The perfect combination! 🙂

Nothing quite says Sophistication like a large hanging light fixture.

Love how the bit of brick was added around the fireplace to bring in a more casual, cozy feel.

I love these pinstriped velvet chairs! They add a preppy feel while the black and white flower photos tone it down with an artistic flair.

These are two fun, not very serious matching lamps paired with beautiful blue china pots on the bottom.

A complex mirror sits with a simply designed buffet table

A bold design gives this streamlined chair some personality

There was a little side patio hangout spot where you could enjoy the outdoors in comfort. I loved this canvas art wall gallery! This wall gallery could definitely be diy-ed and I could definitely curl up and take a nap on this denim patterned outdoor daybed/bench!

Back inside this artificial tree brings the outdoors in suggesting a relaxed feel and the texture of the pot demands attention to detail.

And now for one of my husband’s favorites- crocodile navy/gray leather bench. If this isn’t a swanky bench then I don’t know what is! 🙂

So how do you create a space with casual elegance?? Add a mix of the below elements to your space.

Do you love a mix of casual and elegant? Besides having a great balance of casual and elegant elements the designers of this reception center also achieved great functional and aesthetic flow. If you haven’t read about these important design principles you can here and here. If all goes well I’ll be back soon with a new DIY tutorial! Have a good one!