Quick Change: Piedmont

A lovely vintage home needed a bit of a shake up. The living room had great proportions but wasn't taking advantage of the space -  a lone love seat, small occasional chair and tiny area rug didn't feel inviting enough in such a large and gracious room.
LIVING ROOM BEFORE:

LIVING ROOM AFTER:

  

We moved the love seat to face the fireplace and created a conversation area with a pair of chairs and an ottoman we found around the house. We anchored this seating area with a large patterned rug we found in the family room. The homeowner wants to replace some of this furniture, and can now easily switch it out when they're ready to purchase new pieces. We also reworked the fireplace mantle with a lamp and some large colorful ethnic pieces from their collection, creating a strong focal point as soon as you enter the room.

FAMILY ROOM BEFORE:

 FAMILY ROOM AFTER:

Here we replaced the rug we took for the living room with one we found on a back sun porch - it's brighter colors and modern stripe work better with the contemporary sectional. Although we did play around with the sectional's configuration we kept it as it was because it worked best for TV viewing, the room's main function. But by simply pulling it away from the wall a few feet and floating it in the room, the whole arrangement came alive. Adding some pillows we found in a bedroom,  a throw that is actually a tablecloth, and a decorative bowl pulled in the color from the walls. This was originally the home's dining room, so we placed a corner table so the the room can easily function for dining and entertaining. Next on the agenda is hanging movie posters from the home owner's collection to add even more personality to the room. 

A fresh new look in an afternoon using only what you have!

The homeowner wrote to us:

"Thanks! I should have taken pictures when I came home last night: my son had some friends visiting from school... they were gathered in the living room, a fire in the fireplace, and snacks arranged on the dining table! It looked very homey!"

Home Office Makeover

"You transformed our living room last year to spectacular results. Still loving it!! (see it here) We have a bedroom which we use as a home office.  Last year we finished the room with paint, new baseboard, crown molding, new lighting.  All the furniture was pushed into the middle of the room.  It has taken me 6 months to go thru all the paperwork, crap, etc.  Now, we're ready to put the furniture back.  But where?  How?  What pictures (bob's sports memorabilia) should go back?  I've always wanted the room to have a nice, officey look but have missed by a country mile.

Can you help us? " 

That was an email from a client- and our reply was "Of course- we love a good challenge!"

Here's what the room looked like when we arrived:

We found out that the game table could go, but that this was also used as TV room so it needed to accommodate a sofa. So let's see- a sofa, a TV, a roll top desk, a computer and printer, a long file cabinet, more files that needed a home, and sports memorabilia. 

So....we dragged out the game table and brought in the sofa and placed it under the window, Then we brought in an ottoman to put your feet on (with a tray it can also hold the chips and beer!) We wanted to add some BLACK for some contrast - we bought a black Ikea bookcase that fills that niche  in the back to house all the sports memorabilia and a small black standing lamp for reading. Elsewhere in the house we found a small round black table to sit next to the sofa and 2 big stripe pillows for some punch:

We placed the long file cabinet on the wall opposite the sofa and put the TV on it and hung the sports photos.

We found a fun little chair in the family room and brought that in for extra seating:

The roll top desk went against the wall as you enter with the computer on it. A new wood file cabinet was purchased to house the file surplus and the printer, as well as a chic new desk chair:

So: BEFORE

                                                            

                                                                          And AFTER:

                                                                             Challenge met!

Reclaimed Living Room

We're  often called in to help clients rescue their living space from the everyday clutter that creeps in and takes over, especially their kids' toys, papers, art projects, etc. While a hard working family room/living room has to function on many levels, the constant chaos of all that stuff does nothing to help create a calm, welcoming space to kick back in after a long and tiring day. With some editing and organizing, it becomes much easier to clean up at a moment's notice and have a room ready for relaxing or even entertaining. BEFORE:

Piano, TV cabinet,  and kids' art armoire all lined up on fireplace wall.

Large painting with smaller framed family photos are out of proportion over fireplace.

Desk filled with kid clutter - move it all to tween's room!

Table with computer sits in front of doors in order to capture panoramic views.

Dining room table becomes catch-all for miscellany.

And AFTER:

A fresh coat of paint pulls the room together. Client bought new plasma screen, so we used the bottom of the blue TV cabinet as a dining room server, providing extras storage as well.

Round mirror was placed over mantle and displayed with client's accessories. Sofas now centered in room to use all the space.

That former computer table is now repurposed as a sofa table.

Art armoire moved to tween's room and piano moved to opposite side of fireplace to lighten up wall.

Plasma screen will be mounted on the left.

 

We purchased a large ottoman to visually tie the 2 sofas together and provide some graphic punch, as well as extra seating  and a broad surface to put your feet upon.

Entry BEFORE:

Cluttered with kids' outerwear and shoes.

And AFTER:

Coat closet was reorganized to hold kids' outerwear. New entry rug pulls room together with color.

Former kids' desk moved to entry can house laptop and still take advantage of views. 

Large painting from over fireplace moved to stairwell where it creates a fun focal point.

The Living Room AFTER: style and function working together!