We have all seen them, those rooms that were once the "peak of chic," moody, dark spaces filled with wood trim, mouldings and built ins, but now feel dreary, dated and ready for a face lift. Since I had worked with this local client before, I knew that this family room was on the list for an update. When I got the green light on the room, the question was how to help these"DIYers" make the most of the space without breaking the bank.
They had already painted out the built-ins and fireplace surround with great results, so they knew the power of paint.... the big question was what to paint and what to simply tear out....
The dark beams and 3/4 height paneling was making the room feel closed in, despite it's generous size.... after much conversation we decided to keep the ceiling beams and paint them, but to remove the wood paneling. The wood trim and the mantle would remain as is in order to break things up a bit and tie in some wood furnishings.
A bar area off the kitchen also needed some love....
With the go ahead to replace or update much of the furniture, a few things would remain in the updated room, such as these bird prints, which provided inspiration for the space.
So our starting point was textiles and fabrics, my favorite! For my initial design presentation I had several groupings of fabrics to share and right away we had a winner, a gorgeous Suzanni inspired embroidered fabric as the "inspiration fabric" as well as several others to coordinate. (I shared a bit about it here)
This is the design board I shared after the fabric was chosen:
More decisions were made regarding the fabrics, furniture was purchased and new carpet installed,
and this is the revised direction for the room (did I mention the existing red sofa table that needed to be incorporated?!)
My clients have been working tirelessly and I am excited to say that the family room is nearing completion, we are down to the final details, pillows, lighting and accessories. They are thrilled and I can't wait to share the finished project with you!
What have you done to update a dark and dreary space?
In other news, after having temperatures of nearly 60 degrees with rain yesterday, it is snowing today with a forecast of up to 6 inches. Is this weather crazy or what?
Does your room need a “prescription” for a change of decor, function or design? If so please contact me, I would love to help your room feel better with a Room Rx.
8 comments:
You are so funny. I remember my friend living in a home like that when we were kids. I thought it was so elegant with the wood paneling and beams. We had Sheetrock at our home... boring to a kid. Now I would tape off the windows and let the pain sprayer go wild. Love that carpet. This will be a good before/after. It's almost 60 here.
Woah - the beams + paneling really make that room feel short in the photos! I'm so excited to see all the updates. I really love that suzani fabric - so beautiful.
Love the blue and red together, great fabrics!!! That suzanni is definitely a winner. The room is going to look beautiful with all these changes, Cathy! (Although I might be kinda bummed about the dark beams going!!)
We are having the opposite...temps in the teens last week and today almost hit 60 degrees!
this room has SO much potential- that ceiling is awesome! i can't wait to see the after!
It's going to look so much brighter with light walls and new furniture! I can't wait to see it!
Oh, wouldn't we all love to get our hands on a space like that! The built-ins they painted look great, I wasn't sure if you'd leave the beams or not. Anxious to see this transformed with your beautiful fabrics!
I do remember those fabrics and remember thinking it was a great mix and they will transition so well into this space. I'd love for our next house to have a room like this - something that has a ton of potential that I could get my hands on. That's a great floor lamp too and really like the wall color.
Wow this room is going to look fabulous! Great bones and some of your expertise and voila!
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