Now more than ever, we want our homes to be a beautiful, relaxing space.
In a time when more of us are spending more time in our homes than ever, it’s a poignant reminder just how important it is to have a space that fulfills your needs – emotionally, spiritually and physically.
You know what I mean? Sometimes you walk into a home and it just fits the people who live. It suits them so perfectly that you know it was made for them.
Giving clients this kind of home is the best part of my job and this recent project is a great example of that. Right down to the bulldog named Dash, this space is tailored to every member of the family.
This whole project started with window treatments. The client called me because she had some window treatments that her daughter had given her and she wanted to use them. She just wasn’t sure they were right.
I went to her home to take a look. They were a busy pattern and the scale was off for the room. I knew they would block some light in this already dark room.
The space, which includes the living room and dining area, is long and narrow and the furniture they had was oversized. It all just felt cramped and out of place.
A lot of people don’t realize how important scale and proportion are to a room. The furniture must “fit” in a room. That is, it cannot be too big and or too small. Likewise, patterns, colors, window treatments and rugs all play a role in finding the right balance in a space.
To dig deeper into the concept of scale and how it works in interior design, check out this blog from freshome.com.
BEFORE photo of living room.
As we talked, I knew I had to suggest revamping the whole space. This is never an easy conversation to start when you’re there to pick out curtains, but I knew that one little change wasn’t going to do the room justice and give the clients the look they wanted.
They agreed to a complete overhaul of their living room and dining area and sent me out with a nice budget. I was so excited to get to work creating a beautiful space for this lovely couple (and Dash, of course)!
We decided to keep the paint color the same neutral that was already on the walls. The client opted for a color palette of grays, blues and yellows. I knew the greige paint would coordinate wonderfully.
First, I found a great rug in exactly the colors she picked from the Scott Living line at Lowe’s. If you love it as much as I do, click here and get one for yourself!
Next, I knew I needed to replace the oversized furniture with something that worked better in the room. I found this small sectional and just loved the clean lines.
I found two accent tables from Hooker Furniture and used her existing lamps for added light. A few pictures and accents picked up from Kirklands and it was time to tackle the window treatments.
When we took down the panel curtains, so much light flooded the room. I knew we needed to let as much natural light in as possible.
I headed to Eye on Design in Belleville for new roman shades in gray to match the couch.
I felt we needed a pop of color in the room and the client was really in love with the polka dot cushions on the couch so I had a cornice board made from that fabric. This is such a fun addition to the room and really ties all the elements together!
Now that the living area was done the clients still really wanted to have a dining area on the other side of the room. During my last trip to market, Hooker furniture introduced a new “friendship” table that was bar height. I immediately thought of that piece as it would provide extra height in the back of the room.
Find more details about the gorgeous Ciao Bella Friendship table here.
Then we added just two barstools to the table. Once they received the chairs, the clients loved them so much that they soon ordered two more for a complete set of four.
A new light fixture with a dramatic black finish was added over the table, also from Lowe’s, and a few more accent pieces to complete the project.
I truly love how this space turned out and it just goes to show that there’s no project too small. The size of the home really doesn’t matter, even small spaces can be transformed into the “perfect” home that is designed just for you.