Room Makeover-layering

This is a story about a room....

That started as a blank slate....

 "We need to keep the couch...but I need help with the rest..."

my client told me.

A blank space is at once a thing of beauty

and one that can instill sheer panic in a designer ...

Filling space can be challenging...

especially when you have the task of creating a cozy and warm environment...

that someone else is going to live in.

Here's how I went about the process of designing this room for my client.

After adding needed lighting to the ceiling and a fresh coat of paint in a basic neutral.

{ Kelly Moore: Navajo White walls and Swiss Coffee trim}

I began the task I call "layering".

I like to start with the floors and windows and fill in the space in layers.

I knew the hardwoods and couch were darker and had a heavy reddish tint...

and so I added a seagrass area rug to define the space behind the couch.

Then I created a "feature wall" on the main wall.  

I needed length and height, and a sense of symmetry and balance.

The large dark mirror anchors the space and its size helps fill the large wall.

I got most of my items from Cost Plus World Market.

Like these fun linen chairs, layered with a throw and a reddish-golden hued pillow.

Under the rustic console I placed textural items of interest--

baskets, glass, and metal....

A large shell layered on a few vintage books add to 

the nuetral color palatte with a naturalist feel.

I added two "rusty" lamps to pick up the darkness of the floors, and my client's existing couch.

Plus their burlap shades add more textural layering.

 A bird print is layered over a tall mirror  that anchors the space,

{both from HomeGoods}.

I brought in a "heavy" garden acorn to provide interest and texture and 

to provide some visual weight to the area.

This was the window wall "before".

There are two windows at one height and a slider that was slightly taller.

Thiswas leveled out by placing curtain rods at the same height 

to visually connect all the windows and make the room taller.

Beautiful Belgian Linen drapes from Restoration Hardware 

add a soft and relaxed formality to the room.

  Fresh linen pillows from Pottery Barn speak to the linen drapes
and lighten up the darker couch.
Burlap based artwork also adds to the textural feeling
and echoes the darker colors in the floors and couch as well.

The finished look is a contemporary take on a rustic theme...

both warm and inviting as well as fresh and crisp.

Here is a more recent photo where the owner 

changed out the yellow-gold pillows for ones with hints of blue.  

Additionally a new coffee table was added to match the rustic console table--

bringing a place to layer books and a textural basket to hold magazines.

A big empty space now feels Cozy. Comfy.

 Home.

sharing with:

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