I showed you a home office with dramatic paint a couple of weeks ago.  Now I wanted to share some photos from this family’s main living space.  We did several rooms, so I’ll continue to share, but the one I want to show you today is the family room.

This room was part of a major house overhaul for an empty nester couple who decided it was past time to update the house and get the furniture they wanted to have!

BEFORE:

This suburban home was suffering from dated and well-loved (or ‘abused’ by the kids) furniture.  In a situation opposite of what we usually see, in this case the husband convinced his wife it was time to get rid of everything and start fresh.  It was a nice treat for us to get a clean slate from a couple who wanted their house to be a cool place to hang out and have a cocktail with friends.

This family room had carpet that ended into a tile pathway that set off the open plan kitchen and breakfast area.  All the flooring was removed and hardwood floors installed throughout, which gave us more flexibility with the furniture layout.

One area that was architecturally challenging was having the windows end at different heights.  This was a tough conversation to have and luckily our clients were willing to go out on a limb and agree to hang drapery panels at the same height on both walls, even though the windows did not go that high.  From the photos, you can see this treatment creates symmetry and adds grandeur to the room.

AFTER:

BEFORE:

The focal wall was definitely ready for an update.  The existing built-in was designed for a much older, really deep TV.  The area was not symmetrical and the double height ceiling left the homeowners feeling like they had to do something to fill up all the empty space!

AFTER:

The space was available to create the symmetry(we just had to move a light switch plate), so we set to redesigning the built-in unit and updating the fireplace surround.  We made the new millwork taller to take up some of the height and varied the top to create interest.  We used a lovely Carrara marble tile and updated the face of the fire-box to modernize the fireplace.

Hope you like it!  We have several more wonderful rooms from this house to come, so sign up for the blog (on the left) or keep checking back!