Award Wining Living Room

Dianna and Todd were recently married and each had their own home full of furnishings. This was the home that Todd had been living in as a “bachelor.” The couple was originally from Florida and they were uncomfortable with the pale colors and lack of style that they wanted to bring to their “new” home together. They are both busy professionals.

The existing family room had a sectional sofa that provided only one type of seating when they had friends and family over and was too large for the size of the room. The faux wood blinds on the window were too heavy and difficult to raise, as the homeowners wanted more light in the room, but still needed privacy in the evenings and glare protection for the television. The cord management on the television was an eyesore and they wanted a piece of furniture to go underneath it. They felt the built-in bookshelves were not interesting and did not know how to display accessories properly. Dianna loved her area rug in the room and the colors in it, and she wanted it to stay.

The problems were the following:

. Dull wall color.
. Uninteresting built-in bookshelves and display.
. Existing television had to stay mounted on the wall where it was, with cords hanging down the wall.
. Provide optional seating arrangement to fit the room properly.
. Improve window treatment (too heavy/difficult to raise).
. Privacy and light control for the window.
. Use existing area rug and colors in it.
. Improve fireplace mantel display.
. Additional lighting.

I began by creating a much-needed focal point in the room by using a “Klondike” faux finish on the wall behind the bookshelves and above the fireplace mantel. I based the color of the faux finish and the walls on the colors in the existing area rug that needed to stay in the room. Managing the cords from the wall-mounted television, I added a tall media chest with a cordovan finish and lion heads, polished nickel pulls underneath it, giving some balance to the remaining space plan. A custom-made sofa, chairs and pillows were placed to give a more open feeling to the room and create seating options. The pillows on the chairs were made to stand out against the soft, velvety fabric using a snake-skin like fabric with metallic shimmers to coordinate with the polished nickel nailheads and metallic faux finish on the bookshelf walls. Soft, velvety, leaf patterned pillows were placed strategically along the back of the sofa to bring some of the velveteen of the chairs to the grouping. A round, silver-trimmed, glazed cordovan, glass-topped cocktail table enabled easy movement within the room. Finishing the seating area, is an oversized, mirrored-top end table and a round coordinating drum table between the chairs. Artwork, musical figurine sculptures, books, champagne framed mirror, glazed terracotta candlesticks and other accessories rounded out the rearranged built-in bookshelves and mantel. Crystal lamps reflecting off the mirrored surface of the table, added some much-needed task light to the room. A single silhouette shading and soft faux silk and velvet square inverted drapery panels on a beautiful platinum rod and rings completed the look!

This room went on to win the 1st Place People’s Choice Award Award in the International Dream Room Competition, and is featured in Love Your Home by Carol Bugg

Photography taken by Accent Photography.