Traditional Blue & White Living Room

This young couple needed a family room that would work well for them for television viewing, relaxing and entertaining, as well as for their young son to play in. They also had many beautiful and historic antique furniture pieces that her father had collected over a lifetime in South Carolina. Since his passing, she wanted to be able to bring the pieces from there to her new home here in Tennessee. She did not know which pieces she had in South Carolina that would work best. They wanted to mix more up-to-date pieces with their antiques. The other challenge was the very large size of the room, most of which was not being utilized. Lighting was not a problem on one side of the room because of the window, but the farthest side was. The ceiling heights varied in the room as well, as one side was almost a foot lower than the other. Blue was her favorite color.

Working from her photographs and measurements of the antique furniture pieces long-distance, I was able to put together space plans for each room in the new home, including this family room. The antique mahogany chests with marble tops and an ornate mirror were the perfect choices for the large family room’s beginning space plan. I then divided the oversized room into two “zones.” A family gathering zone that included a television and fireplace, and an open area for her son to play where she could be close by. Two blue and white “antique washed” area rugs defined each zone. I placed a transitional sofa with coordinating fabric pillows near the center of the room to help define each space. A traditional, styled media credenza and deck provided an efficient place to anchored the television to the long wall. To help add light to the gathering area, I duplicated three black iron leaf electrical sconces separated by two pieces of matching colorful art. This helped to create a welcoming feeling as you walk into the room from the navy grass cloth covered foyer. A large red, checked tufted ottoman with three large serving trays underneath, gave a great multi-use piece for relaxing with feet up, creating a “tent” from the sofa (the little boy’s favorite thing to do!), extra seating for overflow company, along with ability to use the trays individually. Matching stylized blue and white wingback chairs with a 3-tier accent table gave balance to the seating area, and provide extra seating. The “play” area was left fairly open and offered a use of the swirl mahogany chests with marble tops. The custom window cornice gave additional color and softness. Blue and white lamps and a crystal flush mounted light added additional lighting. The back of the bookshelves were painted admiral navy to give them depth and to coordinate with the navy grass cloth in the foyer. The vertical shiplap was painted to a soft neutral tone and the trim white, giving both a fresh life.