Beth’s Design Dilemma
When Beth contacted us for help with her high-rise living room, we jumped at the chance to make the view inside match the gorgeous Manhattan view out the window. Here’s her letter:
We’re so excited to work with you! I found your blog a month ago and I’ve been working my way through the archives ever since. We’ve been living in our current apartment in Long Island City (with fabulous views of Manhattan) for over a year. We like Nantucket style, although my other influence is Cottage Chic and my husband’s is Classic. We both like a traditional, casual look, but I tend to go for cleaner lines/crisper colors, while he’s attracted to more ornate & classic styles. We’re trying to find a good comprise. We’d like to replace the red couch & chair with a sectional. Our limit is $1,500. The rug, TV stand & coffee table can also go. We can’t replace the dining room table & wing chair at this time, but we’re open to adapting them. We’re also open to eventually changing the bookcases, but we need to keep good storage options for our growing book collection. Oh and the wall color can change. We were initially going for bright colors in here (red, apple green, bright blue, browns) but since we’re getting rid of the couch, we are thinking of a more subdued palette to make the transition to the rest of the apartment more seamless. Our favorite color is light blue, and that’s the predominant color of our bedroom & bathroom, so it would be good to incorporate it. We also like greens, yellows and some subtle red. We really look forward to our mood board! -Beth and Ted
This living and dining room is primed for a major makeover. Here’s the plan:
And now for the mood board breakdown.
1. Beth and Ted asked that we bring in some light blue to tie their open living and dining room into other areas of the house, so of course we obliged… and added some classic-meets-Nantucket navy blue into the mix as well. We also introduced some soothing Nantucket gray along with a classic deep-toned wooden TV cabinet (to match the existing bookcase by the dining table) and a cottage-chic wheat colored rattan coffee table. Including liberal doses of white will keep things feeling fresh and light (just as all cottage-chic-meets-Nantucket rooms require) and bringing in some elegant yet rustic accents will bridge the gap between classic and cottage in a snap.
For the walls, we’d love to see a soft and subtle gray tone carried throughout the living/dining space and the adjoined kitchen (Benjamin Moore’s Horizon). This will complement the view out that fabulous window while creating a gentle Nantucket vibe for our classic white, tan, navy and brown accents. We’d also like to see the existing dining table painted white while the chairs get a glossy coat of navy blue for personality and effortless style. And the shorter light wood bookcase across from the wing chair could also get a coat of transformative white paint for a more built-in look without sacrificing storage.
2. Here’s the casual and cozy white sectional that we dug up. The white slipcovers make it easy-care (many mothers often tell us white is the best slipcover color because it can be oxycleaned or bleached back to bright clean white), and the L-shaped seating area that it instantly creates will be welcoming and comfortable. Best of all, the $899 price tag puts it way under the $1500 sofa budget that Beth and Ted mentioned! Score.
3. We really liked these iron keys with rustic appeal and a classic edge. We’d love to see them hung on top of each other on the wall to the right of the window where the gold frame currently resides. And at only $25 for three keys they’re super affordable.
4. We liked this wooden bowl for the round woven coffee table that we’ll be bringing in. Filled with decorative woven spheres or even balls of twine it will feel very Nantucket without veering off into theme-room territory.
5. This moody gray-blue ocean photograph would look lovely framed in a dark wood frame and hung on the wall above the sofa. It has movement, depth, and almost every color in our palette without being too sea-gulls-flying-above-a-sandy-beach, which would totally look out of place with a Manhattan view.
6. We searched far and wide for a classic wooden media cabinet with ample storage space and a thin profile (so it won’t detract from the view). This fabulous find will store so much stuff (both out in the open in decorative baskets or in the ample drawers that it boasts below) and although it’s not a drop in the bucket, it’s eons more affordable than the Pottery Barn & Crate & Barrel versions and it will add so much function and style to the space. Plus we scored a sectional for $600 under budget, so maybe some of that excess cash can go towards this practical piece?
7. This amazing blue-gray rug is the glue that will hold the room together while injecting casual and comfortable style and pattern. With hits of gray paired with light and dark blue, it will add texture and interest to the room while reinforcing the subtle color palette and relaxing vibe of the space (and what’s more classic-meets-Nantucket than a simple striped rug?).
8. Here’s that great woven ottoman we found, which will fit right in with the sectional to complete the seating area in seconds. And guess what, it’s on clearance for $44 ($135 off!)! It doesn’t get much better than that!
9. We fell in love with these classic-yet-oh-so-Nantucket pillows from Crate & Barrel and would love to see a few on the white sectional for some lovely pops of color and pattern (here’s one and here’s the other). They’re sure to be the finishing touches to a lovely and leisurely living & dining room.
So there you have it. A classic-Nantucket-meets-cottage-chic space with style to spare. We can’t wait to hear what you guys think!
Update: We sadly can no longer find the time to take on client commissioned mood boards (we now whip up general inspiration boards instead) but if we ever reinstate them we’ll make a big announcement!
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Great pics guys! I’m especially loving the white sectional! I’m thinking an ikea roadtrip may be in order!
I can vouch for that sectional since we’ve owned it for 6 years. It has held up beautifully, and we wash the slipcover every 6 months or so when one of the cats gets sick on it. (Thank goodness they choose the slipcover over the wool rug that would be so much harder to clean!) Our sectional has seen heavy use and still looks terrific.
wow… can’t wait to see what she does with that. I love everything you picked!!!!
I love the mood board. I personally want to see a smaller table in that area or perhaps move the wingchair out of the room so that it doesn’t look so cramped and shoved into the space.
I used to have that unslightly garbage can issue because my kitchen is uber small. I stumbled on an under the cabinet version and have never looked back. My trash is out of sight and my walkway is cleared up.
I can’t wait to see the lovely afer.
p.s. no lighting options? I’m shocked.
It’s true about the lighting options, Kristy! That gorgeous wall of windows + adequate ceiling fixtures + a small space = not much room for side tables with table lamps or a low hanging chandelier or pendant light. If Beth and Ted would like a floor lamp, the best place for it is actually where the existing floor lamp resides in the before picture (to the right of the new entertainment cabinet to provide even more illumination and ambiance). We actually think her existing iron lamp will fit right into our mood board (it’ll even balance out the metal keys on the wall on the other side of the room) but we also found this great classic beauty that would work well too:
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=10248669
Mmmm, lighting.
xo,
Sherry
Awesome! Will look so classy and airy at the same time. The only thing that will look off is the light wood country style dining set. The new space would look great with a darker wood pub table….I have a great set from Kmart of all places that frequently goes on sale for $199.
http://www.kmart.com/shc/s/p_10151_10104_021W747123110001P?keyword=chestnut
Hey Jill,
You’re definitely right about the table, and although Beth didn’t have money in the budget for a replacement just yet (which is why we think painting the table white while the chairs go navy blue will help it feel classic and cottage all at the same time), your link will definitely come in handy down the line. Thanks so much for sharing it!
xo,
Sherry
Beautiful plan Sherry! It will change B’s & T’s life. Too cool.
Inspired by details,
Greta
I too have had that L shaped couch for a few years and it’s a winner! The covers come up really well when washed, the cushions on the back are reversible (for even wearing) and most importantly it’s very comfy.
I think this is one of my favourite mood boards. Good job!
PS: Don’t forget some after shots B & T!!!
Wow, this is gorgeous!! What a transformation! Great job!
:)
~Tabitha~
freshmommyblog.com
I love the blue and gray together. Have a blast!
Gorgeous! Love this one. Great color scheme, the pillows are great as is the entertainment center.
You guys always manage to find the coolest pillows and rugs.
In the pictures, the first thing I noticed was that dining room set. I couldn’t imagine how it would incorporate with any of the great ideas I knew you would come up with for the room. Painting the table white and the chairs blue is genius.
Thanks to everyone for their feedback and suggestions. We’ve started working on the makeover and I can’t wait to share the after pictures either!!
This room is going to look great! I love the casual feel. The Ektorp sofa is great. In our house we call something completely different “An Ektorp!” It’s a strange story.
http://aninchofgray.blogspot.com/2008/09/ektorp-by-any-other-name.html
I know this is an old post, but I am reading your website backwards (loving it by the way!) My question is about the sofa you suggest, I have been looking into a new sofa, but it needs to be dog-friendly (we have 2 & they both lounge on our sofa with us) and hopefully one day kid proof. You say you have heard white is a good color choice b/c it can be bleached, but on Ikea’s website it gives instructions that it should not be. Have you heard of anyone bleaching with success? Any info would be very much appreciated!
Hey Katie,
Numerous commenters have sworn by bleaching or oxycleaning their white Ikea slipcovers. Maybe use oxyclean if you want to avoid bleach? That’s what we do! Hope it helps!
xo,
s