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Shelly’s Design Dilemma

Posted by
May 26, 2009

Shelly’s family room is bursting with potential. Here’s her letter:

The house was built in the 50′s and the previous owner did some serious remodeling – knocking down walls, etc. Now, the house has a great open feel. Everything opens onto each other – the “formal” living room opens onto family room (the main focus for the mood board) which opens to the kitchen. The dining table and chairs must stay but the rest of the seating area furniture can go unless you can make it work.When it comes to our style, we’re casual with a touch of modern. I like to be comfortable; I grew up in Florida, so the colors of the ocean will always be appealing to me. As for the wall color, it can stay or go- whatever you think (nothing bold and bright please). I am typically afraid to use color on any large areas (as you can see with all of the brown and cream in my two rooms) and prefer to keep colorful pops of color to the accessories. Thank you!!! -Shelly

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This space is primed for a major makeover. Here’s the plan:

Vibrant & Textured Living Room

And now for the mood board breakdown.

1. Since Shelly likes a neutral base, we’d love to keep her existing cream sectional along with her tan wall tone and layer in some more warm sandy tones and a few deep chocolate furniture pieces for some rich dimension and tons of function. We’ll also bring in a few pops of teal (Shelly mentioned that she loved beachy tones) along with some juicy coral hues in the accessories to wake things up and add instant style and interest.

2. Shelly’s amazing expansive windows and the view of her backyard pool inspired us to bring in a lighter and breezier chandelier (on sale!) for above that great glass dining set in the eating area.

3. Replacing Shelly’s current TV stand with a gorgeous wall unit (on clearance for $1200 off!) will add tons of function to that entire wall while taking the focus off the big flatscreen (she can bring in gorgeous accessories in teal and coral for the shelves on either side).

4. And speaking of teal and coral accessories, we’d love a bunch of these sculptural vases on the media cabinet shelves to add a dash of color to the neutral space (they look just as fab without flowers as they do when they’re full of blooms).

5. Replacing Shelly’s existing white industrial fan with a crisp & current light-fan combo (on clearance!) will instantly update the family room while keeping things cool and shedding more light. And we love that the fan blades will subtly tie in with our woven coffee table that will be placed right below it.

6. Some breezy curtains are just what we need to draw attention to the best feature in the room- those gorgeous expansive glass doors and window that overlook the backyard pool. Hanging one super long curtain rod (JC Penney makes extra long rod extensions) across that entire bank of windows and doors and then adding four of these textured but neutral curtain panels (one on each side of the windows and one between each of the windows and doors) will make that wall look like one big pane of glass- and turn it into the focal point that it deserves to be!

7. These punchy teal, tan and coral pillows will tie the entire color scheme together and break up the large sectional to create a cozy and casual place to relax.

8. This soft blue and tan 8 x 10 wool rug will ground the seating area while adding a little pattern and contrast to the wood floors for maximum impact.

9. This woven square coffee table will fit perfectly in front of the sectional and add layered and casual style with interest to spare.

10. Here are some more punchy blue accessories (both under $20) that we’d love to see on the mantel in the dining area for a pop of color and some sinewy height. And speaking of the mantel, we really like the existing sunburst mirror and think it might look even better if it’s rehung a bit lower so it’s centered between the mantel and the ceiling. Bellisimo!

11. This chic patterned slipper chair (for just $299) can slip right into the corner where the old floral armchair previously sat. And this lovely white carved wood side table can be placed to the right of the chair (which can be angled in towards the coffee table) to add even more texture and pattern to the space while complementing the casual and easygoing vibe.

12. This round woven 8 x 8 jute rug (just $174!) will look amazing under the glass dining table while adding more of that airy and beachy vibe beneath that capiz shell chandelier. We also love how the texture ties in with the woven coffee table on the other side of the room and even roughly mimics the pattern on the slipper chair. This room is all about subtle details that come together for maximum impact.

13. Here are some coral vases that will add a few more splashes of our other accent color in the room to tie in with the gorgeous pillows on the sofa (another coral pillow would look great on the slipper chair by the way). We’d love to see the vase on the right as the centerpiece on that lovely glass dining table while the other two vases find a place to live on the media cabinet across the room for some cheerful cohesion in the entire space.

So there you have it. A family room full of casual and welcoming style. We can’t wait to see what you guys think- especially you Shelly!

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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