Make Your Living Room Come Alive
It’s a sad story–hardly anyone “lives” in their living rooms anymore. This is a tale we hear over and over, and here is one example of how we fixed it. The “AFTER” detail above shows a small slice of the adjoining living and dining rooms featured in this post. When the homeowners called Emery & Associates in June of 2012, the living room was the lowest priority on their list of residential “must haves,” coming in third after the family room (#1) and the master bedroom (#2). Part of the reason they weren’t very interested in the space is because nobody ever went into this room except on rare occasions.
The living room looked like this “BEFORE”:
This view from the entry shows that the back of the sofa blocks traffic into the room. The wife disliked the awkward furniture placement, and had tried rearranging things with no success. I knew we could fix that with a different combination of furnishings, and I also felt that the peach walls and tapestry sofa fabric were dated. The mantel needed reworking, and their beautiful antique furnishings which had been passed down through the family seemed lost in this “NW transitional” architecture (those furnishings really wanted to be in a more traditional space).
With a large window wall and two large openings into the room, no wonder the owners were stymied about how to arrange the furniture! We scaled out a new furniture plan on paper, then carefully introduced furnishings to exactly fit the space. We began by replacing the too small and informal teal Gabbeh rug with a room-sized Kirman from NW Rugs. The melon and gold of the new rug established the color palette for the space. We also dispensed with the sofa/loveseat combo, replacing them with a short sofa (right above), a large club chair/ottoman, and a pair of chairs.
Part of the difficulty with furniture arrangement was due to the necessity of keeping the large grand piano. Centering the piano in front of the large window allowed us to use the adjacent wall for a pair of chairs. Now the room is much more open and inviting, and offers more seating than was possible before.
Curtains hung from medallions frame the window, and add a dressy, traditional touch to the room. We carried the same drapery fabric into the dining room, and added upholstered host chairs at both ends of the table for warmth and cushiness.
Now these two rooms feel pulled together, because we have integrated the owner’s antique pieces with the perfect rug, comfortable upholstery, and elegant drapery. The room is now comfortable for one person to read, sitting in the big club chair with feet up, as well as for a small crowd.
I want to express my appreciation to the clients for their willingness to do everything I recommended, and I also want to thank my talented artisans for all their custom work: my sewer, Tracy Quoidbach, for curtains and pillows; Triena Capers at Castec for the Roman shade in the living room; my window coverings installer, Ken Chupp, for measuring and installing all window coverings; Design Furnishings Inc., for fabricating all of the custom upholstery; and Parker Furniture for the pair of chairs in the living room.
“AFTER” photography by StickleyCreative.
There are 13 Comments to "Make Your Living Room Come Alive"
I would love to see a close up of the drapery material and the manufacturer’s name.
Hi Vickie,
The fabric is by Pindler & Pindler. I don’t seem to be able to add a photo to this post, but I can email you a photo.
The layout is perfect and I absolutely love the drapery fabric and treatment. It seems to pull the room together yet not overwhelm or call too much attention to itself. Looks inviting. How could you not want to spend time in this room?
This is so beautiful. I am totally in favor of everything you did, Kathia. What, BTW, is the color/paint on the walls? You have created the perfect setting with antiques that were misused before. I truly believe everybody will want to use this room now. I certainly would!
What happened to the antique card table? I have one of those.
Another knock-out transformation! Now the room not only invites you in, it practically drags you to sit on the chair and puts your feet up on the ottoman.
Thanks for all your lovely comments. To Dinah–the living room walls are Devine Manila, and the dining room walls are Anjou Pear by Benjamin Moore. At first I wasn’t sure what you meant by “antique card table,” but I think you mean the flip top table in the “before” living room shot. It’s now in another room. You have a good eye!
Absolutely, that’s the table I meant. Mine opens, spins out to be square and has a hidden compartment for cards. It’s in the theatre room downstairs! Love the paint too!
A great new look! The “before” was somehow choked with upholstery. The new wall colors seem to update the whole look. Of course it helps to have a grand piano to lend an air of entertaining potentials!
The colors have warmed up the room by several degrees. What shade did you change to from the peach.? And where did the new davenport and chair come from? Everything fits beautifully.
To Barbara Shettler: We changed the living room walls to Devine Manilla, a very warm yellow, and the dining room is a light, sage green called “Anjou Pear,” by Benjamin Moore. All of the upholstery was custom made in Portland by my trade-only source, Design Furnishings (except for the pair of chairs near the piano).
Another magical transformation! I love the melon and gold color combo; it’s so inviting, and sets off the dark woods of the furniture in a classic way. Upholstering two of the dining chairs in the warm yellow effectively unites the spaces. Very evocative, with the chaise next to the piano. All we need is Chopin! Beautifully done, Kathia!
Kathia… It was inspiring to photograph this gorgeous living room for you. Thank you. I couldn’t believe the transformation! And, the new shrimp colored rug was so deliciously beautiful, I wanted to cry…:) Awesome job!