The Elephant in the Living Room

The L Project has to be my favorite project to date, and my most challenging.  There were several different design challenges that had to be carefully worked to meet the needs of my clients.  My clients were amazing, by the way.  So easy to work with and extremely helpful.  They did a lot of work themselves, which saved them some serious moolah in the long run.  They helped put together furniture, whitewash the brick, hang pictures, and they painted the walls.  

I absolutely loved coming up with the preliminary design board for this space.  My client wanted bright and airy but still homey.  She leaned toward grays, blues and lightly distressed natural wood tones.  I was immediately inspired and swept away by ocean blues, sea glass, and driftwood.   Beach-like without the beach.

When I first met with my clients and got to see the space they were having troubles with, it was abundantly clear what the big problem was.  The elephant in the room, if you will, was the wall to wall, floor to ceiling, dark brick fireplace!  Holy brick wall, Batman!  It was bringing the whole room down and making it extremely dark and dreary.  Several different options were brewing in my mind on how to make it work; built-ins, whitewash, etc.  The idea of covering up the brick pained me.  I don't like to see the character in a home completely destroyed.  Improved, yes. Destroyed, no.  Ultimately, whitewashing the brick became the obvious choice.  Not only is it extremely economical, it is also quite aesthetically pleasing.  And you still see the character.  

Another conundrum was their gray sectional.  It is massive in size and comfort and it had to stay. It was an all around favorite and extremely practical for this family of four with two young boys. However, the challenge came with positioning it in the room just right.  Facing it one direction would completely cover the fireplace, and facing it the opposite direction would close off the room. After going over several ideas on how we could make this work, we agreed that keeping the couch open to the fireplace and angling the TV in the corner of the room was the best option.  It still closes off the room, but when you are in that seating area, it's extremely cozy.  All in all, my clients are happy with the feel of it, and that's the most important part.  

Lighting was also a challenge in this room.  There was no overhead lighting at all, except for accent lights by the fireplace.  New table lamps were a must, but that doesn't always cut it when you need a little extra light in the evening.  I found a nice, tall arched lamp that really turned out to be perfect.  It was tall enough to where no one would hit their heads on it and also looked really nice.

Let's get to some before and after shots...  First we have the most dramatic change to the room, that dreary elephant, the fireplace.  I will provide a separate post on how to whitewash brick very soon. Keep an eye out for that.  Whitewashing, alone, made such a huge difference and really brightened up the room.

Family is so important and sometimes it can be difficult to figure out exactly how to showcase all those family photos.  This gallery wall captures some of my client's favorite moments and displays them beautifully.

Floor to ceiling curtains, adding extra panels, and extending the curtain rod out further than the door frame dramatically changed the look of these patio doors.  It makes the room look so much taller than it is.  

I tied in the foyer by adding the gray and turquoise touches from the living room.  The bench provides a little seating for putting on shoes and some hidden storage that we all need for those untidy things we don't know what to do with.   Am I right?!  Coat hooks on a distressed mirror make it a convenient spot for guests to hang their jackets and a last minute checkpoint for making sure you don't have lipstick on your teeth.

Last but not least, I wanted to put in something that really captured my client's personality.  Or at least my interpretation of their personality.  Ha!  I pitched the idea of having a sign made that said "Play Like A Champion Today,"  (Made popular by ol' Notre Dame) or something similar and it was well-received.  I attempted to make the sign myself and it turned out horrible.  Thanks a lot Pinterest!  I'll stick to what I'm good at and making signs isn't one of those things apparently.  Etsy to the rescue.  I found a great little shop called MyBoardBoutique that makes really cute signs.  Allison, the shop owner, was extremely helpful in making my custom sign just right.  Now, whenever you walk down the stairs, the first thing you see is this saying.

 That's all for now!  A big thank you to the L family for giving me this opportunity!  

-Kirstyn