Part II

This is part two of a three part series. If you missed Part I The NO Demo Kitchen Reno you can read it here.

When first walking into the Great Room, I have to say I was confused. They had big recliners directly in front of the fireplace, and a very large TV crammed into the corner by the staircase, because of the cable. A smaller sofa occupying the largest and only wall in the room, and another console in a completely different style than everything else. Comfortable for him but, not good for conversation or entertaining. It was important to me to make sense of this room, even if I had to work with all the existing furniture. I could see that it could be so much more.

Trying to figure out why the furniture was arranged the way it was, the response was, the cable is there. How often do we buy into something we know is wrong, just because it is a bit inconvenient to fix the problem. I know, I have done it too. I suggested that the TV was in the wrong spot, and that it needed to occupy the longest wall where the sofa was. After making the suggestion that the cable could be moved, they went out shopping for a console. On my next visit the console was in place and the TV was in somewhat the right position. The console directed the traffic and the overall look for the room.

I knew we were going to need to work with the recliners, as they are comfortable and the homeowner really likes them. The lady of the house was not happy with the sofa but, it was in perfect condition and the color was fine, the size couldn’t have been better. I convinced her we could make it work. By moving the chairs and sofa, we were able to open up the room, so that you could see the fireplace upon entering the home. The room was much more conducive to entertaining as well. It was able to breathe.

We did purchase a new leather chair for the corner in front of the window, and a round end table for between the two chairs. We also ordered two wicker poufs from Grandin Road to be used in front of the sofa as tables. A bakers rack that she had rounds out the corner where the TV used to be.

The walls, trim and ceiling in the great room were painted London Fog. I pretty much am an all or nothing kind of a girl. In other words generally I don’t like accent walls but in this case because we did not have a “frame TV” I felt we needed a bit darker wall. The TV wall became Plymouth Rock. Both Benjamin Moore colors.

My client disliked the brick on the fireplace so that was next. We hired our painter to do a Lyme Wash. I have not personally had the opportunity to do a Lyme Wash, so this was a first for me. You can work a Lyme Wash for up to 48 hours. The next morning my client was at the fireplace, with a rag and a scrubby, to remove just a bit of the wash. She wanted it just a bit scruffier and I think it turned out fantastic.

We had a lot of discussion about the chair to the right of the entertainment console. I knew exactly the chair we needed for this space but, I wanted to find it pre-owned and save them some $$$. An impulsive trip to the Restore Store reaped gold. I found my chair. Looking a bit horrified my client couldn’t see beyond the dark stain, horrible 1990’s fabric, the skirt around the chair, not to mention the stains. Oh and the chair had bottomed out. This was so much fun for me. I pulled the skirt up exposing the legs and told her we could paint the frame. A piece of linen which I happened to have in my stash, and we would have a lovely chair. And, for 69.00 it was a good buy. She trusted my vision and bought the chair.

My homeowner had stripped the fabric from the chair, the linen had been ok’d and a paint color was selected. We worked with Amy Howard One Step Chalk Paint, and I showed her how easy it was to use. We painted the frame gray and used some clear wax and then the antiquing wax on it. Off to the upholsterers and in no time we had a beautiful chair.

The lady of the house has a collection of bird photos some of the pictures she took herself. They are all terrific. We used those to frame out the TV and also a large magnolia print that she had to help isolate the space to the right of the TV.

The homeowner made a new simpler mantel which turned out great, and we painted it the Dragons Breath continuing the accent from the kitchen. This helped set the stage for the area above the mantel.

We needed something huge above the mantel. Wanting to introduce a bit of color into this completely neutral room. I went with her love of birds. An Audubon print would be unexpected and fun, we ordered a very large print and had it framed locally.

Upon entering the home for the first time after the print had arrived, I just gasped. It is sooo good. And this room is simple and gorgeous. We added some screen shades on the windows and called it good.

We are still waiting on the chandelier. There was no high dollar custom furniture ordered. No expensive art installations. All the high dollars were put into the renovation. But working with what we already had, can still make a gorgeous room. Picking and choosing where to spend and where to save. This is a perfect lesson of what can be done if you keep an open mind. Without the interruption of a different color on the ceiling and trim, what was created, is a restful room, rich in texture, reflecting the lady of the house and the talent of the homeowner. A perfect place for them to continue their new life together. A place to call home.

Let me know in comments what you think. Could you do a completely neutral room or do you need more color?

Thanks for stopping

Shelley