Client Project: Tudor Project Update

I live in a town that happens to have many old homes with great character and architecture.  Every once in awhile, one of these homes is lucky enough to be saved from a builder, who would tear it down and build a brand new 3500+ sq foot McMansion.

My clients, Beth and Steve, bought one of these old homes, and I was lucky enough to work with them on designing their living room:

(You can see a little of the wood beamed ceiling in this shot, just gorgeous!)

Homeowners of these spaces often find themselves faced with questions like, should we save that original light fixture?

In this case, it was a big no!  The scale and amount of light it supplied was all wrong for this very expansive room with soaring ceilings.  The rooms ceilings were very dark to begin with, making matters worse.  How about the ceilings and the original fireplace?  Would you keep those the same or alter them in some way?

If you read my original post about this client, here, you would know that they wanted to stick with the original architecture of the room.  It (mostly) came down to monetary reasons, as many other, more needed and useful updates - new insulation and windows for a start- were the priority.  Therefore, working with the clients style, I designed a plan that would work with the existing dark ceiling, fireplace, and wall color.  However the plan works down the road if they decide to change the fireplace or lighten the ceiling.   You can read all about it here.

(Neutral furnishing with color in the pillows)

Luckily for this homeowner, I believe that we were able to alleviate concerns over a dark ceiling and dated fireplace by choosing fabrics, finishes, and furnishings that enhance or better incorporate them into the design.

Since I last posted about this project, all of the furniture has arrived, along with a custom seagrass rug, custom window treatment shave been installed, and work on a builtin banquette in the rooms alcove is being planned out (the reason for my visit).  Here are some before, after, and detail shots of the room!

Don't mind the guitar hanging out in the bottom right of the picture!  Proof that they actually use this room!!  (Although, I admit that I made her remove the Thomas the Train set up before snapping these updates).  I just love this light fixture that the client ultimately chose.  I provided her with this choice, and a "safe" choice as well.  She went with the bold choice and I think it works so well.  The scale is so much better in the room and the light it provides is ample and almost blinding; thank god for dimmers.  Notice how the shape echoes the design in the rug.

These chairs were another statement piece that not everyone might go for!  This room could handle a bit of height and drama, so it works.  As for finishes, we chose a combination of brass and oil rubbed bronze which work well with the period of the home.

(before rug and curtains were installed; I had much better light that day!)

This project was also broken down into stages to accommodate the budget.  In this next photo, you can see an alcove to the right of the room:

The carpenter is lined up to start the built in and a table has been purchased.  We are now planning the color for the built in, fabrics for the cushions, pillow covers, window coverings, and a new tile option for the alcove.  On the right wall, we originally planned for a large armoire of some sort, but now the owner wants to keep it more open and our other alternative was a collection of art.....  She now needs to start collecting!

Anyway, hope you enjoyed seeing more of this project.  Stay tuned for more!  Follow me on instagram, here, for up to date project posts!