A layered refresh built around color, texture, comfort and a little imagination.
One of my favorite parts of what I do is getting to work with clients again and again as their homes and their tastes evolve.
I’ve worked with this particular client for many years, and she loves to refresh her spaces from time to time. A few years ago, we designed her living room around beautiful neutrals, but this time she was ready for a change. The room gets wonderful morning light, but not much in the afternoon, so our goal was to lighten things up, bring in more color, and give the room a completely fresh personality.
It Started With a Rug
Like so many of my favorite rooms, it began with something that inspired us.
We found a rug we loved, and around the same time, a couple of new fabrics had caught my eye from Stroheim. I brought them to her, and she liked them as much as I did, so from there, we started building the room.
She is one of those wonderful clients who gives me room to be creative, and my favorite piece became a wingback chair upholstered in two coordinating fabrics. I could see the finished chair in my mind, but because it was an unusual combination, we played with the idea digitally first.
I created a rendering so she could see what I was envisioning, and once she saw it, she loved it too.
That chair became one of those special pieces that gives a room personality rather than simply filling a space.
We carried those colors into a few new pillows and accessories, and then came the sofa.
Yes… I Used a Leather Sofa!
My furniture reps will appreciate this one.
It’s become a bit of a standing joke that although leather is one of the best-selling categories in furniture, I rarely reach for it when I’m designing a sofa. I love a gorgeous leather accent chair, but sofas? Not usually my first choice. But, they had always had leather sofas because they are a bit “hard” on their furniture, so it made more sense for them and how they live in the room.
We found a beautiful cognac leather sofa that brought warmth to the room and tied all of our fabrics and colors together beautifully. More importantly, it created the comfortable, livable space my clients wanted.
Sometimes the Answer Is to Take Something Away
For years, the shelves beside the fireplace had been driving my client crazy. She was constantly trying to find the right things to display on them and finally said, essentially, “I’m tired of trying to decorate these. What else can we do?”
My answer? Take them down!
We removed the shelves, painted the walls behind them and added a pair of beautiful mirrors that worked perfectly with her existing chests.
What a difference.
The mirrors reflect light back into an area that had always felt a little dark, visually opened up the room and made the fireplace wall feel much cleaner and more intentional. Sometimes a room refresh isn’t about adding more. It’s about knowing what to remove.
And Then We Had a Little Fun…
While we were working on the living room, she decided she wanted a fun, abstract floral wallpaper.
You know what happens next. 😊
Jean had just ordered some fun new wallpaper samples, and showed them to her and this floral spoke to her – suddenly the laundry room and pantry were getting a makeover too.
It is such a happy paper that the room now makes her smile every time she walks into it. We have one last piece to finish, a new Roman shade over the sink to replace the existing treatment, and then this cheerful little space will be complete.
And really, shouldn’t the rooms where we do our chores be some of the happiest rooms in the house?
Carrying the Update Into the Kitchen
Because the kitchen opens into the living space, we didn’t want to refresh one room and leave the other feeling disconnected. They had always disliked their countertops, so we also selected a beautiful new countertop and updated the pendant lighting over the kitchen, working with our contractor to bring those pieces of the design together.
I love being able to help clients with these details because they’re often what takes a room from simply “redecorated” to feeling truly finished. From choosing fabrics and furnishings to selecting finishes, lighting and surfaces, and then working with the right tradespeople to make it happen, we’re able to look at the home as a whole.
One More Place for Wallpaper
A few years earlier, we had also refreshed her bedroom. She initially considered a painted accent wall behind the bed, but I suggested we use wallpaper instead to add more depth and texture.
We chose a subtle textured paper behind the bed and then did something a little unexpected: a softly metallic, cloud-like wallpaper on the coffered ceiling.
It reflects just enough light to brighten the room and draw your eye upward, while the textured wall behind the bed gives the bedding a beautiful backdrop. It’s a great example of how wallpaper doesn’t have to be bold or busy to completely change a room.
From an Idea to the Finished Room
One of the things I’ve been having so much fun with lately is using AI visualization to help bring my design ideas to life before everything is ordered and installed.
For this project, I even created a little visualization of what it would feel like to walk into the redesigned living room. Looking back at that early concept and comparing it with the finished space is probably my favorite part because the finished room feels remarkably like what I had pictured from the beginning.
I think you’ll have as much fun seeing this home come together as we did creating it.
Ready to Refresh Your Space?
Whether you’re reworking one room or carrying a new look throughout your home, we’d love to help bring the vision together.