Tackling a Challenging Great Room

Here's a quick little decorating quiz for you...What do these three things all have in common: really big rooms, really small rooms, and indoor traffic patterns?  The answer is that all three of these present challenges to the process of furniture arranging, and as a result nearly every home has at least one room for which finding a comfortable, attractive and functional furniture arrangement is difficult. 
Today's architectural styles, often incorporating very sizeable great room configurations in their layouts, are wonderful for achieving a sense of openness, as well as for accommodating many activities and functions in one large area.  The challenge inherent in great rooms, however, is in arranging your furniture.  It can be a tricky thing to play up the spaciousness of these rooms, while still fostering a sense of coziness and comfort.
Big open spaces typically have much less wall space than did the rooms of years past.  So, gone is the rule of thumb that many of us grew up with, which seemed to dictate that all of our furniture was lined up along the outside of the room.  The new standard of furnishing a great room is to float at least some of your furniture in the center of the room, rather than against a wall.

Begin by figuring out what spaces you want to define in your room.  Create a conversation grouping of comfortable upholstered furniture which is centered on the room's focal point.  This can effectively be accomplished by floating a sofa in the middle of the room, facing the room's focal point, whether that be a fireplace, an entertainment center or a wall of windows with an incredible view. 
Next, add secondary upholstered seating, such as a couple of easy chairs and an ottoman which face the sofa, and then plug in occasional tables. Think about having one of those be a sofa table, which can be situated behind the floating sofa to create a more finished look and provide space for accessorizing. 

Before leaving this area of your room, check to make sure that each of the seating pieces can gracefully face all others, to allow for comfortable conversation.  Also visualize where the walking patterns will be, and make sure that you have allowed a minimum of 18-24" between furniture pieces in the traffic areas. 
Now that you have the major conversation grouping established in your great room, it's time to consider the other activities that will take place there.  Consider a table and chairs that can accommodate casual dining, game playing, homework and bill paying.  Or, is this the place that you want to have a computer center or music area?
The key to furniture arrangement in great rooms is to identify the activities that will take place there, the furniture that will accommodate those activities, and the traffic patterns that will be generated by them.  Taking each of these into account, then thinking outside the box to decide where each piece of furniture should fit into the puzzle will lead you to an arrangement that will suit your home to its best potential.
Once you have your basic furniture arrangement determined, it's time to consider a few other elements that will give your great room an awesome finished look.  Whether you have hard surface flooring or carpet, area rugs in your conversation grouping and dining areas can add color, pattern, and a much-needed visual center of gravity to further define these spaces.
If, as in many great rooms, you have wonderful expanses of windows, dramatic window treatments that accentuate but don't dominate those windows are certainly called for.  Be sure that they are properly scaled.  A window treatment designed for yesterday's typical 72" wide by 84" high windows will look silly adorning today's much larger openings.
Lastly, make careful choices of accessories that will put the finishing touches on your room.  Especially if you have high ceilings, make sure that you do the architecture of your room justice by choosing appropriately proportional accessories, artwork and organic elements, and by placing them in such a way as to create graceful eye movement through your entire room.

Social Networking Decorating

            In so many ways, I’m such a dinosaur.  Despite being  fully engaged in a business and personal world where technology is both pervasive and indispensable, my baby boomer brain finds it a constant challenge to keep up-to-date on how things work, to say nothing of how to deal when they don’t work the way I expect them to.

             As much as I hate to admit it, there are plenty of days when I lament that things might have been easier back when my primary tools of life consisted of pencil, paper, a phone that was connected to the wall, and our simple old 3-channel TV.

             But even if I am a dinosaur, I don’t really mean that I want things the way they used to be.  All of today’s technology, albeit challenging for someone like me to master, really does make life easier, and in many ways more fun.

             In fact, two of my favorite technological developments in recent years are ones that, in a way, take us back to experiences from my childhood, which had sort of fallen by the wayside in our busy lives

            With the advent of very sophisticated media systems which are actually affordable and accessible to the average consumer, the new popularity of beautifully appointed media rooms in many peoples’ homes has brought back movie night, without the wait in line to purchase tickets or popcorn.  This week’s featured room is just one example of how much fun such rooms can be to decorate.  

            Finally having the space to accommodate a true media room in their new home, our clients asked us to create an environment which would evoke memories of Saturday night at the movie  theatre, and would be comfortable for groups of up to a dozen or so to watch movies or sporting events.

            We began by developing a color scheme of rich chocolate brown, black, warm honey and deep plum.  Whereas in most rooms our clients are reluctant to use many dark colors because of a fear of visually closing the room in, media rooms allow us to embrace the dynamic of cozy and cocoon-like.  Chocolate brown covers the ceiling and our plum color graces the walls of the entire room, and both are enhanced by classic, wide crown molding which draws the eye upward and accentuates the architecture of the space.

            Further lending a traditional, classic look to the room, we painted and framed out accent panels on the bump-outs along both side walls.  This is a clever but relatively inexpensive way to bring a very custom look to a room, and allows us to combine our colors in a way that’s not too overwhelming.

            On the floor, a beautiful black and gold patterned carpet certainly brings visual movement to the space, and is reminiscent of the very type of carpet you might find at a real movie theatre.  Having first created an elevated space for our second row of seating was an important step to making this room really function the way we want it to, as well.

            Once our major surfaces had been determined, the real fun began.  Furnishings in a room like this can be very simple, even though they are critical to the comfort and enjoyment of the space.  Today’s theatre seating consists of luxuriously built recliners which can be joined to each other in almost any configuration desired, and are complete with cup holders in the arm rests. 

            We chose to have ours upholstered in a beautiful soft deep brown leather.  Not only are these chairs even more comfortable than those at the Cineplex, but they are also spaced so that annoying little kid behind you won’t be kicking the back of your seat!

            Framing out the front wall of the media room, a sophisticated paisley print fabric falls softly in the form of pleated draperies, which are held back by rich, thick, traditionally tassled tie-backs. 

            Along the adjacent walls, we avoided overkill of pattern by switching out the paisley fabric to a textured solid in warm honey, again made into pleated drapery panels with tassel tie-backs.  Underneath those draperies, though, lies the real surprise factor in this room….custom roller shades which completely block light and glare during showtime are fabricated from a material that replicates a starlit sky.

            Soft, indirect lighting above and on the walls lends romantic illumination to the room and yet doesn’t interfere with viewing the projection screen.

            At the back of our theatre room, we situated a furniture-style wet bar, which also houses a small refrigerator and storage for snacks, and coupled that with a real, old-fashioned popcorn machine.  Our clients report that they absolutely love using their new media room, and have found that it’s really brought their family closer through shared experiences there.

            So, what’s this old dinosaur’s other favorite technological development?    Much as I never thought I’d embrace it, I now admit to being a convert to the world of social networking.  As today’s version of the old neighborly visit over the fence,  this new electronic form of being in touch has allowed us to have frequent conversational contacts with many, many people that we previously would have only seen or talked to on a rare occasion, if at all.   Why not visit with us ‘over the fence’?  Check out our Facebook page for updates on some of our projects,  promotions, workshop opportunities and blog posts, at 'Decorating Den Interiors—Julie Meyers (Iowa)'.

Home. It's where the heart is.

I had occasion recently to visit some old friends in the small town that my family and I used to live in, and to drive past the house that was our home there for several years.  Over dinner and a glass of wine, we spent hours reminiscing about all the fun times that we'd had in that house.
Built in 1883 by a doctor who was moving from Boston, the place was, as local lore had it, erected as somewhat of a bribe for his wife, who was reluctant to follow him west.  It stood as a massive sentinel on a small hill overlooking Main Street, and when we moved to the community, I was quickly convinced that that house had my name written all over it.
It was 3200 square feet of old hardwood floors, crown molding, heavy paneled doors, original glass windows....and layer upon later of peeling paint and really old wallpaper. The place hadn't been touched, decoratively-speaking, for over 60 years.
Although they've heard it a dozen times before, my friends humored me and listened again as I told about how that big old place, with all of its historic charm and character, had been my 'dream home'.
There were stories about perching atop the kitchen cabinets in the middle of the night, wallpapering during the few hours that my four small children were all quiet, and having a neighborhood party so that we could corral enough strong, willing guys to lug the old cast iron stove up out of the cellar because I wanted it displayed in our dining room.
My friends reminded me about how many hours we'd spent talking and laughing over lunches on the sun porch, while our kids would be running laps around the double staircases or playing hide and seek in the old house's many nooks and crannies.
These stories led to more reminiscences, and soon we were all sharing memories of our childhood homes as well.  One woman told about how the basement in the home of her youth, because it was so huge, had been the designated hangout for all the kids in the neighborhood. She said that when she recently revisited that house and went into the basement, she was amazed that it was really very average in size, to her now-adult eyes.
We also heard memories of a little girl's summer bedroom in her grandmother's farmhouse, with its sturdy oak furniture, a white chenille bedspread and filmy white curtains which blew softly in the summer breezes. 
Another of my friends vividly described the details of her old bedroom from the 1970's, with red and white, candy cane-striped curtains, a red and white eyelet bedspread, and the obligatory white wicker hanging lamp that nearly everyone seemed to have back then.
Mostly, though, she remembers the perfect window seat overlooking her backyard, where she recalls spending many hours curled up with her books. She says that was her very favorite spot in the entire house, and the first place she gravitates to when she goes back home.
So, prompted in part by my visit to our old town, and even more by the past few years of natural disasters when so many people have lost their homes and belongings, I've found myself thinking a lot lately about the very concept of 'home'.
About the massive property losses, so many times we've heard it said, "They're all just things, and they can be replaced, as long as everyone is safe," and that is definitely true. 
But it's also true that so many of those 'things' represent experiences, memories and emotions for us. And those experiences, memories and emotions are what really make a house a home. When those 'things' are taken from us, whether by wind, water, or simply relocation, it's okay to grieve their loss for a little while, and then good for us to commit them to the 'fond memories file' in our brains and move on to the next phase of our lives. 
Critical to every phase of our lives, however, is the feeling of truly having a 'home'.  No matter where you live or how long you've lived there, ask yourself what it is that makes, or could make, your dwelling place a home for you.
Is it a certain look or style that uniquely reflects your personality, and makes you feel good that it projects "This is who I am"? Is it a special spot that beckons you to sit and savor a moment of relaxation? Or, perhaps it's simply a space where you feel comfortable, and can create memories with friends and family.  Whether you find yourself in someplace new, or somewhere that you've lived in for a very long time, give yourself and your family the gift of creating the experience that all of us need and deserve: to open the door, walk in and say to ourselves "Ahhh, I'm home."

Grandma's Guest Bedroom

In the same way that certain smells can suddenly evoke olfactory memories from our childhoods, I awoke on one of our recent beautiful summer mornings to the crisp, cool breeze blowing through open windows, and was immediately transported back in time, to the guest room of my grandmother’s house. 

            As if I’d been there yesterday, I could see the cuddly white chenille bedspread on her old iron bed, feel the big feather pillow beneath my head, and in my mind’s eye watch her crisp eyelet curtains dancing on the morning breezes.  It’s funny how those images, stored deeply in my subconscious, are key to my memories of summer days at Grandma’s house. 

            A recent client of ours must have had very similar childhood memories, prompting her request for a guest room makeover which would facilitate visits from her two young granddaughters.  She asked us to take a nondescript, underused sewing room and turn it into a cheerful, welcoming guest room that the girls could consider their home away from home.

            As with any decorating project, our first step was to identify both our objectives and the challenges that we needed to address. 

            The room needed to be able to accommodate two little people for sleeping, story reading and playing.  As much as possible, we needed to utilize furniture that our client already had.  The finished look needed to appeal to the little girls, but be able to grow with them and suit Grandma’s tastes as well.  And, we had to accomplish all of this within the room’s 11’ x 12’ space.

            The makeover began with an inventory of what we had to work with.  Because this room had seen little hard use over the years, its neutral carpet was still in good shape, and provided a nice soft playing surface for little knees and bottoms.

            An antique gentleman’s chest, an old dry sink, and a wicker chair and ottoman were retrieved from storage and pressed into service with new finishes and cushions. 

            A sleigh-styled daybed with trundle underneath provides a space-efficient way to house two people, while doubling as a sofa during the day.  The bed was really the only new piece of furniture needed to complete the room, leaving most of our budget available for bedding, window treatments and accessories.   These were the elements which would really give this new guest room personality!

            In creating the color scheme for this project, our suggestion of marrying two of our client’s favorite color combinations of black and white, and periwinkle blue and yellow, was at first a bit outside of her comfort zone.  Seeing how this eventually played out, however, was a pleasant surprise to her.

            Benjamin Moore’s “Blue Lapis” on the walls created a vibrant but soothing backdrop to the room, and is a color that our client’s granddaughters love. 

            Set against that cool periwinkle hue, the new black finish on the gentleman’s chest adds a bit of drama, while a petite black and white polka dot print and periwinkle ball fringe at the windows lend a whimsical touch to the space. 

            Balancing the polka dots out with the addition of three complementary small prints, utilized at both the windows and on the daybed and toss pillows, lends a subtle French Country feel to the room, and the sunny yellow floral fabric of our pillows adds just the right punch of brightness.

            Accessorizing in a room like this can be a bit tricky.  Over-accessorizing would cause this small space to feel cluttered, and wouldn’t be amenable to little peoples’ activities.  Under-accessorizing, on the other hand, would leave it feeling unfinished. 

            Carefully chosen and placed, however, our swan figurine and potted plant atop the amoire help to make that piece feel complete, and the vignette created at the old dry sink lend a real “Grandma’s room” flavor to the space.   Finally, a vintage-style mirror above it all visually expands the room and provides the perfect finishing touch.

            Now that our client’s guest retreat is complete, she reports that her granddaughters just love having what they consider to be their own room at her house, and she enjoys knowing that they will have great memories of the time that they spend there.