The Continuing Saga of a Ranch-style Remodel, Pt. 2
In the beginning...
There was a gal who met a gal who needed window treatments for two rooms in her Land Park home. But that's not where the story ends...
Project 2: A Few Adjustments
While we were working on the family room, Mrs. W. began to wonder what I could do to fix up other problem areas in her home as well. She had brought in another designer in the past, but it had been a few years and new ideas and acquisitions had caused problems in her living, dining and entry.
The Entry:
The flooring there were the original tiles from the 60s. While I fully support keeping original details in the home, the large tiles with chunks of marble have never been attractive. So, we decided to remove it at the same time we did away with the parquet in the family room. We wanted a statement that would pull the family room and entry together and flooring was the perfect option.
It was decided that we would use the grey-green slate tile in both rooms, but in a different pattern. Also, to make the entry stand out more, an area rug style pattern would be formed out of the tiles. This was then enhanced with black granite tiles being used as a border.
The wall color was originally white with a white chair rail and white paneling on the bottom half of the wall. Everything looked washed out, bland, and cold. I spruced it up with a butter cream color for the walls, leaving white for the bottom half of the room. We also repainted the paneling in a light cream that wouldn’t clash with the new wall color. Finally, a pair of sconces and a large mirror were added to finish off the look. That led us to the living room.
The Living Room:
That particular room has wonderful lighting from the grand windows, but it looked unfinished without any window treatments. In addition to that, the furniture was arranged in an uncomplimentary way and missing some important pieces.
Just as in the family room, Mrs. W. had some fabrics purchased that she wanted used in the living room, but wasn’t exactly sure how. One was perfect for the window treatments. We used a floral embroidered silk for a valence and her textured aqua silk for side panels. Add some white sheer panels to cut the sunlight down a bit and that half of the room was done.
The next thing to do was paint the walls. Originally, most of the room was painted a dark blue-green and the remaining wall was scarlet. While the colors were lovely, they were also very dark and overwhelming. We painted three of the walls the same buttercream as the entry and left the fourth as an accent, tying it to the dining room directly across the entry. This also highlighted the newly resurfaced fireplace. That had needed some work originally, so we resurfaced it with travertine and added a mantle to it to finish things off.
Finally, it was time to add some accessories. An area rug was procured, to draw the colors in the room together. We installed new lighting, including a lovely petite crystal chandelier for over her piano. Finally, we added a few stacked coffee tables, a small martini table, and used her original side tables.
It was time to move on to the next room.
The Dining Room:
The dining room had the same red walls and federalist style as the living room. The problem was that there were a few minor adjustments needed.
The first thing that needed to be done was repainting the wall paneling, chair rail, baseboards, and ceiling the same cream as the paneling in the entryway. The original color was looking a bit dingy and tired. A quick paint job and the whole room looked fresher and brighter.
The next thing to do was add an area rug. As the rest of the room was such a vibrant red, I didn’t want to add any more colors and overwhelm Mrs. W.’s dinner guests. Instead, I chose a subdued floral pattern in browns and beiges. It helped calm the room down and make it feel more pulled together.
Only a bit of furniture was needed for this particular room, mostly a replacement sideboard. The original sideboard was a different style from the dining table and chairs, making them fight with one another. We ordered a new, larger sideboard in a dark stain as well as a mirror to go over it. That mirror was then flanked with two crystal sconces.
The final change to the room was something very small but it made a huge difference. The chandelier that Mrs. W. had didn’t seem to work somehow, but no one was quite sure why. Then it hit me: not only were the hats too high, the risers were the wrong color! I went to an antique store and found some off white risers to replace the bright white ones that were already there and had my assistant cut them down to the correct height before putting the hats back on. After a few more adjustments, mostly resulting in me calling my assistant MacGyver for a day, everything was perfect!
What’s Next?
So, I had redesigned four rooms in the home. Most people would call it a day and wait a few years before having anything else done.
Mrs. W., on the other hand, was convinced that she wanted more work done…
...starting with the powder room
And so the job continued... but you'll have to come back for the next entry to hear what happens next.
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Click here to read part 1!
