Formal Living Transformation
After looking at a handful of fixer-uppers in the Ohio area, my agent and I stumbled upon a beautiful, move-in ready home in the PERFECT location. It was love at first sight for Ryan, but I had 1 reservation...it was completely done! I love old charm with modern updates and putting a personal touch on every aspect of my homes, but this one was completely renovated. I wasn’t going to let this house go to another family, so I got to work designing a color palette and challenged myself to try different styles then I had in the past.
When I’m “mentally” decorating homes, I start first with the bones & history. For example, you can’t take an old Farmhouse and turn it into mid-century design. Now, if you like mid-century furniture & design, which I do, you can add touches of it throughout, but it can’t be the whole concept. This house is traditional and had a contemporary style in the light fixtures with a modern look in the flooring, cabinets and hardware. Since I like modern more than contemporary, I went with that and added back in some more traditional elements. It’s still a work in progress, but the formal living and front entry is my favorite area in the house, so I’m starting there.
Colors: I painted the blue wall to a dark charcoal. This was a first for me because generally, I keep walls light and neutral and haven’t always loved accent walls in the past. After watching many episodes of Windy City Rehab, I decided to try something new.
Lighting: Although the original light fixture was very cool, it just wasn’t my style. I found a new fixture that was gold and white and swapped them. TIP: have a difficult light to hang? Offer the fixture for free to any electrician who can change it out for you. Sweet trade off!
Furniture: Mixed in my green, mid-century sofa with some gorgeous, traditional chairs. Can we talk about these chairs for a sec? They are custom-made with the most beautiful floral fabric and are down filled!! I got them for $35 each at the Habitat for Humanity Restore. I had a smile on my face for days after finding them.
Lay-out: Lastly, I grounded the room with a off-white rug (danger zone with the dogs!), light pillows and a mix of modern and traditional accents.
If there was a fire, it would be really hard for me to carry out the mirror and the chairs so let’s hope it never comes down to that.
