This past fall, one of my friends moved down the road from me into a newly restored vintage bungalow. I had the privilege of working with her on one of the extra rooms in her new house!
Meet Annie: she is the do-it-yourself type with the brains of Martha Stewart mixed with the ambition of a young twenty-something trendy Nashville wife of a musician. She’s so talented that she could go into the design business on her own. A couple of weeks ago, when I came over to shoot a few pictures of her room, she had installed tiki torches to her back patio that she made from old wine bottles. Incredible…
Annie is as sweet as can be, and when it comes to decorating a house, she’s fearless. After only a couple of months, she had each room painted with curtains hung, furniture in place, artwork on the walls and accessories set…minus one room. Her home looked like it came straight from Domino Magazine.
No pressure on me to come up with something functional, creative and unique for the final room in her hip home, right? I saw this challenge as an opportunity to grow as a designer, so I said that I would love to help.
The most challenging aspects of the room are its size and layout. It’s roughly 12′ x 12′ and has a wall of windows, two doorways and one functioning door. See below.
The small scale of the room lends itself to a comfy TV room. The portion of the room closest to the window functions best with an L-shape configuration–perfect for a small sectional. Since the side opposite the window is so narrow, a flat screen tv works best. A large area rug will help solidify the space by bringing both sides together. A center light fixture as well as coffee table/ottoman will emphasize the centrality of space. Adding an occasional chair or two and side table will help fill in the blank space of the room, making the room feel cozy.
Here’s the layout that I came up with…
I focused on bold colorful patterns for the pillows, ottoman and draperies. (The first two are new and the last one is an oldie but goodie).
For the sectional, I went with a simple transitional sectional in a neutral cotton/poly blend so that the fabric would keep it’s shape. This was the big purchase in for them (sorry guys…you had to have it and I know that you wouldn’t change your mind now that you’ve used it).
I used Annie’s existing mirror for the wall that you see as you walk into the room.
We used her existing favorite bird paintings on one of the corner walls.
The flat screen, media center and straw chair from West Elm were reuses!! (You’re welcome, Dave).
Here’s the light that Annie found on overstock.com for under $200!
This is the rug that I chose. It’s my favorite and I use it a bunch, because it’s affordable, durable and versatile. Its the Jute Boucle rug from West in Flax 9′ x 12′.
And tah-dah…..here’s the final room (its so small that this is the only shot that I’ve got for you).
I would say that this is definitely one cozy and pretty hip TV room. Annie, I hope that you’re still enjoying it!
A tout a l’heure,
Natalie