Kaitlin’s Living Room Intro – How We Broke Some Design “Rules” So They Could Actually Use The Room

Kaitlin Green, our fantastic lensman and bully friend, had a existent problem, a calamity adjacent – nary 1 sat successful their surviving room. Like ever. And it’s truthful cute! Nothing was “wrong” with this room, and yet nary 1 ever utilized it. This is my favourite occupation to lick due to the fact that the crushed is ever simple: the country lacked a purpose, nary draw, nary crushed to beryllium successful there. They bought this location arsenic a fixer a fewer years ago, renovated it, and enactment their aged furnishings successful present – the container was checked. And the surviving room, successful particular, has sat bare of radical since then. You spot the household of 4 watched a tiny TV successful the household country shared with the kitchen, and past they had their basement which was a bigger den/playroom for their girls. With 2 tiny kids, and 2 engaged moving parents, this country conscionable ne'er got the attraction it needed to go the country we each knew it could be. We needed to interruption immoderate rules successful bid to USE this country – which successful my sentiment is the #1 extremity of immoderate location – to make rooms that radical privation to and bash walk clip in.

Wait, What is Wrong With This Room?

As you tin spot it had truthful overmuch imaginable – a beauteous floor, a immense window, and a beauteous mid-century-style slatted separation partition that gave it immoderate architectural interest. They suffered from what a batch of radical do:

1. Dueling focal points – A fireplace and a immense window, but nary evident “TV” wall. And the fireplace conscionable wasn’t grounding the country enough, it didn’t bid the beingness it needed to (same with mine, this makeover wholly inspired me, TBH). It’s besides a pass-through room, but astatine slightest the speech country is disconnected to the broadside creating a earthy walkway.
2. The fearfulness of putting a TV successful their surviving room – I get that, but I conscionable KNEW that they’d usage the country if they had a large TV adjacent the kitchen.
3. Not a batch of earthy light – It doesn’t look similar it the photos, but the model is facing northbound and has an overhang – the airy was conscionable level and dormant – the country either needed to beryllium painted a colour to springiness it immoderate question oregon they needed to adhd a model for earthy airy to bounce around.

An Empty Floating Wall (That Is The First Thing You See)

But erstwhile you locomotion into the location you spot this partition archetypal – BAM. Like immediately. It’s a floating partition that separates the surviving country from the kitchen/dining/family room. This partition needed something. It’s really a large layout, conscionable needed to beryllium amended utilized. They had their aged sofa facing 2 chairs, with the fireplace down it and a tiny credenza connected the floating accent wall. It was fine. Nothing was violative oregon “wrong,” conscionable nary 1 wanted to beryllium successful there.

What The Heck Do You Do To This Wall?

Here you tin spot the layout amended – the introduction is down the slatted wall. Of course, we talked astir this partition being treated otherwise – Accent color? Wallpaper? Mural? Built-ins? Tile? Paneling? We went done ALL of the options. But we needed to fig retired the TV concern portion besides addressing this wall. Perhaps the reply was connected? Here were the challenges:

1. We each agreed that the fireplace was kinda boring. They wanted to tile implicit the ceramic and if truthful past we can’t person THREE antithetic types of walls successful present (the slatted, the accent wall, and the fireplace). I’m definite idiosyncratic could marque it enactment but it felt similar a batch to me.
2. If we were to adhd a TV successful this country past wherever could it go? Which regularisation bash we break? The precocious and tiny TV implicit fireplace faux pas? The TV facing a immense street-facing model faux pas? The tiny TV adjacent to the fireplace successful a country faux pas? The TV successful beforehand of the model faux pas? All of these are “wrong” and yet 1 of them is what we did.
3. We can’t truly overgarment the achromatic walls due to the fact that determination is nary stopping constituent going into the eating country and kitchen. And honestly, they didn’t privation to overgarment the walls – they similar color, but they liked that the full main level flowed truthful good and felt truthful open. I agreed. Painting would interruption it up a batch without a earthy borderline to bash so.

So Kaitlin solved the archetypal occupation by adding a model – thing that they had wanted to bash for a portion and erstwhile I got progressive I inspired them with my manipulation skills (“we either overgarment the walls oregon we request a window”). And you cognize what? The model outgo $1200 (including the window) and took 2 days, which isn’t nothing, but worthy each penny (I deliberation that’s a precise bully woody if you inquire me).

Here you tin spot however overmuch much airy it brought in, moving the airy astir the country and truthful making it consciousness bigger, brighter and truthful overmuch happier. (These photos were taken the time that our spouse (Article) came to present the furnishings – Kaitlin gave her furnishings distant to a friend). Now the culprit was the fireplace. Sure we could overgarment the brick, but they were up for tiling implicit it, which excited each of us.

The mantel could easy beryllium removed (was installed with a cleat) and the simplicity of the floor-to-ceiling connected 1 level (besides the bench) made it truly casual to envision. We went done each the options – Zellige? A pattern? Stack? Stagger? Mosaic? Two antithetic colors?

In my mind, we needed to layout the surviving country truthful that the fireplace was much of a focal constituent (especially if they were going to put successful tiling it). You can’t enactment 2 chairs successful beforehand of it, blocking the presumption and fundamentally saying “Nothing to spot here, determination along” which is what radical did successful this room. We wanted them to locomotion in, spot this fireplace, and consciousness invited to beryllium and enactment a while. Here’s a small sneak peek of the tiled fireplace:) Clé Tile talented the astir beauteous tiles and it turned retired perfect.

Now that it’s each done (YAY), each I tin accidental is that we broke a fewer rules, added a clump of warmth and color, and I’m highly pleased to accidental that their household has utilized it astir each nighttime since – friends, kids, entertaining guys for Duck games. I’m truthful excited to amusement you however it turned retired connected Monday.

The station Kaitlin’s Living Room Intro – How We Broke Some Design “Rules” So They Could Actually Use The Room appeared archetypal connected Emily Henderson.