When we first moved into our old, Southern, cottage style house, it became quite apparent that it might well have been originally designed for Thomas Jefferson himself. The dining room was even painted Monticello yellow, complete with a shell alcove painted a bright coral color. It was all a little much...
After realizing we never actually used the room for dining, we decided to change it to the family room. And to make it a family room that was actually livable, we had to repaint it a more relaxing color. We chose these Duron colors:
• 5751W Desert Beige (Above and below chair rail)
• 5550W Falling Star (Ceiling)
The cool blue on the ceiling paired with the cream colored walls instantly freshened up the space. The corner of the room where the shell alcove is located became a focal point. Before, the coral and yellow combo made it quite an eye sore:
Once we painted the walls and covered the coral color in the shell alcove (which took several coats of paint), we decided to put a skirted table in the corner to add weight. We flanked the table with lightly slip-covered upholstery in neutral shades, adding pops of color through accent pillows.
Resources:
• Skirted table is from Ballard Design in burlap.
• The lamp is from the Kellogg Collection.
• The acrylic frames with nude drawings are from Crate and Barrel.
• A collection of cream-ware items were mostly purchased on Ebay.
• Upholstered sofa and club-chair are from Lee Industries.
(Images: Cate West Zahl)
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Looks nice, but isn't that table blocking the cabinet below the shelves?
That corner of the house with removable seat seems a very good idea, reform is a good place to relax, pick up the idea for a future reform.
I don't see the blue ceiling anywhere—or am I looking at the wrong pictures?
It feels much softer and/or more feminine in the after design. Maybe that's what you were going for with the changes.
I agree that a smaller table might be an even further improvement on that corner; it does look a bit cramped over there. BUT I think overall it's an excellent revamp of a tired looking cabinet and it seems like it was well-done.
Cate! I knew this was yours without even seeing your name because your style is so classic and fresh and inviting. I think you transformed it from jarring to welcoming. I would love to lounge and read a book. I also think this is a great example of how picking the right shade is essential. I've met a lot of people, ahem, my husband, who think yellow is just yellow. Clearly it's not. Well done!
I love the after, though I'm missing the contrast and would have liked to see the wall under the chair rail painted to match the trim. Sure the corner is a bit crowded and the table blocks the bottom of the cabinet, but who doesn't have a place in their home where the space creates a problem like that? It looks great and you don't have to put things you often use in there.
The coral certainly did have to go.
I love that you used beige and a glossy white trim to make the room warm and bright at the same time. It certainly freshens up the space. Is there even decorative molding under the window sill?? And I disagree with the comments about the table being too big, I think the shell alcove needs something with grounding to balance it out.
I think the update was nice and helped streamline a lot of different colors going on in the room but it might have been nice to paint the shelving area of the recessed coves a few couple shades darker. Those areas are kind of special and could be interesting and the neutral objects sitting in front of a neutral background get lost. Subtle drama is nice.
Incredible. Very pretty and comfortable now.
Yeah... I don't say this often, but nice use of beige. I'm also a fan of that lamp and the little modern vase with that odd plant in it. And the arrangement of the two framed things on the wall, well done. It could easily have looked cluttered or precious but the gold goes nicely with the beige and the restraint with the color and size of the things in the frames works. Everything is like about this is the opposite of what I'd have done but I like it.
I LOVE those built-ins.
The room has a lovely serenity to it now. I too love the built-in - is it possible that a previous owner put it where a door used to be, or am I reading too much into the outermost wood trim? I combined two baths and dreamed of putting built-in shelves in place of the now defunct doorway. I love architectural mysteries...
I love the rooms inviting soothing colors ambiance and thought to dare decide what you wanted to do would cover the lower builtin cabinet was tasteful in an independant thought expression of accomplished consistent flow for the room. Besides, isn't that wall cabinet where you keep all the money and jewels? Yep, I thought so.
I liked the coral but it was fighting too hard with the yellow. The new look is elegant but timid. It's like "Our room has this beautiful architectural feature -- but don't worry, we fixed it so you won't notice it at all. It's totally inoffensive!" The coral (or even a bleached-out version of it) might have been a nice backdrop to such a muted choice of tchotckes. I see 16 art objects, plus books, and not one of them provides anything to come look at. I'd like to see some gesture that indicates the decorator was willing to take a chance.