Ridgefield Modern Living Room & Office
This young family moved into a bigger house and, as frequently happens, discovered that their living room furniture was too few in pieces and too small in scale for their new great room, which also came with beige walls and carpeting. The power of paint really shows in this project- the walls went pale gray, the trim crisp white, and the inside trim black- still all the same trim and windows! A huge new sectional, colorful rug and other pieces made this space somewhere they actually wanted to spend time. On the other side of the windows were 2 spaces- a wetbar and a nook with a bookcase placed in it. We revamped both to match the rest of the space in color and design, replacing the mirrored-back of the wetbar with brass-inlaid marble tile, refaced the cabinets, and created built-ins to match in the other nook. In the office, custom box-molding, new shelves, and a coat of navy paint gave the room some texture, depth, and functionality.
Ridgefield, CT Modern Farmhouse
Staten Island Living Room
Norwalk, CT Fireplace Renovation
Chappaqua, NY Colorful Living Spaces
This young family relocated from Brooklyn, NY, to her homebase of Westchester county, NY. They bought an older house full of character, but with a color scheme a little too gray for their tastes. They described wanting the home to feel a little urban and sophisticated to represent their Brooklynness, but to also honor the house’s age and charm as well. We did 2 adjoining rooms, a living room and a family TV room, and they wanted the TV room to feel casual while wanting the living room to feel more formal for adults. The challenges were to make these 2 rooms coordinate but not match, and to have these disparate casual-formal feels while also getting that urban-old-home balance just right! The TV room got a facelift in the form of green paint and a William Morris (designed in the 1800s) wallpaper in the backs of bookcases. We kept the vintage-feeling mantel and brick fireplace surround, and added in a cushy leather sofa and patterned swivel chair for movie nights. The green and blue color scheme was carried over into the living room, where they got a formal makeover into a tufted velvet sofa and lacquered credenza. Architecturally-interesting wood chairs nod to the urban, while a brass and marble coffee table mirror the new brass chandelier.
Ridgefield Black, White, & Blue House
Over the course of a couple of years, these clients and I gradually took on each first floor room of their home (minus the kitchen and baths- so far!). She had laid the gorgeous marble black-and-white checkerboard foyer floor, and painted a room off of it a deep blue. So we kept the black, white, and blue color scheme for the 2 living spaces- a family room and a music room- and the mudroom. The music room (which they actually use for music!) got a champagne, cherry-blossom textured wallpaper, a graphic rug, simple curtains with a fun trim, and comfy blue chairs to sit and listen to the piano. The family room kept it’s couch and coffee table, but we added in happier chairs and rug. The biggest change here was replacing the dated beige fireplace surround with dramatic black and white marble, and adding in a fun black bubble chandelier.
The mudroom “before” was a completely empty hallway! So as you can imagine, it was a mess. We corralled it into open and closed storage with cubbies, cabinets, shoe bins, and hooks, and dressed the whole area up with blue and white wallpaper.
Finally, this family hired me back to help with their basement home theater! The AV contractor said it was the smallest theater he’s ever done, but we killed it. We took an unfinished, cement-floor, cement-walled section of the basement and turned it into this: a luxe, comfy, and cozy Art Deco-inspired theater. I can’t with the peacock-wallpaper panels!
