A Rearranged Living Room/Dining Room for Jay

I'm presently working on a client's house.
Jay was in Budapest a few weeks ago,
and while he was away,
he asked if I would come over and "play."

"Oh, yes, said I!!"

So let me give you a tour of the first two rooms
in his awesome home:
His living room and dining room.
I'll show you the "befores"
and then I'll show you what the rooms look like now.

So here we go.

Enter:

The Living Room

From the front door,

you see....

the back of this sectional sofa!

Across the room, 

a large old TV that is going bye-bye. 

Yay.

To the left of the door is this table and lamp.

Directly in front is this lovely white mantle,

flanked by two toile chairs that were Jay's mother's.

(I've always coveted these chairs!!)

Jay has framed black and white photos

throughout the living room.

There is a huge rug, 

probably a bit too big,

and it's sort of weird to walk 

along the back of the sofa

as you come into the room.

I feel like this room could really be opened up 

with some furniture rearrangement.

Here is the reverse angle of the living room, 

looking back towards the front door.

Through pocket doors, 

you enter the dining room.

A large dining table is directly in front,

on a deep emerald green rug.

The walls are Kennebunkport Green...

I love the mission vibe of this light fixture,

and would like to push that attitude in this room.

 On the back wall, 
a bank of built-in white bookcases.

 This room serves multi purposes:

Jay's piano is to the right.

Behind that, an arm chair, 
and behind that, 
a chunky office desk that Jay never uses.
That's gotta go. 
Craiglist, here we come!

 To the left of the pocket doors, 

are these two pieces of furniture,
a mirror sits on one, and there is some art on the walls..
I'm not really loving any of this.
It looks like a jumble.

 Past that, is the door to the guest room.

Then a bookshelf crammed full of stuff,

and then the entrance to the kitchen.
This bookcase just clutters the room.
I'd like to find another place for it!

So let me show you these two rooms
after I had my way!
Ready??

Living Room - before

Living Room - AFTER

I repositioned that sectional sofa so it is now open to the room.

I swapped rugs, 

and brought the smaller one in from the dining room.

It fits the space much better.

Then I changed out the pillows to work with the ethnic vibe of the new rug.

The white really brightens up this caramel colored sofa.

 
To the left of the doorway.
This bookcase was repositioned.
Above it,
I added some of Jay's percussion instrument collection.

And a cool piece of art. 

I love these pieces!

 
Here's the mantle area now.
The chair came from the dining room,
and I added the antique drop leaf table and lamp.
Artwork that was hidden in a bedroom now works beautifully here.

And I added some of Jay's glass pieces here.

 
I love how the light hits them and glows.

Behind the sofa, I placed a table, lamp,

and more artwork I found in another room.

This beautiful watercolor can be seen now!

This room is SO much more open now.

And let's head on into the dining room...

To the right of the doors...

where that piano was....

is now a desk area.

The desk and art all came from the master bedroom,

where it was hidden and underappreciated.

(More on that room in a later post..)

Then I moved in the large rug and the toile chairs from the living room.

On the back built-in wall,

I hung the mirror.

I felt like the built-ins were way too white,

so I painted the inserts on either side.

And once again, 

I staged the tops with some of Jay's collection of instruments.

Then I removed the white porcelain knobs and added these

dark ring pulls.

This area has so much more character now!

In between the two doorways,

I placed the little buffet piece.

I staged it with Jay's art and collectibles.

I love this artwork and the other artifacts from Jay's travels

that I positioned on the wall above it.

And to the left as you enter the room,

I placed the piano.

I flanked the piano with these

INCREDIBLE ornately carved wooden chairs

I found in the attic.

Oh, they are perfect!!! 

And they push that arts and crafts feel

I really was hoping for.

On the wall, 

I hung art and instruments.

 
So two rooms down, four to go.
Just WAIT til you see the rest!

It's AMAZING what can be done...
by just moving items around...
if you are open to the possibilities.

Have some rooms that need help in your house?
I can help!
SheShe, The Home Magician
Sheila Fox
sheilafox@aol.com
804-402-4370