Creating New Chapters

My inspiration this week was finishing a home project for new clients of ours.   As I left the home, completely transformed, I was filled with a sense of joy. The joy that can only come from meeting and exceeding the expectations of our clients...and on top of that helping this lovely couple begin creating a new chapter in their lives.

While there are so many reasons for buying furniture, often the most important reason is that our home surroundings are the backdrop of our lives.  And furnishings need to change as our lives go through both big and small changes.

Our clients joyfully re-married about three years ago (a second chance for both) and are living in his beautiful home.   But as beautiful as the home is, it still represents a life before his new wife arrived.  To truly create a life together, they wanted and needed to begin making the home feel like theirs, not his.

So where did we begin?

As always, we start with a home visit to see in detail all the elements that we have to work with and what might need to change.   

Our client thought that she would need to change just about everything to achieve a new and updated look.   As Kelli and I toured the space, it was decided that the existing carpet, woodwork, tile, countertops did not need to change to accomplish their goals. (HE was very happy with this conclusion.)   We did recommend that our clients give the home a fresh coat of paint with a color that would help us neutralize the green and gold tones throughout the house.

Kelli recommended Benjamin Moore’s Revere Pewter.   Revere Pewter is a light gray with warm undertones.  Which makes it a great choice for homes that have warm wood and flooring materials throughout and want to move from a traditional style to transitional.

It’s a classic shade that creates a unifying look that is calm and soothing.   We especially liked how this color worked with the stone surround on their grand fireplace.   

Our clients were ready to make some changes and did not want the process to drag on for months.   They wanted changes now! So, we called upon a reliable painting resource, CR painting, who quickly provided a quote and got down to painting all within a couple of weeks.

While the painting was being accomplished, our team worked on a variety of floor plan options to present to our clients.    

Our immediate focus was the great room and a music room that were virtually unused by this couple as well as the first place you see when you walk into the home.   HE had a small TV room in the back of the house that he had found comfortable and SHE, well, she has been wandering for some time looking for a place to land and that feels like her own.  

The SHE of our couple is quite petite and it was important to find chairs that fit her just right!    We also settled on a beautiful sectional for the great room because we wanted to encourage a setting where they could both enjoy the room whether watching TV, reading, entertaining or catching up for the day.   

As we found the pieces that inspired our clients, we began to write a new chapter in their lives together.  

The music room housed a gorgeous grand piano but there was nothing else to draw you into this room.

 BEFORE

It didn't take much to make this room sing.   A console and lively piece of art was placed on the dominant wall to anchor the room. We added two swivel chairs, an occasional table, and a hide rug to create a space to enjoy the music or morning coffee.  

The great room was next on our immediate list.  This important room remained in a time warp from days gone by and it was time to shine more light into this space.

 From the piano room, you can begin to see the impact of a fresh coat of paint and the furnishings hand selected by our client.

 A quick view from above shows it all...from the new furniture layout to the updated shelving and fireplace accessories.

Something old, something new was our mantra for the bookshelves combining some of his, hers and ours to simply make it theirs.

The great room has now become a place that both SHE and HE want to share and use together. 

This is such a good illustration of how creating a new chapter for your home and life can be a fun and healthy process.   Thank you for allowing us to write a few pages in your home!