Child-friendly makeover
We moved into our house five years ago and have updated almost every room in our 40-year-old house. The only room left is the living room, which is quite a big task. Right now, it looks awful! The dated window treatments were left from the previous owner and there's never been any furniture in the room. There's nothing but toys and potential for greatness! We'd love something child-friendly, but great for relaxing and entertaining as it's the first thing you see when you walk into the house. It's a huge room that gets lots of sun, so there's a lot of potential. Please help us find a happy medium to create a room that our children will enjoy and we will love being in too!
Design by Steinhafels
Designer Andrea Odishoo
A transitional style of decorating was selected for this living room that also needs to function as a kid-friendly space.
Since there is an abundant source of natural light in this room from the large front windows, a darker wall color is in order to add more warmth and drama to the room and provide a much needed contrast to the carpet color. Benjamin Moore's River Reflections #1552 is recommended.
A darker hued and patterned area rug placed on top of the carpeting will hide a multitude of sins with small children using the space and establishes the color direction of the room.
A leather Chesterfield-style sofa will provide a touch of elegance, suitable for a living room setting, but will be easy care and maintenance with small children given the durable nature of leather. The sofa will be flanked by a sculptural metal floor lamp on one side and a narrow metal side table on the other.
A round cocktail table, with four pie-shaped stools tucked under, not only looks great but allows small children to sit around the table while playing games, coloring, etc. Two accent chairs in a small-patterned fabric would balance the conversation area.
A wide bookcase with both open shelving and closed storage multi-tasks between displaying décor and hiding kids' toys. An accent chest in an exciting pop of red adjacent to the windows, topped by a starburst mirror completes the room.