This beautiful large home had several renovations before Styled & Staged got there but we still needed to do a few things to make everything flow before it could be put on the market for sale. These amazing homeowners worked so hard and were so accomodating. I am sure they will get an offer very soon.
Notice how the sunroom is now painted the same colour as the family room. This visually expands the space and makes the two areas feel like one. The sunroom no longer feels like an ‘addition’. Painting it the neutral tan colour also provides a blank canvas for the masses.
Before these two small wall sconces were placed in the centre of each large wall in the family room. They didn’t offer enough lighting and they limited how you could hang either artwork or even a flat screen TV. The simple solution was to remove the sconces and cap the socket with a light plate. This allows the next homeowners to either use the sconces if they want or hang artwork.
After the kitchen had a complete renovation the oak fireplace with the detailed millwork and brass hardware looked very dated. Painting out the brass with Bar-B-Que black heat retardent paint really helped. Painting the fireplace mantle the same white colour as the kitchen cupboards gave it a whole new life and made the two rooms look more cohesive.
My colour inspiration was taken from the homeowners red leather stools at the island counter. The teal colour was also brought in since the formal living/dining room walls were that colour and you could see them from all the other rooms in the house. The easiest way to tie the red and the teal together was through artwork and accessories. Suddenly everything flowed.
To keep costs down Styled & Staged always tries to use as much furniture and accessories that belong to the homeowner as possible. This is the formal living you room that you see as you first walk in. Since this is a very large house there was no need to have a desk in the front living room. There are several other rooms for that. The homewoners always found this room an awkward shape to arrange furniture since it was so long. Chances are, if they thought is was difficult, buyers would as well so it’s important to show the best lay-out possible. As I walked around the house on my first visit I noticed this love seat in the sun room that really wasn’t been used. Then I saw these two chairs in other bedrooms throughout the house. Exchanging the existing living room furniture with the brown leather pieces completely changed the room and didn’t cost them anything. The modern furniture was more in keeping with their adjoining family/kitchen/sunroom.
Notice that the furniture is placed around an 8 X 10 area rug to create a nice conversation area. Notice that the loveseat and the rug are laid horizontally in the room to give the illusion that that the room is wider and not like a bowling ally. This way the large bay window is the focal point and view in the room. Furniture does NOT have to be all lined up against the walls when the room is so large. We used their artwork as well.
Removing the large patterned area rug instantly made the dining room feel fresh and it blend with the rest of the homeowner’s modern updates. Changing the chandelier was a huge improvement too since it complimented all the other light fixtures throughout the house. Notice how both the living and the dining room have the same ivory drapes. This helps break up the saturated teal colour and makes the end walls appear wider and the rooms more square.
