Tuesday, October 18, 2011

From Empty Living Room to a Romantic Writer’s Retreat

BEFORE

AFTER

Hi Friends,

Candice Olson creates a masterpiece design for a writer needing refuge.

Our designer divided the space into a writing area, a meeting area and a seating area and created cohesion with a soft color palette, dramatic architecture and shimmery details. An ideal romantic retreat for a romance writer.

The space had great bones: high ceilings, Palladian windows, crown moldings and hardwood floors, but was missing the “wow” factor. To help achieve this, our designer infused the room with a bit of color. Put up silvery, floral-patterned wallpaper in most of the space, and then paint the rest in a serene shade of cream.

Then, because the space was originally fashioned as two rooms (living and dining) and had columns that separated the two areas, which was ideal for a writer’s retreat and a meeting area.

In the writer’s retreat, a new desk was installed that blends function and fancy. The piece is a combination desk and bookcase done in a light cream with a beautiful dark wood work surface. Added was a great writer’s chair in a soft green that will be the perfect spot to create masterpiece after masterpiece.

Worked in a little seating area for friends, which includes an L-shaped sectional in subtle, silvery linen, and a gorgeous gas fireplace that is surrounded with stone and has a stunning mirror above.

Soft, gauzy sheers with gold satin trim diffuses light softly through the large windows at the front of the room and put the same sheers up to separate the writing space from the meeting space.

In the meeting area, there is a beautiful wooden table where the romance writers can gather (and maybe family for the occasional meal), and chairs in a green patterned fabric and velvet. Along the back wall is a beautiful hutch that is backed in mirror, which serves to reflect the windows and detailing in the writer’s area.

Lighting is always a really effective way to add ambiance to a space. Installed are two antique silver and crystal sconces above the fireplace, and an elegant silver and gold gilded crystal chandelier above the sectional. Above the table in the meeting room is another shimmery fixture that acts as a companion piece to the larger chandelier.

After adding some final romantic details – area rugs, vases, pictures and some books – the redesign was complete.

This large, empty space was crying out for a happy ending. Our designer gave it a dreamy makeover full of traditional details, cool colors and feminine inspirations. Now it’s the perfect blend of fantasy and reality – and is definitely number one on this year’s “best rooms” list. Now that’s divine!

Check back for more ideas and enjoy your writer's space.

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Live well,
Yvonne

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