Earlier than & after_ by taking only one piece of furnishings out, this household’s ‘flex’ room works so significantly better

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House design ought to serve the way in which we reside, allow our every day actions with ease, permit area for calm and retreat for the household collectively, and in addition privateness for people. On the identical time, it ought to function an area of magnificence and calm, the place one can shut the door on the world and loosen up in their very own private oasis.

On this household residence in Maryland, this was not the case. Darkish rooms with minimal, not fairly helpful furnishings, and virtually absent design or fashion scheme, the problem was to present the area a 180-degree transformation that may exude magnificence and class whereas supporting the wants of all of the inhabitants and visitors.

It’s not a nasty factor that the homeowners had been dwelling within the property earlier than the redesign, because the wants of the area, and the way they had been utilizing it, had been very clear from the beginning. With the assistance of inside designer Kate Ballou, founding father of Hendrick interiors, this residence ended up changing into a light-weight, serene area, with rooms permitting for a number of makes use of and capabilities.

A ‘flex’ front room design that permits the household to have full management of its use, an workplace/visitor bed room that’s each useful and alluring, colours and textures that create a way of calm – this residence has all of it, and I spoke to the inside designer to speak me via how her fashionable adorning concepts achieved such a seemingly easy look.

The property and its challenges

(Picture credit score: earlier than residence redesign)

This 3,380-square-foot, single-family residence in Chevy Chase, Maryland, simply minutes from Washington, D.C. belongs to a household of two attorneys and their two youngsters, ages three and 5. The request was for a house that was stunning, but in addition sensible, and life like for a household with small children. The idea and supply to attain this was trusted to Kate Ballou of Hendrick Interiors, whose technique was to choose refined items, in family-friendly supplies.

Earlier than any adorning work befell, the purchasers wished to start out by specializing in creating extra cupboard space with built-in shelving in the lounge, and extra kitchen cupboards. ‘In any other case, it was kind of a clean slate by way of furnishings, carpets, and lighting. Their current furnishings felt drained, darkish, and a bit conservative for his or her style,’ explains Kate.

(Picture credit score: Stacy Zarin Goldberg. Design: Hendrick Interiors)

With no reworking concerned, the shopper’s requests wanted to be achieved via furnishings structure and ornament. There have been after all challenges to account for. ‘The middle hallway meant that circulation occurs always via all the dwelling areas, so one of many major challenges was maintaining the furnishings plan open and versatile with appropriately scaled items,’ Kate tells me. There isn’t any such factor as a straightforward, excellent mission. With each property come particularities and the designer labored with them, to ship the shopper’s temporary.

A proper front room designed as a ‘flex’ area

(Picture credit score: earlier than residence redesign)

The formal front room wanted to embrace a number of capabilities as a gathering area, but in addition pass-through, due to its location. ‘The lounge ended up being a pass-through area due to the slender middle corridor,’ explains the designer. ‘My purchasers requested that the room not really feel overfilled with furnishings, however nonetheless operate as an occasional sitting room. Due to the fixed circulation via this area, we saved the couch on a smaller scale and selected the very enjoyable ground knot poufs as an surprising factor with a small footprint.’

(Picture credit score: Stacy Zarin Goldberg. Design: Hendrick Interiors)

Eradicating the espresso desk allowed for that ease of circulation between areas. Nonetheless, to melt the formality of the area, and to the delight of the 2 younger daughters, the designer selected Design Home Stockholm’s Knot ground pillows which add a way of playfulness to the area. ‘The shopper’s daughters love the ground knots – it permits them to loosen up and really feel included in what’s in any other case a extra formal grownup area,’ provides Kate.

An attractive instance of residence workplace/ visitor bed room mixture

(Picture credit score: Earlier than residence redesign)

The house workplace proved to be one of many tougher areas to design because it wanted to additionally operate as a visitor bed room for infrequent household visits. Right here there was a query of enjoying with the structure choices, reorientating the mattress and desk, in addition to incorporating built-in desk and storage options that pull the design collectively cohesively. In what’s in any other case not a giant room, including wall-to-wall carpeting made the area really feel bigger.

(Picture credit score: Stacy Zarin Goldberg. Design: Hendrick Interiors)

‘Initially, my shopper had a separate desk dealing with the window on the finish of the room, and the mattress was within the nook alongside the lengthy wall. By switching their places, I used to be capable of present them with an enormous quantity of storage and the mattress feels extra like a daybed, relatively than a mattress that somebody makes use of a couple of instances a 12 months. The built-in design additionally feels cohesive to the remainder of the house and is a lot extra organized than separate parts,’ explains Kate, proving that easy structure adjustments can go a good distance within the design of a room, whereas nothing beats bespoke millwork for any storage challenges.

A ‘jewel-like’ eating room that stands out

(Picture credit score: earlier than residence redesign)

I like seeing a ‘shock’ room in a house. An area that’s nonetheless aligned with the design scheme and temper, however will stand out with a bolder design, or carry one thing surprising into the combination. ‘The eating room wanted one thing particular to make it really feel extra refined. We fell in love with the scenic wallpaper and let that set the tone for the colour story all through the home,’ explains Kate.

(Picture credit score: Stacy Zarin Goldberg. Design: Hendrick Interiors)

The combo of latest and conventional is fantastically balanced via the pairing of a extra conventional, scenic wallpaper with fashionable, minimalist furnishings. This method might be seen all through the house. The designer provides that ‘pure wool carpets in comfortable coloration palettes floor the areas and tie the general design collectively and nod to the extra conventional and authentic parts of the Nineteen Thirties colonial.’

A household TV room that’s stylish and ‘hard-wearing’

(Picture credit score: earlier than residence redesign)

It is a area for the entire household to spend time collectively in, so it wanted to be a welcoming, snug area, however extra ‘hard-wearing’ so that everybody can loosen up with out worrying an excessive amount of concerning the furnishings.

(Picture credit score: Stacy Zarin Goldberg. Design: Hendrick Inside)

‘The upholstery materials on the couch have a excessive wool content material to naturally repel spills and might be simply cleaned. The couch whereas very snug for lounging, all the time appears tailor-made as a result of there aren’t any unfastened seat cushions. The character of the design permits my shopper’s daughters to play freely and naturally within the room,’ explains Kate.

Find out how to create a way of retreat in a busy household residence

(Picture credit score: earlier than residence redesign)

The concepts of ‘calming’ and ‘household residence’ may sound like opposites, however the designer achieved simply that with the transformation of this property. The idea, she shares, comes from an surprising supply. Whereas sharing inspiration materials swatches, the shopper immediately fell in love with the serene historic setting of Iksel’s “Romantic Bosphorus” wallpaper for his or her formal eating room, and the palette for the house advanced from there.

Specializing in the tranquility of the wallpaper, Kate Ballou’s idea for the house was a “breath of recent air”. Utilizing comfortable neutrals with delicate hue variations, the designer saved every room fascinating by including muted blues and greens. ‘Shade is so vital in making a serene area. I take advantage of coloration, however in comfortable and pure tones which might be soothing to your eyes,’ she explains.

(Picture credit score: Stacy Zarin Goldberg. Design: Hendrick Interiors)

Along with her shopper’s younger and energetic household in thoughts, supplies had been chosen that may be sturdy, however nonetheless distinctive and recent, thus guaranteeing peace of thoughts for the homeowners via a relaxed dwelling expertise. ‘Add items or supplies which might be surprising and particular, so you will have a component of shock and pleasure while you transfer all through your property,’ advises the designer. ‘A retreat ought to really feel calm however not lifeless, it ought to awaken your senses in a mild method.’ And this house is a real testomony to that. Mixing performance, multi-use, sturdy supplies with soothing colours, nice textures, and cozy dwelling, an area was created that’s excellent for a contemporary household.

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