Scared of the word “Remodel”? Check out our process!

Walk through our process of renovating a Study/Sitting Room!

Renovations can be overwhelming and tricky if you don’t know what you are doing, but with the right help they can be very manageable and rewarding projects! The project that we will be walking through is a study/sitting room renovation. The client wanted to update the room to make it a more useful room in their home. Let’s get started!!

The main objective of this project was to lighten up the space and update it to go with the rest of the house (which was also being renovated at the time.) The clients had several pieces of furniture that were antiques and had sentimental value that they wanted to keep in the room. The room had stained crown moulding and stained wainscoting that they wanted to keep as well. Usually, if a client has that one thing that they want to keep (or have to keep) it really helps set the direction for the renovation/refresh. This was definitely the case for this study. Before, the room was very dark and rarely used and they wanted it to be a comfortable space to read and relax with no TV :). Our goal was to lighten the room and make it comfortable and inviting!

THE BEFORE

This room was used as the study, office, and occasional guest bedroom with a sofa-bed and computer printer. The guest room aspect was rarely used and the printer really didn’t need to be in that room. The dark wallpaper, the dark wood floor, and the dark leather sofa really gave the room the “study” feel, but it was not a cozy, comfy space to come sit in and read.

THE INSPIRATION

The rich wood tones of the wainscoting and the floor made the selection of the lighter wall color and sofa color the perfect combination. We selected a light creamy, grey paint color that worked nicely with the wood (it gives the warm tones a chance to shine!) Also, selecting that light color for above the wainscoting completely changed the feel of the room. Even though the bottom half of the room is dark, having the top half light just opens up the room to feel completely different - better! Because the clients were planning to use this room as a sitting room/reading room, the light walls make it to where you can see much better to read! The selection of fabric versus leather for the sofa also gives the room a comfy, cozy, inviting feel.

THE PLAN

My process usually involves a sketch to help me and the client visualize how the space will change. It helps me work through what the room needs and what elements need to go where to make everything balanced. This rendering is a great example of being able to see the wood floor and wainscoting with the idea of the light walls before actually doing anything to the room. In person you might think that the bottom part of the room would be too heavy for light walls, but this drawing shows how you can balance that with the furniture, accesssories, art, and rug selection. We kept an accent rocking chair and an antique desk, but got a new sofa, a pair of cube ottomans (with storage), added mixed matched end tables, and a beautiful upholstered accent chair. The challenge came when deciding on art for the room. I am a firm believer that art should be something that you really like (of course there are exceptions), but for this room we needed something extra special. My clients wanted art that was related to Appalachian folk/bluegrass music - and we were able to find something so perfect for the room, I believe it was God sent! They wanted this specific subject of art because they had some instruments that they wanted to display in the room and love that genre of music. I love that we were able to find something like this to tie the room together and add that personal touch!

THE RESULT

We started this project with a dark, dated, unused room, and ended it with a light, cozy, inviting space that my clients love! They even sent me a message one Sunday morning with a picture of the sun coming in the window and said just how beautiful it was in there and how much they enjoy the room that they really never did before. It’s a comfortable room to sit and cozy up with a good book and read. I would consider this project a success! My clients have a new room in their home to enjoy!

Blessings,