Royal Estate - Part I

March 22, 2020 Amber Guyton

The best thing about running a business is building relationships with your customers, especially when my clients welcome me into their homes like family! My latest client family did just that.

On September 1st, I received the following message in my inbox:

“We are closing on our new home on 9/9 and it is massive!

I need help bringing to life a bold, elegant, family friendly, chic feel!

I’m so excited but I feel so overwhelmed due to the size of the home.”

This busy family of five reached out to Blessed Little Bungalow to help them quickly design and decorate each space in their new “Forever Home.” They let me know that my client, Jaméz of #ProjectRegalRetreat and #ProjectBlueHues referred them. They loved how I transformed Jaméz’s home and wanted to see if I could quickly do the same for them this fall. As I was in the middle of moving across the country to California, at first, I tried to refer the family to another local designer as I wasn’t sure I could meet their needs so quickly and from a distance. But the family insisted we move forward as they’d much prefer to work with BLB (what a compliment, I was so grateful!). The next two months of FaceTime videos, phone calls, endless emails and text messages, and the final multi-day install would all be worth it!

A complete transformation took place in this family’s home, bringing its interiors from traditional and outdated to modern, chic and full of style! In this blog post, I’ll share the updates we made to the popular spaces in their home including the living room, dining room, breakfast nook, foyer and piano room.

LIVING ROOM

BEFORE:

The first thing we needed to tackle to bring this home to life was painting. Repainting an entire home can seem overwhelming, but once you identify the colors you like best, it’s just a matter of hiring the right contractors to complete the job. The entire home was a dated taupe color with detailed white crown molding. As gray is the new beige, we had the entire home repainted Sherwin-Williams’ Mindful Gray, my go-to neutral color that gives any space a modern, refreshing look! Next, we wanted to add a bold color as an accent wall in the living room around the mantle and built-in bookcases, as well as to the adjacent dining and piano rooms. Sherwin-Williams’ Connor’s Lakefront is a beautiful deep, teal/blue color that brightened up the space and served as a nice contrast to the new gray walls. Now that we had our new dominate colors, we’d complete the rest of the color palette with a foundation of black & white patterns and accents of blush pink and metallic gold. Once we identified a sectional that the family loved and new contemporary lighting for the high ceilings, I filled the space with décor, throw pillows and family photos that completed the family room.

AFTER:

DINING ROOM

BEFORE:

Though a dining room at the entrance of a home can seem very formal, we wanted to modernize it with bold color and striking finishes. The Connor’s Lakefront paint color completely changed the look of this space! Once we laid down a black & white patterned rug under the new dining room table, it was just a matter of adding the right chairs, artwork and small complementary details. My favorite part of the dining room is the new light fixture by Jonathan Adler from Lumens. It immediately draws your eye in addition to the abstract artwork above the buffet on the back wall. Luckily, like the living room, we didn’t need to immediately update the curtains, but we added family photos in gold matted frames opposite of the windows near the entrance of the butler’s pantry. Now having enough seating for 10 or more, the family will host many gatherings in this new gorgeous room.

AFTER:

BREAKFAST NOOK

BEFORE:

Similar to the new light fixture in the dining room, the updated lighting gave this small breakfast nook the modern update and focal point in desperately needed. We found a beautiful marble and brass table and pop-of-color chairs to give the space a touch of glam while remaining functional for the two parents and their three boys. We added pink and gold canvas artwork as a backdrop the single wall in the room and updated the kitchen desk and island with brass metal seating to complement the new table and chairs.

AFTER:

ENTRYWAY

BEFORE:

When you walk into a home, you want the entryway to feel welcoming and inviting! The family’s number one request was for the space to feel grand and make an impact. Once the two-story foyer was repainted Sherwin-Williams Mindful Gray, we decided to update the lighting with a large aged-brass chandelier and brass sconces to match on the staircase landing. We symmetrically framed the entrance with gold mirrors and blush benches besides the pillars and added a console table and ottomans at the foot of the stairs. Lastly, I found a ribbon-striped black rug for the front door mimicking the black and white foundation found throughout the main floor.

AFTER:

PIANO ROOM

BEFORE:

It’s difficult to choose, but this is probably my favorite space in the entire home! After updating the lighting and relocating the antique chandelier medallion from the dining room to the piano room, we diagonally positioned the family’s new white baby grand piano in the space on top of a black, white and gold cowhide rug. We also added two large abstract murals on the back wall and a blush pink sofa adjacent to the piano. What excites me the most about this space is the image of the family gathering around the piano during the holidays, singing, smiling and entertaining their loved ones. After all, it’s all not about what fills up the space. It’s about who you spend time with while in it.

AFTER:

That’s all for now! I’m incredibly grateful to my newest client family for inviting me into their home and trusting me with bringing their “Forever Home” vision to life! Stay tuned over the next few weeks as I share the other transformations that took place in their master suite, guest rooms and children’s spaces.

For more photos of the entire home, check out my Portfolio and #ProjectRoyalEstate on Instagram.

Be blessed,

ACG

Design Deets:

Paint – Mindful Gray and Connor’s Lakefront by Sherwin-Williams

Artwork – Wayfair, Home Goods, Etsy

Area Rugs – Rugs USA, Wayfair, Target

Sectional – All Modern

Accent Chairs - HayNeedle

Sofa – All Modern

Pillows – West Elm, Modish Décor Pillows, Little Design Co, Home Goods

Dining Tables – Wayfair, Minimal & Modern