Typically, there are lots of wood furnishings and wood flooring – the main opportunities for color or pattern are chair fabric, window treatments, and wall color.   If the wall color is a neutral, the dining room can really lack personality.  Here’s the “before” state of a recent client’s dining room:

Dining Room Before

My client has lots of lovely antiques that unfortunately don’t have a lot of presence with such a colorless backdrop.  A rich, moody color was prescribed by The Decorologist:

 Dining Room After

Now her wood furnishings look rich and the room pulls you in.  Here’s another view from the entry of the room “before.”

Dining Room Before

New color and furniture rearrangement made all the difference in this dining room.

Dining Room After

We haven’t yet changed the fabric on the chair bottoms, but I’m thinking something like this to update the overall look:

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or maybe this:

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Don’t be afraid to inject a little color into your dining room.  It might be just the pick-me-up it needs!

If you need help finding the perfect colors for your home, contact The Decorologist to schedule a Color Consultation today:  kristie@thedecorologist.com

 Lovely, Non-Contemptuous Fireplace

In the photos I’m going to share with you below, the wall color stayed the same and no new furnishings or accessories were purchased.  A lot like that old show on HGTV, Decorating Cents (that I still miss!), this makeover is what most people refer to as an “interior redesign,” aka, “working with whatcha got and not buying anything new.”  Here’s the “before” of the living room.

 Living Room Before

My client had a lovely, white fireplace surround/mantel set in the ideal central location in the room.  But do you feel like something isn’t quite right about it?  Let’s look a bit closer.  In spite of the dreadful photography, I think you will recognize that the granite tile isn’t doing this fireplace any favors.

Fireplace Before

The granite tile is the same granite that’s in the client’s adjoining kitchen, but it just doesn’t relate to the bright white mantel and trim in this living room.   So, do you rip out the granite? Apply something over it?  What could I do to make my client fall in love with her fireplace again?  It seemed to me that the answer was to stop fighting the granite tile – instead, paint the surrounding trim and mantel black so that the competition between the bossy granite and the stark white trim comes to an end.

 Fireplace and Granite Tiles – Harmony Prevails

Again, the wall color remained the same – don’t let the difference in lighting conditions, time of day, and my less-than-stellar photography distract you from the point of this post:  besides the rearranging of furnishings and accessories, the only difference here is a $10 pint of black paint on the fireplace.  Let’s step back and see the difference that little change made.

The Cheap Fix Can Often Be the Best One – HaHa!

My client is feeling the love for the heart of her home once again, thanks to a little guidance from The Decorologist and a few coats of black paint.  For more things you should consider painting black, follow my Pinterest board named “And I Want to Paint It Black.”

Pull Up a Comfy Chair and Read This Post

You need to paint it.  I know, I know:  your husband says “No way, Jose!”  Men have lots of reasons for leaving wood in its natural state as I expounded upon in my post, “Why Men Fear Painting Wood.”

Men Think Wood Paneling is Sexy, But It’s Not

My clients spent 16 years with dark, dated wood cabinets and wood paneling in their kitchen and adjoining den.   Because their Nashville home is a 1970′s ranch, they honestly believed that they had no other choice but to live in that era as long as they lived in that home.  Not true!

 Before of Kitchen with Dated Wood Cabinetry

Honestly, it took a bit of convincing to reassure my clients that my plan would work and not result in a half-baked result.  They thought they needed to rip out all their cabinetry and start over, which would have been prohibitively expensive.  They were paralyzed by fear and lack of vision.  Once I gained their trust, we began moving forward towards an amazing outcome.  The proof is in the photos.  Get ready for the transformation . . .

 After – Same Cabinets, Painted White

Note how the penisula was really narrow and not terribly functional – that was about to change.  Here’s another angle of the “before” condition of the kitchen:

 Kitchen Before Design Intervention

Granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, and updated lighting helped bring the kitchen into the 21st century.  But the paint updates really make the biggest impact.  The hutch you see to the left is great addtional storage for a kitchen with no pantry.   It was previously in the dining room, but I encouraged my clients to paint the dated oak piece white and move it into the kitchen.  Notice the expanded coffee bar area with seating – the existing peninsula with an extended countertop created a new space for seating.

 Light and Bright Kitchen After Design Intervention

Shall we turn around and look at the “before” of the adjoining den?  Definitely dated and underutilized:

Wood Paneling Before

Paint your wood paneling, change your life!  The paneling remains, but Benjamin Moore’s Woodlawn Blue transforms the look and feel of the space.

 Painted Wood Paneling

Closer in now, another “before” shot of the adjoining den:

Den and Wood Paneling Before

The addition of black accents including the painted fireplace mantel, bar chairs, and drapery rod add sophistication and gravity to the airy and light room.

Den After

The before looks like circa 1974:

Wood Paneling Before

Dark days are over, now everything’s light and bright!  New furnishings and updated lighting make the den a family-friendly place to gather and watch television.

Beautiful New Den

As an Interior Decorator my job was to cast the vision, specify the right colors, and provide expert shopping within their budget.  These homeowners did most of the work in this lovely transformation themselves:   painting, installing new hardwood floors, and installing the new beadboard backsplash.  Their hands-on involvement resulted in a beautiful home that they can feel happy and proud to spend the next 16+ years in.

Expanded Counter and  Painted Beadboard Paneling

Really, do you need any better proof that you should paint your dated wood paneling?

This particular family has been successfully educating their 5 children in their home for many years, but their surroundings had been less than inspiring.  This is the front room of their home as it was before The Decorologist stepped in:

 Before – Homeschool Room

It was lined with bookcases full of books and curricula, a few tables and chairs (most of which were too small for their growing children), and various toys and other items.

 Before – Homeschool Room

Such a big room with untapped potential.  It seemed that there might be a more effective way to use this space to better-suit this family’s needs.

 Before – Homeschool Room

This smaller room adjacent the homeschool room was their dining room – it was also where the older kids did their schoolwork.

 Before – Dining Room and Workspace

An important part of a decorator’s mission is to marry function with beauty.  Is that possible in these two rooms where so many needs must be met?  I certainly believe it is.  Before I reveal the transformation of these rooms, I must explain that a lot of discussion and planning went into making these rooms not only more visually-pleasing, but also more functional for this busy family.  This wasn’t just about creating pretty spaces – it was about creating pretty spaces that WORKED. Now, here again is the larger of the two rooms in its ”before” state:

Before – Homeschool Room

Ready for the “after”?  Now the larger of the two rooms is a roomy and inviting dining room with a table that easily seats 10.  The pair of overhead lantern lights adds warmth and character to this transformed space.

After – Warm and Welcoming Dining Room

The paint color is Benjamin Moore’s Boca Raton Blue – a perfect foil for the dark wood tones.

 New Dining Room/Workspace

We purchased the beautiful dark wood furniture from my friends over at Merridian Home Furnishings on 8th Avenue in Nashville.  This trestle table is gorgeous but doesn’t have to be handled with kid gloves.  The older children do most of their schoolwork here and have plenty of room to spread out.

Trestle or pedestal tables accomodate more chairs than tables with four legs at the corners.

This is a room the whole family truly uses now – both for homeschooling and for dining together as a family.  It also is a great place to entertain and display their beautiful family china, which was previously stored away behind cabinets.

Family China on Display

Here again is the adjoining former dining room/homeschool workspace before:

Dining Room Before

The wallpaper and border went bye-bye, and white beadboard wainscotting was installed below the chair rail.  We decided on a rich expresso color – Benjamin Moore’s Clinton Brown, as a backdrop to all the white bookcases that hold schoolbooks and supplies.

 After:  HomeSchool Room

All the furniture was existing – this smaller table and chairs were moved in from the kitchen.  Pairing down and relocating all the school supplies into this lesser-seen room made a lot more sense than continuing to squeeze this family of 7 into a dinner table for 6!

New HomeSchool Room

The younger kids now do their school work in this happy, cozy area.  I love this candy bowl on their work table!

“The Best is Not Too Good for You”

There’s no reason why functional, multi-use spaces can’t be lovely and inspiring.  The children in this home even help keep these new rooms organized and clean, because they enjoy working in beautiful, peaceful spaces as much as their parents enjoy having such a lovely home to live in!

Ok, let’s get started!  This is the view of the living room from the entry of the house when I first arrived.  To be fair, my client had pulled a couple of extra pieces of furniture into the room for me to consider, like that wood dresser in the front.  Anyway, she was looking to freshen up the paint colors (currently sage green in the living room and light yellow in the dining room.  She also really wanted to add an electric fireplace, but feared that it might look too fakey in the room.

 living room before

I typically start my designs out with a good plan for furniture placement that invites conversation and highlights architecture.  The plan was to install the fireplace directly across from and centered on the bank of windows.  The new conversation area would cluster around the fireplace, leaving an easy path to walk through to the dining room (and on to the kitchen beyond).  

After Design Intervention by The Decorologist

We traded the sage green walls for a more vibrant greeny-blue.  This color really makes the dark wood look richer.

antique desk

The dining room walls went from a butter yellow to a light blue from Benjamin Moore’s Historic Collection, while the ceiling of the dining room was painted the same darker color as the living room to create flow.   I didn’t like the paint treatment below the chair rail – I suggested it be painted all out in trim color to create the look of real painted wood wainscotting.  Here’s the before of the small dining room:

dining room before

Doesn’t the wainscotting look so much better?  There’s still some work to do on the back wall of this room, but I wanted to go ahead and show you the difference the paint made.   I definitely think some vertical plate groupings would be great in here, bringing in a darker blue and the coral color.

Dining Room After – Benjamin Moore’s Palladian Blue

Here’s a before shot of the side of the room where the fireplace ultimately went in.  Notice the fabric on the wingback – this was reupholstered to update it and tie into our new color scheme.

before

I hung about 20 pieces of art on these plaster walls in a couple of hours right before I took this photograph.  Doesn’t it look as though the fireplace has always been a part of the room?  Love the way this turned out!

Cozy Living Room After

Another “before” from the opposite angle:

Before

The “after” is a warm, inviting room to curl up in front of a fire and read a great book (historical fiction, anyone?).

Living Room by The Decorologist

Did you notice the new linen-look upholstery on the sofa?  Here’s a secret – it’s actually painter’s dropcloth!  An inexpensive, yet elegant way to recover tired furnishings.

Dropcloth Sofa Upholstery and Eclectic Art Grouping

Here is where the sofa with it’s dated upholstery was formerly positioned:

Before

Now, a cute pair of yellow bamboo chairs flank a small dresser in front of the beautiful windows. 

Fresh, New Space

There are so many interesting things to see in this room – my client wanted to make sure she could still be “surrounded by my pretties.”  I think that we achieved that goal!

Art Grouping

Last but not least, let me show you the fabulous wallpaper we found for her entry.  It’s grasscloth with a light blue trellis pattern.

Blue Trellis Wallpaper

A rectangular mirror with a fat gold frame will be hung directly above the entry table.  The table is actually a family heirloom – a baby crib flipped over and topped with glass!  I have to give all the credit for that stroke of genius to my client – what a fabulous idea that turned out to be.

Upcycled Antique Entry Table

This was the view of the entry before.  The walls were peach, as you can see.  You can also see where I taped off the area to install the fireplace with painter’s tape on the first day I was there!

Entry Before

Now, this is what you see when you enter the front door.  What a difference!

Entry After

This client and her lovely daughter were so amazing to work with – they were completely open to every recommendation I made for their space, and it really paid off in the end. 

If you’d like the gift of a room makeover for Christmas,  now is the time to purchase a Decorologist Gift Certificate.  My rates will be increasing at the first of the year, but gift certificates are available through December at my current rates. 

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 1. Start by paring down so the focus can be on the things you really love.   Then group these things in a cohesive, interesting way.

2.  Let in some light.  Antique interiors are often characterized by heavy, frilly window treatments.  Getting rid of those and replacing with simple but minimal window treatments lets the sun shine in on the rich woods and fabrics.

3.  Choose a new background color.  You can usually tell what decade in which a room was decorated by the undertone of the wall color.   Choosing a new, updated color that coordinates with your antiques is a great way to freshen things up.

You will see in the following before and after photos how I applied these 3 secrets.  Here is the “before” of my client’s home office:

 Office Before

A lot of clutter + pinky-mauve walls + window treatments that completely block out light (never mind the bookcase in front of the window) = an underutilized room.  What I love about this before and after is that the only things that had to be bought were some simple window panels and a gallon of paint.  Get ready for the “after.”

Antique Office by The Decorologist

 So now that you know my secrets, see what you can do to fall in love with your antiques again!

 Decorating Dilemma:  The Corner Fireplace

Don’t get me wrong – it’s a perfectly lovely piece of architecture, but it can be difficult to figure out how to arrange furniture in  a room like this:

Living Room Before

You may not believe how simple the answer is to this dilemma.  You just need to align the seating area with the fireplace, like this:

Living Room After

The fireplace – no matter where it is – is the architectural focal point of any room it is in.  So you have to address it, pay attention to it, orient towards it – or else the room ALWAYS looks “off.”

Living Room Before

Doesn’t this arrangement just feel better?  I placed the shorter sofa directly across from the fireplace, and the longer sofa at a 90 degree angle to it. 

 Living Room After

The first thing I always address in my clients’  homes is the furniture arrangement.  And this set-up doesn’t feel very inviting or cozy, does it?

 Living Room After

Proper reorientation of the furniture is followed by proper art and accessory placement, which makes the space feel peaceful and welcoming.

Living Room After

If you need help addressing the unique architecture of your home, schedule your appointment with The Decorologist today.  Admitting you need help is the first step to a beautiful home!

Living A Colorful Life

Upon entering the home, a living room/dining room combination runs to the right of a long open hallway.   Here was the dilemma:  the front “living” room had little purpose, except as a holding place for furniture that didn’t fit anywhere else.   Because my clients love bold color, they had painted these front rooms dark orange.  Problem was, the black furniture gave it a Halloween-all-year-round kind of feeling.  And obviously, the pink and white dollhouse seemed a bit out of place.  The only two chairs in the room didn’t exactly call you to sit down and sit a spell.

 ”Living” Room Before

Did I mention this was the first room you saw when you entered the house?  The most use it saw was when it was used for practicing dance routines, but that’s another story altogether . . .

 Living Room/Dance Hall Before

Anywho, here was the task for The Decorologist:  make this space a fun and inviting space for family and visitors to use for more than just dancing (not that there’s anything wrong with that).

Living Room After

Obviously, a new paint scheme was introduced, furniture was furiously rearranged and repurposed, and a few new accessories were added to the colorful mix.  The punchy yellow is Benjamin Moore’s Citrus Burst 364.  It’s still fun and quirky like the homeowners, but now it’s functional and inviting as well.

Living Room After

 This is a view from the other side of the room, before the makeover.  You may remember this before-and-after of the former dining space . . .

 Dining Room Before

that was repurposed into an office area . . .

 Office Space After

So now you can see how these spaces came together.

 After The Decorologist

Even the entrance/hallway got a little sprucing up.  It felt a little too country before:

Entrance Before

but now it’s a fresher, more contemporary space filled with the homeowner’s personal art and treasures.

Entry After

Did you notice how the bannister is now painted black and the country-style ladderback chairs are now a bold yellow?  Both color moves served to make dated elements more modern.

Hallway/Entry After

I’m not saying that this design/color scheme is right for most people.  But it was right for these homeowners, and my goal was to make their home feel like their own – full of their personality, but pulled together in a way that anyone can admire and appreciate.    If you are looking for a Nashville decorator who can help you realize your dreams for your own home, contact The Decorologist to schedule an appointment.

Kristie Barnett

You might recognize the living room from an old post of mine called “One Day Makover.”  That one day makeover was the beginning of my relationship with this client who has been working toward making this new home her own.  This is the before of the living room:

Kristie Barnett

That first day, I rearranged my client’s furniture and helped her re-think how she was going to use her public spaces.  You’ll see more about that in a bit.  Remember this family photo wall I created?  Since then, my seamstress made custom pillows to fit her style exactly.

Kristie Barnett

Here’s another before of the entire living room:

Kristie Barnett

After creating a new furniture arrangement throughout the house (no new furniture was bought), we started interjecting the turquoise color in carefully selected spots.

Kristie Barnett

Here’s a view of the right side of the room before:

Kristie Barnett

We traded out the piano for an airy console table and a pair of lamps from the bedroom.  I stacked a couple of mirrors to reflect light and add a little glamour.  My client painted this wooden dresser stored in the garage according to my instructions. 

Kristie Barnett

I chose a fun Benjamin Moore turquoise called Spirit in the Sky.  One of my all-time favorite songs, by the way!  Here’s another piece we decided to paint turquoise:

Kristie Barnett

This fun dresser makes a great spot for keys and such in the entry of my client’s beautiful home.  We found the gorgeous lamp in downtown Franklin, TN.

Kristie Barnett

Here’s a before as you enter the home – the door is to the right.

Kristie Barnett

Now the entry is warm and welcoming.   It’s really important to my client to only use accessories and art that have specific meaning to her family – we used lots of family photographs and things passed down from her family of origin.

Kristie Barnett

Now, if you follow my blog you already know I like to shake up a floorplan if it isn’t working for the family I am decorating for.  This was formerly a living room, but it was adjacent to another living room (which seems redundant, no?).  The previous owners of this house set their home up in a similar way, which influenced my client in how she set up hers when her family moved in.  See how the dining room is at the back of the space in front of the french doors.

Kristie Barnett

We moved the dining room into this space, which is directly next to the kitchen.  And we exchanged the crystal light fixture with this large burlap pendant from Pottery Barn to better-fit my client’s style.

Kristie Barnett

While this area was formerly for dining:

Kristie Barnett

Now it’s a sitting area where my client can read a magazine as she watches her children playing in the backyard.  The bookcase (formerly dark green) was also painted in our Spirit in the Sky.   I really love the pillows – I came up with the design and my seamstress from Ruffled Linens brought them to life.

Kristie Barnett

My goal is always to take the things that are important to my client and make it all come together in a beautiful and cohesive way.   I hope that’s what I’ve done here.

Kristie Barnett

If you need help making your decor dreams come true, contact kristie@thedecorologist.com to schedule your appointment today!

Random House Floorplan

This is the dining room before I started switching everything around.  This room is carpeted, which doesn’t make it ideal for a dining room – especially when there’s a space open to the kitchen that is hardwood (it was being used as a living room).   The homeowners LOVE color, especially bold color.  They favor modern design, but with a retro twist.  They are artlovers, as well, and the husband is a gifted artist, so  it just seemed as though their home should have the feeling of an art gallery.  Art galleries typically have a neutral backdrop so that the art really stands out – so we decided to mute the background a bit and add bold punches of color.

Dining Room Before 

The homeowner had a desk tucked back in a corner of her bedroom where she used her computer.  As we talked, it became obvious that with two small children, it would make more sense to have her office area in a place where she could monitor family activity better as she worked.  So, we started moving around the furniture . . .  

New Office, Old Dining Room

After some creative arranging, this former dining room is now a perfectly lovely office space. Can you believe this is the same room?  Here it is from another angle:

The Decorologist

Ok, let’s look at the before of that room from further out.  This shot was taken during the day, and you can see how very bold the color was.  At this point, we had already moved the dining table out and started playing around with the office set-up.  The sheers on the windows were dated and almost country.  There is a large tree outside the beautiful windows here, so they really didn’t need the sheers for privacy.  We just took them down completely.

Office Before

A new paint scheme began developing and some of the walls went neutral.  I highlighted some of the more interesting architecture by selectively using a pumpkin color (Benjamin Moore’s Topaz 70) that worked well with their art, rather than the red-orange they had before.  You can see it in the left portion of the photo below.

The Decorologist

Aren’t these windows gorgeous?  The tree is a perfect privacy screen, so why not just let the light flow in and bring the outdoors in?

The Decorologist

No more working in isolated dark corners!  Now this busy mom has a beautiful place to work adjacent to the living space where she can keep an eye on the entire household. 

New Office by The Decorologist

Now, if you are wondering where the dining room went:  This is where the previous living room was.  The space is open to the kitchen and has hardwood floors.  You can see that the furniture is a bit off-balance from the natural focal point of the room, the fireplace, which made it feel a bit crowded.  Although the homeowners wanted a modern look and feel, they weren’t achieving that with Porter’s Tobacco Road, a favorite wall color of every major builder in Franklin, TN in the mid-1990′s.

 After replacing Tobacco Road with a more modern neutral, the fireplace was highlighted with Benjamin Moore’s Kiwi 544 with a rectangular block of color extending to the ceiling, which actually added an architectural element that didn’t previously exist. 

New Dining Room 

With the square Pottery Barn dining table now on an angle, this new dining room lines up perfectly with the fireplace and is the favorite place for family meals, homework, and craft projects.

Cutey-Pie Homeowner

The homeowners are enjoying entertaining friends and family even more than ever since they threw caution, and their floorplan, to the wind.  If you’d like to see more of this space, click here and “like” The Decorologist on FaceBook so you can check out additional photos from this makeover.  Stay tuned to find out where their living room went . . .

If you need a Greater Nashville interior decorator and color expert, contact The Decorologist to schedule an appointment!