Hallway re-fresh. Before and After photographs.

The Entrance hall and staircase for a house of this size was unusually small and undefined and not helped by the jazzy striped wood floor.  

Before...

View of the stripy floor - Before

Before

Before - the two Doric columns were beautifully made, but out of proportion, over hung the ceiling so the rough tops could be seen from the upstairs floor and stairs and made a cramped space feel even smaller.

The newel post was designed to look like a lighthouse and did not suit the sophistication of the house

First the pillars were removed and the floors re-finished

After...

The floors were stained a custom mix to match the patina of a 17th century chest belonging to the owners 

Remember?? 

 The walls are the same color, but the unfinished part of the baseboard was painted and a cohesive more restful and hopefully sophisticated look achieved.

The wall color was left the same and trim re-painted a brighter white to add visual contrast and interest.
A sisal carpet was laid down to soften the edges and absorb some of the noise from the large open plan space. 

After - Design by Ele Blackshaw

To give an illusion of space the pillars were removed and a Persian carpet picking up the colors of the sisal and the newly stained floor was laid in the  'empty' area which now became an extension of the entrance hall and gave it the appropriate space it needed for a house of this size.  Trees blocking the view were removed and there was now a direct sight line from the front door through the entrance hall to the ocean (seen in the glass reflection),

The before photograph of a sitting room

I was asked by someone recently to show them what the room in the  old background of my blog looked like before it was designed.  After all, she surmised, it may well have been elegant (the look we were discussing and which I think this room has in a relaxed, up to date way) beforehand.  She continued that the design magazines shoot their photographs in unfeasibly beautiful rooms that could even make a potato look chic.

So here is the room with the preceding owner's furniture and layout.  In this brief I worked mostly with the new owner's existing furniture that came from their previous home which I had designed the interiors for.   I hope that I have succeeded in making a transformation.

Before

and

After

The differences: 

My brief for this room was to make an elegant, but relaxed, contemporary room that could deal with a relatively large family with numerous furry friends.  The family invariably has lots of friends and guests in the house and they wanted to have a room that could cope with additional numbers whilst not resembling an airport lounge when it was just them at home.

The floor was stained a darker color which evened out the tone and got rid of the 'Zebra' affect, two medium sized carpets were laid down horizontally to give the room width and to divide up an essentially long and, proportionally, narrow room into two distinct seating areas, which can be brought together for larger groups.  The Sitting Room can sit thirteen without the addition of additional furniture.

 The installation of valances brings the eye down from the high ceiling to a lower level and the blinds can add to that affect depending on how low they are drawn.  They are essential for light and heat control in a South facing room. The valances also get rid of the 'raised eyebrows' on the windows.  Before installation the windows looked like eyes with raised eyebrows and the fireplace looked like a mouth going "oh!" in surprise!  The cartoonish windows now exude relaxed elegance in a stripped silk that reflect the colors of the oversized (and not particularly loved) fireplace and therefore diminish it's presence in the room.

The paprika and pumpkin colored cushions bring a pop of color, stop the eye from traveling and foreshorten the room visually whilst referencing small items that the clients already owned.

The sofas are slip covered for easy washing and have mole grey colored velvet covers which are cosy  and soft and bring an intimacy to this large space in the winter.  In the summer the white covers are airy and fresh and appropriate for a home overlooking the ocean.