The formal living and dining rooms of this historic sorority house at the University of Washington were feeling outdated and in need of a refresh to help attract new members and give current members a social space to be proud to share with their peers.

Though the existing house is of a Tudor architectural style, interior spaces can feature a modern look and still pair well with the historic building.

With a design palette based in black and white, with warm accents of golden-toned metals and selective pops of emerald green, the spaces now feel fresh, modern, and current. Large area rugs anchor subspaces within the larger room, creating multiple sitting areas for groups of friends to gather at once. While the geometric-patterned black and white statement rug anchors the black and white palette underfoot, it is accented with a lush, eye-catching, green velvet couch that’s hard not to love. Of course, it’s not just any velvet couch, but like the other selected materials and finishes, upholstered with a velvet fit to endure the heavy use of a vibrant social space at a large university.

This interior refresh included not only the FF&E selection, but the purchasing and staging, as well, and we are now moving into a second phase of the project, refreshing adjacent spaces.