There were three main challenges to be addressed in this project:

1. Rooms that were open to one another yet had no flow because of a mix of carpet & hardwood dividing up the spaces
2. A beautiful high-ceiling living room that was too bright to enjoy and lacked a conversational furniture layout.
3. An uninviting, dull dining room that lacked formality for entertaining.

To unify the rooms on the first floor (and keeping their dogs in mind), we replaced the existing mix of carpet and hardwood with a beautiful dark-wood-toned luxury vinyl tile. The stair railing was painted out for a more transitional blend into the new dark floors.

In the living room, we addressed the issue of too much sunlight and fading furniture with stunning, custom dark-wood shutters. The high ceiling and lack of furniture layout made the room feel barren and expansive; we resolved this issue by specifying an area for conversation and grounding it with design elements. This more intimate feel - open & airy above, yet still cozy & grounded - was achieved by design elements lower in the room - like the large spider chandelier hung lower, rich velvet curtains at regular window height, large textural area rugs, brass floor lamps, and a seating area of facing loveseats.

In the dining room, we created a distinguished look with custom millwork, patterned wallpaper, and a darker moody color scheme. The existing fluorescent fixture was replaced with warmer lighting; two modern, shaded floor lamps and a more traditional-styled pillar-candle chandelier.