Room of the Day: A Peaceful Library Serves as a Couple’s Retreat
Heirlooms, books and other meaningful items all have a place in this cozy Dallas room
This space had been a TV room in a Dallas couple’s rambling ranch house. But after they built a new great room, it became an unused catchall jumble. Today it’s the library, and it’s the most peaceful place in the house. Interior designer Dona Rosene found ways to display the couple’s favorite objects and books, bring in art, add a spot for breakfast overlooking the backyard and create comfortable seating for reading and conversation.
There was more to this redo than meets the eye. Foundation issues had caused damage in the ceiling and both areas needed to be addressed. There was also electrical work to be done for the new lighting. Rosene designed floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, paying careful attention to the lighting, particularly for art and reading. Two comfy chairs share a cloverleaf upholstered ottoman, and aqua and terra-cotta accents add punches of color to the calm grays.
“My clients love objects with an organic look and feel, and she collects vessels for her ikebana,” Rosene says. The shelves feature a balance of books and objects. The designer also found room on the shelves for a few of her clients’ antique baskets.
Wall paint: White Dove; bookcase paint: Gray Cashmere, both by Benjamin Moore; picture lights: Cabinet Makers in Bronze; Bowen Spiral Table Lamp, both by Visual Comfort
“My clients love objects with an organic look and feel, and she collects vessels for her ikebana,” Rosene says. The shelves feature a balance of books and objects. The designer also found room on the shelves for a few of her clients’ antique baskets.
Wall paint: White Dove; bookcase paint: Gray Cashmere, both by Benjamin Moore; picture lights: Cabinet Makers in Bronze; Bowen Spiral Table Lamp, both by Visual Comfort
This table was a key part of the design. “The one way they were using this room was for breakfast overlooking the yard,” Rosene says. “They had dragged a little side table and two dining chairs in here.” She placed a round pedestal table and a pair of comfortable wood-framed chairs around it. The seats are faux leather so they can be wiped down easily.
Table: Woodbridge; chairs: Wesley Hall with Kravet faux leather fabric; pendant light: Barrington in Historic Bronze, Hudson Valley
Table: Woodbridge; chairs: Wesley Hall with Kravet faux leather fabric; pendant light: Barrington in Historic Bronze, Hudson Valley
During the search for art, Rosene had a gallerist bring options to the house so her clients could choose. “They like things that are meaningful to them,” she says. “They love the water and boats and thought that the three boats would represent their family — the two of them and their daughter.”
Painting by D.S. Kim; table: Lorts
Painting by D.S. Kim; table: Lorts
Two overstuffed armchairs with a lamp between them create a comfy reading spot for two. A Chinese garden stool adds a punch of color and a perch for books and a drink.
The rug adds to the gray-blue calm with its subtle pattern of small irregular squares. Rosene brought in color and pattern to the space in a carefully edited way, leaving it to the ottoman, accent pillows and dining armchairs.
Chairs: Hickory Chair in Blitz Stone fabric by Kravet; lamp: Visual Comfort; ottoman: Wesley Hall; rug: Truett Fine Carpets & Rugs
The rug adds to the gray-blue calm with its subtle pattern of small irregular squares. Rosene brought in color and pattern to the space in a carefully edited way, leaving it to the ottoman, accent pillows and dining armchairs.
Chairs: Hickory Chair in Blitz Stone fabric by Kravet; lamp: Visual Comfort; ottoman: Wesley Hall; rug: Truett Fine Carpets & Rugs
Pillows in a raised velvet add one more punch of pattern.
Pillow fabric: Cosma in teal/aqua, Lee Jofa
Pillow fabric: Cosma in teal/aqua, Lee Jofa
Other personal objects include portraits of the homeowner’s ancestors, who have a long history of U.S. military service. He also has a collection of antique clocks that are on display in the library and adjacent family room.
The homeowner also has a background in geology, so minerals and geodes are placed prominently around the library and great room.
Mineral: Empressive GeoDesign
Mineral: Empressive GeoDesign
The gourd-shaped wooden vase is a favorite of the other homeowner, who has had the hula sticks on the lower shelf since she was a little girl growing up in Hawaii.
As you exit the library and enter the great room, a transition zone includes this sofa table, which camouflages the back of the sofa.
The 8-foot ceilings in the library are made even cozier in contrast to the high ceilings in here. Rosene worked on this room before completing the library and carried the color scheme through.
The 8-foot ceilings in the library are made even cozier in contrast to the high ceilings in here. Rosene worked on this room before completing the library and carried the color scheme through.
Here is the view from the great room to the library. Worth noting is the way the wood ceilings warm the room and how the keyhole mirror and a pair of large chandeliers stand up to the height of the ceiling. The painting placed above the opening to the library does as well. The homeowners picked a favorite antique Japanese painting, and Rosene enlisted artist Carol Pankratz to re-create it in a size appropriate to the large room.
One of the homeowners took harp lessons with her daughter when she still lived at home; Rosene placed their harps in between the two rooms. The couple now happily have a beautiful and peaceful place in their home where they’re surrounded by special things they love.
Wall paint: Comfort Gray SW6205, Sherwin-Williams; armchairs: Hickory Chair; fabric: 9950 Meiling in Document, Pindler & Pindler; keyhole mirror: John Richards; Lyon hand-forged iron chandeliers in Burnt Sienna: Troy Lighting; Lillian ottomans in persimmon: C.R. Laine; plants: Robert-Lawrence Designs
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One of the homeowners took harp lessons with her daughter when she still lived at home; Rosene placed their harps in between the two rooms. The couple now happily have a beautiful and peaceful place in their home where they’re surrounded by special things they love.
Wall paint: Comfort Gray SW6205, Sherwin-Williams; armchairs: Hickory Chair; fabric: 9950 Meiling in Document, Pindler & Pindler; keyhole mirror: John Richards; Lyon hand-forged iron chandeliers in Burnt Sienna: Troy Lighting; Lillian ottomans in persimmon: C.R. Laine; plants: Robert-Lawrence Designs
Browse more Rooms of the Day
Room at a Glance
What happens here: Two empty-nesters read, visit, eat breakfast and enjoy the view to the backyard while surrounded by things that have special meaning to them
Location: Dallas, Texas
Size: 324 square feet (30 square meters)
Designer: Dona Rosene
This room is filled not only with books that reflect the couple’s interests and passions, but also with objects that have meaning to them.
One of the clients is of Japanese descent and grew up in Hawaii. Her father, a doctor, enlisted in the Army as a medic during World War II. During that time, when many Japanese Americans were being interrogated and sent to internment camps, the family downplayed its heritage. Today the homeowner is reconnecting with her roots. Since retiring from a high-pressure job, she’s taken up ikebana and martial arts and enrolled in Japanese-language classes.
Her mother sent her father’s jacket to her knowing how much it would mean to her. “I insisted that she have it cleaned and preserved and that we frame it,” designer Dona Rosene says. Now it has a place of honor in the new library, with art lighting overhead.