An office off the other end of the kitchen became a small den. The den leads into the living room, an 18’ x 30’ rectangle with a large window on one wall facing west; not an ideal configuration. Raven put in recessed lighting—“general lighting is best for a long narrow room facing west”—and spruced up the wood floor by rubbing it with steel wool and adding a layer of urethane wax, a touch up that costs a fraction of having it refinished.
She arranged the furniture by creating three focal points—a couch with two chairs and coffee table, a reading nook with two wing chairs, and an artwork and plant. This causes the eye to move around the room in a S pattern, breaking up the shoebox space and creating interest. Placing the furniture in separate groupings, much like in a hotel lobby, is “more friendly to human scale,” she said.
The color scheme is blue and beige-yellow, which complement each other. The blue is a strong hue and the yellow is neutral. She replaced the drab peachy pink walls with a warm, yellow-toned beige, which instantly brightened the space. She reupholstered the clients’ couch in a floral pattern and purchased the oval coffee table from Ethan Allen. The oval shape of the coffee table further breaks up the boxiness, as does the oval side table in the reading nook. Raven also put a plant on top of the tall bookshelf to create a sense of height and further move the eye around.
Upstairs, she transformed four bedrooms into three, including a master suite with a view of the woods. She took out a wall between a tiny bedroom and the master bedroom and removed a small closet, using the extra space to expand the master bathroom (though she didn’t move the plumbing) and adding a walk-in closet. She replaced a small window on one wall with two large ones, which look out on the woods. She painted the room, which faces north, a calming blue. “It’s a deep tone, which is extremely restful,” she said, noting that “sometimes it’s nice to embrace the cool light” of our clime; a warm color in a north-facing room could look muddy.
Creating comfort
For a client in Chichester, Allan Skriloff, who divides his time between Mount Tremper and New York (he was winner of website Houzz’s 2013 “best of remodeling” customer satisfaction award), faced the opposite challenge: making an enormous bedroom feel comfortable. Skriloff erected a freestanding wall to partition the space. He placed the bed against the wall, so that it now faces the double glass doors revealing the gorgeous mountain view. Behind the wall he installed two closets, which open out onto a private dressing area, with access to the bathroom.
By breaking up the space into a separate dressing/bathing area and bedroom, Skriloff created more privacy: one person can shower and dress without disturbing his or her sleeping partner. He also made the bedroom proper much more inviting. He painted the new freestanding wall a warm, adobe red, which tonally harmonizes with the existing grayed-out ochre on the walls. He built a wall-length headboard and platform bed covered in rush carpeting for texture, which includes two shelves for lighting and other items. The more intimate space brings the fireplace, which is on one wall and balanced by a loveseat on the opposite side, into better focus, while taking full advantage of the view.
