Decorating the Great Room...

The house tour continues ~ finally! I know it’s been a while. Between the holidays and not having my computer for a month, it put a crimp in my blogging. And then it took me a bit to pick out photographs. But enough of that. So far, you’ve seen the entry and the dining room. Now it’s time to move into the heart of our new home.

As a rule, I am not really an open floor plan sort of person. I love rooms with walls and doors ~ private spaces that can feel cozy. So our new house is quite a departure for me. I was won over by the fact that despite the openness, there were clear definitions for the spaces. And it wasn’t as though there was no privacy to be had in the house ~ it has plenty of private spaces. But having a great room, as I think of it, has been a new experience. And, I have to say, a pleasant one so far.

So, on with the decorating. Here is the room just as the house was finished ~ a gorgeous 11-foot high ceiling in the living room, beautiful hardwood floors, lovely tall windows and a welcoming fireplace:

And here is the room now, after I finished decorating ~ full of color and pattern and life:

While I added brighter colors to the walls in the entry, stairway and some other spaces, I really liked the gray for the great room, which includes not only the living room, but a little reading space by the stairs, another gathering/eating area, and of course, the kitchen (which you’ll get a tour of in my next post). The color ~ Repose Gray from Sherwin Williams ~ really suited the whole area and tied it together, and I decided to keep it because I was looking to use a lot of pattern in my decorating. A nice neutral background works perfectly.

With that coffered ceiling and tall windows, the living room is naturally dramatic. And since I love a bit of drama in my interiors, I decided to hang drapes on those incredibly tall windows. I designed the pattern myself, just like the dining room curtains. The pattern, available here, is called Charcoal Rose. 

I ordered the curtains from Spoonflower (all of my designs for The Pink Home are available there), in the longest length offered ~ which of course, still wasn’t long enough. So I added some black velvet fabric to the bottom to lengthen them, trimming it with a nice geometric pattern that matches the pattern in one of my living room chairs. They turned out beautifully, if I do say so myself. 

The pops of yellow in the pattern inspired me to embrace more yellow in the great room ~ gray and yellow go wonderfully together. And for a change of pace, I kept to bright pops of pink as an accent, rather than using a soft pink.

I found this fabulous yellow rug for the living room, along with a bright patterned settee and a bright pink ottoman. I also managed to squeeze in a bookcase in a corner of the room, creating a little cozy spot by one of the great windows. It’s one of three new bookcases I purchased for the room. 

I have actually switched the throw pillows out and around since I took these photos ~ I’ll have to share the new arrangement, which I actually like much better, another time. The sofa, chairs, side tables and buffet were all pieces we’ve had for awhile, along with most of the art and lamps you see. It was fun to mix new pieces with much-loved ones to create a new look.

Moving out of the living room and into the center of the great room, I decided to use our old dining room table, which is still one of my favorite pieces, and our old dining room rug. The colors just went perfectly in the space. My husband wanted new chairs for the table ~ something not as heavy as our wrought iron ones ~ so I found these beautiful upholstered yellow chairs. I really wanted upholstered chairs so the space didn’t feel like an “eating area,” and instead felt more like it was an all-purpose entertaining space. 

I used a bookcase along the back of the sofa as a room divider, and placed an extra chair in a different pattern under the narrow window. It’s a perfect place to pour through my cookbooks when I’m looking for something, and it provides an extra chair for the table if one is needed for a game or something.

I decided to use the same pattern for drapes in front of the sliding door, treating it as a big picture window. One day there will be a beautiful garden to see out back, but that will take me a couple years. 

My old china cabinet fit perfectly on this wall, and allows me to display my grandmother’s old Haviland china, which I love. 

This is a before picture of the space around the stairway:

I decided to use this little wall between the stair case and the coat closet/powder room as a little reading nook. I placed my round cream flower rug here and added the fab carved teak desk from my mom that I use for storage and to display books. A yellow Suzani chair from my previous house ~ purposefully turned away from the television ~ is comfortable and inviting.  I added a new teal ottoman to use as a side table or foot stool, and my grandmother’s antique floor lamp ~ with a new shade ~ completes the space. 

All in all, I absolutely love our great room. Even though it is rather large, it still feels warm and welcoming, with a couple nooks to add some coziness. What do you think?

Photos by The Art of Beautifully