For more than 20 years our client lived in a house with the traditional Johnson County layout and a formal living room that was rarely used. After wrapping up a refresh of the clients hearth and kitchen, the outdated and underutilized living room was even more of an eye sore. This led to a meeting of the minds between client and designer and a new vision of the space emerged. Our goal became to transform the living room into a sultry, art filled lounge/game room perfect for weekend card games and cocktails. In doing so we needed to rethink the flow and design of the entire front portion of the home making sure to consider views from the front door through to the newly transformed hearth/kitchen area. The client, who is an artist, has extensive artwork that needed to be included in our design.

The biggest obstacle from the designers point of view was as you entered the home through the front door. As the view of the living room is front and center as you enter we did not want to guests to be greeted by a bar in the traditional sense. The room was cavernous compared to other rooms in the house with its extra high ceilings but also closed off and dark. The main floor also contained a very dated dining area and formal entry which would need to be incorporated into the plan since each could be seen together. We also needed to tackle a front and basement staircase which lay in the center of the home and was visible from all angles. We felt strongly that it needed to be brought up to the level of the spaces around it. The husband wanted a traditional bar that he could stand behind and serve drinks and a table to play cards. The wife wanted a moody, elegant space to entertain friends. Marrying those two directions became our biggest challenge. Finally, and very importantly there needed to be key places to display the clients extensive art and pottery collection.

We began by sifting through all of the paintings done by our client and her mother to find our inspiration and color palette. The client was not particular about which of the paintings we used she just wanted some to be incorporated. This was a wonderful gift to us and a way to really make the design personal yet let us stretch what she was usually comfortable with. We began by tackling the vastness of the living room by lowering the ceiling with custom beams in a pattern that reflected the newly added wainscotting . The wall between the hearth and living room was also opened about 5 feet in order for the two rooms to flow more easily and let the game room be seen from other areas of the home. Carpeting was ripped out and hardwoods were added through out the main level to further connect the space. We did not want the first view you saw from the front door to be of a bar so we strategically positioned it against a wall and incorporated build so it looked like cabinetry. The bar is large but not imposing because of its built in apparence and the marble, brass and antique glass incorporated to add lightness. Opposite the bar we designed a marble fireplace to balance the impact of the bar. The painting you see hung above the fireplace was our color palette inspiration for the room. The small touches of chartreuse in the bull were pulled through with the velvet seat cushions and small detail in drapery trim. We played with both feminine touches (curved velvet sofa as game seating, marble, mirror and trims) and more masculine touches (men's wear drapery fabric, leather and hide) to appease both of the homeowners. Playing off of this juxtaposition gives the room a playfulness we were striving for. Reimagining the staircase let us bring some more sophistication in the space with a custom designed brass handrail. In doing so we decided to close up part of the stairs in order to give us another wall in which to hang our clients artwork. The dining room's starting point was the beautiful oil paining you see hanging over the sideboard. It's colors led us to the custom handpainted wall paper which we playfully applied to the ceiling and the dramatic chandelier. An eyesore cabinet at the top of the basement stairs was reconfigured into a stunning china cabinet that showcases our clients china and pottery. It's positioning on the way to the dining room now makes sense and is a beautiful piece from the many angles it is glimpsed throughout the main floor. Finally, new furnishings and decor in the entry finished the space. The game room is now a room used often by our homeowners and guests and is also their new favorite room in the house.