My Beacon Hill Brownstone Chic Rug

Now I know that in designing our new family room, we could have kept the rug that is there currently (and some of you were left scratching your heads wondering why we aren't), but it is simply too small for the space (we originally purchased it for the dining room in our old house). Don't worry, I still really like it and will just use it in a different room. For anyone interested, it is the Pottery Barn Tracy Kilim rug and you can probably still find it on eBay.

Do you also think I'm weird for wanting a rug that is already perfectly worn and faded? Yeah, thought so :)
When we were vacationing in Sonoma, CA at the end of May I fell in love with the time worn look of the antique rugs at one of the wineries. Doesn't this shot just scream "Beacon Hill Brownstone Chic" to you? Well, it sure did to me after a day of wine "tasting".

 

And I have a couple of other reasons for wanting something old and worn:

1) One of my dogs never really graduated from Housebreaking 101

2) I wanted something in the room to have a sense of history since almost all the other furnishings in the room will be new

3) I was able to find one that was pretty affordable considering the size I needed

This is the rug I ended up choosing from esalerugs. According to the website, it is between 60-80 years old, has a stain and some wear. I loved that it is a traditional style rug but that the bright turquoise, orange, and kelly green colors keep it from looking too granny. These are just some of the photos of the rug esalerugs provided on their website.

It arrived quickly. Thank God, because I just couldn't wait to see what it looked like in person. The rug is great. I absolutely love it. If I have any complaint at all, it would be that it isn't worn enough. Though I'm sure it will be looking its age after just a few weeks in our house...

Here it is temporarily hanging out in our living room while we anxiously wait to start working on family room.

Would you buy an antique rug sight unseen over the internet?

Family Room Floor Plan

Since we moved to Hazard Ave, we've struggled with the furniture arrangement in the family room. Our goal is to fit the maximum amount of people in the room and have a comfortable spot to view the TV.

We're pretty much starting over from scratch in this room, so we have an opportunity to change the layout from its current configuration, which looks like this

To get a comfortable view of the TV from the couch, one of us always has to lay down. Quite frankly, that makes eating dinner in front of the TV kind of hard (and let's face it, Chris and I occasionally eat a meal or two in front of the TV). Plus, there's not a whole lot of seating for guests.

We could add another chair, like in the drawing below, but then the best seats in the room would be the side chairs. I'd rather get comfy on the couch.

We briefly considered a love seat instead of two chairs, but this actually limited our seating even further because really, only one person can comfortably sit on a love seat. It also still leaves one of us eating our dinner lying down.

That brought us to putting the sofa directly across from the TV.

As you can see, that's not going to work either. The sofa would block all the traffic flow in and out of the room, and the two chairs would probably look weird blocking the TV like that.

Finally, we arrived at the "TV over the Fireplace" solution. 

We were reluctant to put a TV over our only fireplace in the house, but as you can see, it really does give us plenty of seating and allows for the best flow of traffic. 

Where do you stand on the "TV over the Fireplace" debate?
Have you done it in your own home?

Family Room Design Notes

If you didn't see enough of the current state of our family room on Wednesday, you are in luck because I have plenty of other pictures to share.

We won't be starting any of the physical labor until the fall. Call me crazy, but I want to enjoy my summer weekends outside enjoying the fantastic New England weather instead of spending it in our unairconditioned house striping wallpaper, repairing plaster walls, painting trim, etc, etc, etc. Wouldn't you?

The main transformation in the room will be achieved through new furnishings anyway, but it is never too soon to start planning and researching. I'm unabashedly milking free design advice from Casey of Loft and Cottage to decorate the space. Thanks again Casey, I owe you one!

I want this room to feel really warm and rich & slightly masculine. I want it to be cozy, but also have a little bit of an attitude. I want it to graduate from the frat house it currently looks like into something more sophisticated. I want the room to feel like it belongs in one of the historic brownstones of Boston's Beacon Hill. I want it to be "Beacon Hill Brownstone Chic". (Yes, I'm laughing at myself as I write this...)

So I told Casey about the elements Chris and I were already considering:

• An English roll arm sofa (in a pet friendly charcoal gray fabric)
• A worn and faded Persian rug
• Grasscloth wallpaper
• Use a pair of leather club chairs that we already own
• Have the chair I purchased at the Salvation Army reupholstered

• Purchase a new TV that can be wall mounted over the fireplace (blasphemy, I know, but it has to be done)
• Incorporate some unexpected surprise element like an acrylic coffee table to keep the room from looking like someone's grandparents live here.

Keeping my ideas in mind, Casey suggested the following:

• Windows: Keep our existing bamboo roman shades, hang these curtain panels from Ballard Design to add some height and pattern to the room, and use a wrought iron curtain rod. She said to hang the curtains all the way up to the soffit and treat the double windows as one large window using 2 panels (instead of 3). That would have been a decision I'd have agonized over for weeks!

• Ceiling: Paint the ceiling a cool, light gray to slightly contrast against the warm grasscloth that will be on the walls and to tie in the gray couch. Brilliant!

• Rug: Take a look at esalerugs for an affordable antique Persian rug. No, a rug like that won't clash with the contemporary striped rug we have in the adjacent room. Nice! Again, a question that would have kept me awake at night.
• End tables: Find something in a dark wood finish. I'm on it.
• Fireplace & mantle:  Replace the existing mantle with something chunkier that will give the fireplace more presence. We might consider painting out the brick black or charcoal. Hmmm...I'm not won over on painting the brick such a dark color, but perhaps I just haven't seen enough examples. Now I'm on the hunt for images of black fireplaces.
• The Salvation Army Chair: Hot House Flowers would be the most classic choice (of the 3 I had been considering) to reupholster it in, and also the most versatile for matching with other fabrics. For the front of the chair, a coordinating fabric in a wide stripe would be really cool. YES! I love this idea. Just need to find a striped fabric...

• Leather chairs: Move the pair of leather chairs to the wall where the TV is currently. Pay special attention to this wall because it is the first one you see when you enter the room from the front of the house. Place the leather chairs side by side or with a small table in between, depending on space. Treat the wall behind the chairs as a gallery wall or hang one large scale art piece.  I like it, I like it very much.
• The modern "surprise" element: Bring in an Arc lamp, & modern coffee table like marble, acrylic, or ottomans covered in faux snakeskin. I never would have thought of that! It's just the kind of unexpected piece I want.

So here's a preliminary mood board I put together.

side table; table lamp; floor lamp; sofa; curtains; fabric; coffee table; rug; leather chair

Do you think it captures the "Beacon Hill Brownstone Chic" vibe we're going for?

Our Family Room

If you've been following along Hazardous Design for some time now, you already know that the next room overhaul is our Family Room. I was lucky enough to get some free advice from the talented Casey of Loft and Cottage when I won a design consult from her back in April. She came over to the house a couple of weeks ago (along with Sarah of Pewter and Sage) to take a look at the room and dazzle me with her ideas.

She had her work cut out for her. When we moved, this room became the where all the furniture that didn't belong anywhere else in the house ended up. There was really no hope of making it look good, so I didn't even try. The couch is actually a sectional. I hate the way it separates when you sit down on it.  I can't stand all the floppy back cushions. Plus, all the stereo components drive me nuts! And what is that thing hanging on the wall in the upper left hand corner? We have no idea.

At one point my brother said that this room reminded him of his frat house in college. Nice.

I already had some idea of how I wanted the space to look and feel, but it was so helpful to have a professional validate, refine, and offer up suggestions for things I hadn't even considered.

The inspiration for my room actually comes from one that Casey herself designed. Perhaps you've seen this gorgeous space?

While it isn't a family room, it still captures the updated traditional look I want.

I'm also really drawn to this room, which is an extreme example that traditional and modern mix.

Elle Decor, Photograph by Tim Street-Porter

After seeing it in person, Casey also had a vision for the room.

Pinterest

Funny that this is also a picture of a bedroom :) Anyway, she said that this picture had the texture, colors, and mix of patterns that she envisioned for the space.

I like where this is going...

Stay tuned. In the next post I'll share our plan for how we're going to pull the room together.

Ring, Ring...

"Hello, Carrie?"
"Yes"
"This is 1978 calling. I'd like my ceiling fan back now."

Sigh...

So clearly time is up on this brass beauty, but it will need to be replaced by another. Although ceiling fans get a bad rap, one is absolutely necessary to make it through a hot & humid New England summer in our un-airconditioned house.  This fan is in our family room, which is our next major project on the "To Do" list, so there's no better time like the present to get a new one.

I came across a couple of interesting options by Matthews Fan Company

But...I think they might be a little too interesting in my house. I don't exactly want our ceiling fan to be the center of attention.

So that brings us to the standard issue white fans with an attached light readily available at Home Depot and Lowes...

But before going down that route, we might try what Jenny suggested in recent post which is to spray paint the fan the color of the ceiling so that it almost disappears. Then add a drum shade over the light fixture to update it. In fact, there's a drum shade kit available at Shades of Light that might do the trick.

Now imagine it all white.  What do you think?

Or have you come across any good looking ceiling fan options?

A Comfy Spot

I've been brainstorming ideas for the family room...

Sofa, Pottery Barn

Side Tables, West Elm

Lamps, Crate and Barrel

Rug, West Elm

Side Table, West Elm

Garden Stool, West Elm

Footstool, Ballard Designs

Leather Chair, Home Decorators Collection

Coffee Table, Room and Board

Upholstered Chair in Arden Chocolate, Ballard Designs

Ikat Pillows, Etsy

Pillow Fabric, Online Fabrics

Sofantastic

One of the major purchases on the list for 2011 is a new sofa for the family room. The one we are using now is actually sectional we bought in a pinch to fit in a specific space in the old house.  Truth is, we never liked it and actually put it out on the curb just before moving day until we realized, um, yeah, we're going to need that in the new house...

We have a couple of considerations that isn't making this purchase very easy...our dogs. Cute as they are, they are very messy little monsters. 

Harry and Georgia

We are going to need a couch with upholstery that hides dirt well or something that can be easily cleaned. Since our dogs like to sit on the back cushions and look out the window, the new sofa will need to have a tight back or cushions that don't lose their shape. I'd also prefer a sofa with mid to high arms to lean against. 

See? I told you it wasn't going to be easy.
Here's the short list:

Cameron sofa from Crate and Barrel

 Pros: Tight back, high arms, clean lines, neutral color and shape

Cons: Unclear how well this upholstery will hold up, a tad bit ordinary

Hovas sofa from Ikea

 Pros: Inexpensive, cover is machine washable, replacement covers are only $50-$250 depending on fabric
Cons: Cheap construction, not wild about the rounded arms

Monroe sofa from Room and Board

 Pros: Quality construction, many "easy care" fabric options, price, tight back, loving this fabric color
Cons: There isn't a nearby Room and Board to check it out in person

Hutton sofa from Room and Board

Pros: This is a statement sofa! High arms, deep seats for lounging in front of the TV, quality construction and plenty of fabric choices
Cons: Too formal for a family room?

Slipcovered Metro sofa from Room and Board

Pros: Optional slipcover is machine washable and has a nice tailored fit
Cons: This color is still a little light to hide dirty doggie paw prints. Will all stains really come out in the wash??? Reviewers stated that cushions loose their shape (however, R&B offers replacement cushions.)

PB Square Grand Slipcovered Sofa from Pottery Barn

Pros: Saw this one in person. Comfortable and large. Slipcover is available in a Stone Slubby Canvas that is the perfect shade of greige. Machine washable. Replacement cushions available.
Cons: Unlike the Room and Board option above, you can't just take the slipcover off and have a perfectly upholstered piece underneath. Replacement slipcovers don't appear to be readily available on the website. 

Have You Seen the Chairs at Crate and Barrel Lately?

Great fabrics! I'll have one of each please :)