A Family Room for a Young Family, Our Brookhaven Project

One of my favorite type of projects is to help, young families make their homes livable and beautiful. Let’s face it, family time can be messy. It’s not always so neat and tidy. Our spaces need to be able to handle all kinds of use, messes and all. Sofas and chairs need to be able to stand up to spills. Coffee tables and side tables need to be able to stand up to food and playtime. The items we pick for these spaces enable us to feel comfortable and be worry free. We all have enough on our plates. We don’t need to have our homes be one of those worry zones!

So, when I got a phone call from a young family that had just relocated to Atlanta for job opportunities, I was super excited! They have a young son and a baby was on the way. They bought a brand new home, but had minimal furniture to put in it. The home was a spec house that had nice finishes. To give you an idea, here is where the project started:

Part of the process is to take measurements and present different floor and furniture plans for the space. Since this is a young family, I loved the idea of a sectional where all of them could snuggle and hang out watching tv or just playing with their kids. I like to present at least 2 options to clients to give them choices. Typically, they can be mixed and matched. Here is a peak at the two options I presented to this client:

Can you guess which way they went? They actually ended up with a bit of a combination. They went with the sectional from plan 2 and the coffee table from plan 1. We later ordered the console from plan 2 and we ended up with a totally different chair that wasn’t a part of either plan. You can see how much easier it makes the decision when you can see all of the pieces together. Visuals always help. Nothing is set in stone until you actually order the pieces. We can go back and make revisions until we get the final look.

One of the most important decisions made was to choose a fabric for the sofa that would be highly durable and stand up to babies and everything that goes with them! We choose a performance fabric that is light in color, but can handle just about any spill or stain.

Recently, the client told me they found some kind of red stain on the sofa that had been sitting there for days. With a little soap and water, it came right out. That’s the truest test of all! You don’t have to go dark to hide the mess.  In today’s world there are so many different fabric options that will stand up to most anything that it makes it easy to stay with a light and bright fabric to allow the room to maintain that same feeling.

The husband really wanted a chair for him! One, that after a long day, he could come in and just relax in his own space. The mid-century leather chair fits the bill, perfectly. It’s separate from the rest of the seating arrangement to allow space from the family when someone needs it. It still allows whomever is sitting there to be an observer of the action and to pace themselves when jumping in on all the fun. The best part, the chair swivels! One can either watch tv or participate in the conversation that is happening on the sofa.

We chose a sisal rug that has a larger weave that is more comfortable on bare feet. To jazz it up we decide to use a contrasting thread and serge it. Black is a neutral in my book and I always feel every room needs a bit of it. This was our “bit” of black. It also ties into the pillows, coffee table and the slight black thread that runs through the fabric. We added the cow hide and it took the space to the next level of styling! Yes, all the way!

To complete the room we styled the shelves. One day I came over and we pulled the objects they already had and wanted to use. I had also brought over a bunch of items that could be styled in with their current pieces. The result was beautiful! Having one’s own treasures mixed in with recent finds is a great way to bring personality and meaning to your home.

Here are some additional pics that give you a great view of the entire space: