Our living room is the heart of this home, and it typifies my design strategy. Keeping in mind my key word, Serene, we have focused on monochromatic texture in the living spaces. It gives a feeling of spaciousness important when you have fewer than 900 sq. feet of actual space! The survey says it is bigger, but 18 inch walls take a bite out of your rooms.
The walls are stucco over limestone, and the stone shows in a few places. We replaced the tongue and groove ceiling and whitewashed it. The walls are a soft pink-white that makes your skin glow. I chose it because I wanted the rooms to look warm without going the brown-red-tan-yellow route that is the shortcut to warmth. Dark colors would make this house feel like a bunker!
We also replaced the blue carpet with rustic red oak floors. We used a custom Cabot stain mixed to be the same color as the mortar between the exposed limestone blocks. I felt that a normal orangey-brown stain would be shocking here, and I wanted less contrast.
In this picture you can see just a hint of the heavy cedar beam original to the house. We made the book shelves with salvaged crates from the barn. A chrome lamp serves as a link between the rough/industrial elements of the room and the feminine furniture.
Shhh... don't tell anyone that I didn't spend hundreds of dollars on heavy linen for the curtains. They are recycled fabric drop cloths from home depot. Fooled you didn't they?
Carved wood, velvet, and silk aren't too femme alongside the rustic flooring and stucco texture.
I never get tired of the shadows in the wall texture and stone.
I've used branches in various rooms for continuity. Also they are a kind of sculpture free for all mankind.
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