Living Room Before and After: Part One

When we walked through our house for the first time, the living room was the most obviously promising space. The footprint was gracious, there was a fireplace and the whole room was flooded with light thanks to a big bay window.

I knew the moorish archways could easily be squared off and widened to make it feel even more spacious. I also knew I could easily update the fireplace and remove the disco-esque mirrored tiles and black granite. This confidence in the structural elements allowed me to go right to the decorating phase, which as you know is by far the most fun for me!

I’ve been a long-time fan of the ‘Paris Apartment’ look, à la panelled walls and plaster mouldings, carved marble fireplaces and stunning patterned wood flooring. This style was something I always wanted to incorporate into my future forever home, and luckily worked perfectly with the vibe of the exterior of our house. I’ll be taking a closer look at the flooring and fireplace in an upcoming post, so let’s skip right to the furniture and fabric fun!

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Shut the Front Door: Making Your First Impression

The April colour issue of Style At Home has made its way to many subscribers already so I’m going to kick off my behind the scenes tour of how all the rooms in the feature came together with a detailed look at the foyer, which is fittingly the first image in the spread. Captured quite perfectly by the talented Stacey Brandford, the foyer shot also shows off one of my favourite elements in the space: the front door.

The front door says a lot about the home you’re about to enter with the particular style, finish and even material giving visitors their first glimpse into your taste. With that in mind, I selected particular door and hardware options that embody the traditional luxe look I envisioned for my home.

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