One House Two Ways

December 15th, 2010 § Leave a Comment

Two things in this post. First, a video. Then, two very different ways to furnish the same house.

I’ve been playing with the idea of doing tour videos for our listings. I started with my favorite of our new listings. I worked a bit on it, trying out a couple of different things, lamenting my old borrowed GL-1 where I knew how to adjust the focus and iris and whatnot. I got the video ready-ish, and started looking into how, exactly, to get it to the interwebs, and … the house sold. In thirteen days. In this economy. Pardon me while I pat myself (and the rest of my awesome team) on the back about this; it’s seriously good news.

But I thought I’d share the video anyway and ask you guys for some feedback about it. Do you think walk-through videos are a good idea? Do you think they would make prospective buyers more (or less?) likely to want to see the home in person?

And second, I love decor. My favorite part of going into empty listings is envisioning different ways the new owners could make the space look amazing. I thought I’d share two different ideas I had for the Lincolnshire house.

Before branching into the two distinct styles, however, there are a few cosmetic updates I would make to the house itself (surprising, I know!).

Walls: luminous white plaster, inspired by Brooke Gianettis’ gorgeous home that she flaunts in her blog Velvet and Linen.
Paneling: greywashed — a semi-sheer paint or glaze that leaves the grain visible. (Above the paneling I would have the walls plaster like the rest of the house, and leave the beams in the ceiling as they are. I love beamed ceilings. They make me want to learn Old English and swagger around with a broadsword. You probably didn’t want to know that.)
Floors: reclaimed hardwood laid in a chevron pattern
Hardware: streamlined wrought iron. The slightly unfinished or irregular shapes would be nice and informal, and the wrought iron material would pick up on the ironwork already in the home.
Additional lighting: pared-down iron sconces. Lots of sconces. The home doesn’t have hugely high ceilings, and it feels dark in some areas, so sconces it is.
Interior doors: muted teal louvered panel doors, inspired by pictures of teal-shuttered homes in Italy, for color & fun

source: ScottShephard.com; not this bright, though

So with those changes done, there are a couple of different ways that I could go with the decor. First, I could stick to a classic, more traditional style and create a welcoming home with a collected feel and unpretentious sophistication. Or alternately I could push the style in a more contemporary direction, and shoot for a sleek but still broken-in modern villa vibe. Classic Comfort vs. Modern Mediterranean. I’ll show you what it looks like now, then go through my Classic ideas, and conclude with the Modern take on the same spaces.

*Classic Comfort Option

Secret Garden, Before

I told you that my favorite part was the entry courtyard, and that’s where I’d start. Assuming I could figure out how to keep from killing every plant in a hundred-foot radius.

Style: English, Informal, winding path & free-form plants
Seating: vintage bistro table & chairs
Fountain: neoclassical wall fountain
Color scheme: multiple shades & textures of greenery; white flowers, esp. Lily of the Valley and a huge, cascading white clematis spilling over the wall
Evergreen color: aged-looking wooden planter boxes w/ boxwood

Moving on to the Formal Living Room:

Formal Living, Before

I love an arrangement of four armchairs around a central table or ottoman. It’s great for visiting, playing games, reading, or almost anything except watching TV. Since there are two living areas, I would have this be the TV-free-zone.

Seating: four leather French club-style chairs around a dark grey-blue velvet tufted ottoman
Storage & Display: install cabinetry (dark wood? bright white? greywashed wood?) on the wall opposite windows w/ closed lower cabinets and open, illuminated mirror-backed shelves above; possibly desk area in center
Lighting: chandelier above the ottoman; sconces flanking another mirror in the center of the built-in cabinets; sconces on either side of window w/ trellis detail picking up pillow fabric pattern
Curtains: subtle 18^th-century-inspired print floor-to-ceiling panels from Pottery Barn

Cabinet Possibility

Going to the Formal Dining Room:

Formal Dining, Before

Curtains: more floor-to-ceiling panels in a solid linen that coordinates with — but doesn’t just “match” — the curtains in the adjoining living room.
Lighting: big, beautiful chandelier
Well-worn farm table
Seating: I’d pair antique Louis XV-style armchairs at the ends of the table with new Louis XVI-style balloon-back chairs, both upholstered in a soft buttery yellow wide-striped silk.

Another option for these two spaces would be to take out the middle arch and have one long, dramatic dining room with a HUGE dining table running lengthwise, maybe with two chandeliers suspended above them and display cabinetry along the interior wall.

Okay, kitchen!

Kitchen, Before

I love kitchens. I even like this kitchen as it is. But that’s no fun; bring on the demolition!

Ceiling: raise the lowered ceiling and install can lights
Floors: reclaimed terra cotta tile from Spain
Structural changes: replace island w/ long, natural-finished, turned-leg wood combination worktable and breakfast table that runs crosswise through the room.
Hutch: leave, but repaint it in something fun like brick red or maybe oyster grey and add a brown or charcoal glaze to highlight the vintage character of the door cut-outs. Or maybe remove the central panels of the cabinet doors and replace them with chicken wire and turn them into lighted display shelves. So many possibilities.
Cabinets: leave the bottom cabinets but paint them white & replace the doors w/ white shaker-style doors. Replace the upper cabinets with open shelving in natural-finished wood to coordinate with the worktable.
Seating: slightly industrial-feeling barstools that are height adjustable.
Island Lighting: on workspace side, metal-shade pendants for practicality and a bit of edge; over breakfast side, two huge street-lantern style pendants for a focal point
Counters: Classic white quartz or Caesarstone on the counters running around the walls; top the island with warm gold & cream granite
Backsplash: white subway tile laid in a brick pattern
Appliances: stainless
Hardware & faucets: bronze & wrought iron

And finally, the Family Room:

Family Room, Before

Seating: updated shelter-back sofa upholstered in sand-colored linen & two tufted wing-back chairs upholstered in two fabrics – a creamy fuzzy flannel w/ grey pinstripes on the back, arms, and sides, and charcoal velvet or mohair on the seat, back, & inside of the wings. Also a burlap-upholstered antique English accent chair.
Traditional-style coffee table
Antique-look wall map above the fireplace conceals the flat-screen TV
Neutral-background Chinoiserie print linen curtain panels to bring some pattern
Neutral-toned Persian-style rug
Room is big enough for two seating areas; I’d live with it for a while and decide if I wanted to do that

*Modern Mediterranean option

For the modern scheme, starting in the garden entryway:

Style: Updated French/Formal; this would be a fantastic place for a modern knot garden
Seating: simple Asian-inspired bench
Fountain: worn simple rustic-style wall fountain – notice that both fountains have arched tops, to echo the home’s existing arches
Color scheme: same as CC
Evergreen color: clean-lined clipped boxwood hedges

Throughout the modern-style home, I’d want mostly clean-lined, modern pieces set off by one or two older, perhaps vintage or antique elements in every room to keep it from feeling like I bought it all from a catalog.

Formal Living Room:

Seating: simple, pale, squared-off sofa and two sleek charcoal velvet Art Deco-inspired chairs
Antique element: very well-worn coffee table bench
I’d pair modern lighting with pillows made from antique rugs; a sleek, and shiny bar cart set off by a chaotic Jackson Pollock print and a fuzzy, nubby neutral rug.
Curtains: floor-to-ceiling natural linen curtain panels, probably with a grommet top, hung from a simple medium-thin wrought-iron pole.

Formal Dining Room:

Curtains: same as living room
Table: industrial modern dining table with natural steel legs & a worn, natural-finish wood top
Seating: clean-lined modern slipcovered armchairs — all armchairs. Comfort is king.
Lighting: industrial modern exposed-bulb chandelier
Focal point: dramatic, original art

Kitchen:

Flooring: same as in CC option
Keep the current layout for the most part; remove the hutch & build a large, built-in banquette for the breakfast area, upholstered in a warm cinnamon velvet that sets off the floor color.
Re-work the island to look more modern, but keep the size & shape roughly the same.
Raise the ceiling, replace the upper cabinets with open shelving
Lighting: Industrial pendants above island and sink; rectangular modern capiz-shell chandelier above the breakfast table; additional can lights in ceiling
Cabinets: replace the doors on the lower cabinets with espresso-stained slab-style doors; replace upper cabinets with white lacquered floating shelves
Backsplash: white, pale grey, & off-white recycled glass mosaic tile, extended up to the ceiling behind the floating shelves
Hardware: organically-shaped natural steel
Faucet: polished nickel
Countertops: cararra marble. I know. I love it anyway.

Family Room: