This living room has been a labor of love since the moment we moved in. It holds a special place in our hearts as the first room we tackled for remodeling, yet surprisingly, it has become the last one to be fully completed. The journey of transforming this space has been filled with unexpected twists and turns, but we have enjoyed the challenge. Despite its compact size, this living room presented a unique design challenge due to its long and narrow footprint, pushing me to think creatively and outside the box. Every decision made in this room has been carefully considered to maximize both functionality and aesthetics. From selecting the perfect color palette to choosing furniture that fits seamlessly within the space, every detail has been meticulously planned. As I delve deeper into the intricacies of this narrow living room, let's explore the thought process behind each design element and how it has contributed to the overall transformation of this cozy yet stylish space.
Examining the initial state of the space, it appeared as a long and narrow enclosure lacking distinctive features. Without a defined focal point, the primary goal was to establish one. I designed the built-ins to serve as the focal point and painted them a darker blue/green color. They also are functional in that they provide much needed storage. I don't love having the TV being part of the focal point but humans do live here and we do watch TV so it had to be incorporated.
There are many fun ways to disguise a TV. The easiest and most cost effective is getting the frame TV and having some beautiful art displayed when not in use. You can also disguise a TV behind cabinet doors and have the doors fully retract when the TV is in use. Lots of options here, we took the easy approach.
The paint color I chose for the built-in wall was Farrow and Ball's "Down Pipe." I love this color because it changes throughout the day with the light. Sometimes it is a blue gray and other times it reads green. Obviously we replaced the flooring during the remodel. Some days I miss those pine floors but they do not belong in this style of a house.
We added library lights above the bookshelves to provide abient lighting. The backs of the bookshelves have textured wallpaper applied that we painted the same color of the built-ins. A very subtle detail indeed but I love the subtle texture it provides. The chair in the above photo is a chair found at an estate sale. The cushion had a tropical floral pattern that I had reupholstered with a nubby cream fabric.
The other change to this space that made a huge impact are the faux beams we added to the ceiling. Our house has 8 foot ceilings. To give the appearance of higher ceilings I typically like to dress up the ceilings. Here we added height by adding full length beams and painted it the same color as the ceiling drywall. It seems counterintuitive to draw attention to a low ceiling by adding an architectural feature but it really does make the room look and feel larger. I think it my favorite part of the space.
Refrencing the above picture, to the left of the spindle table is the front door. It is not ideal to have a front entry door that opens into a main living space. However, I made the best of it here without reconfiguring the whole floor plan of the house. While we rarely use the front door, I did want to create a "drop zone" of sorts by adding a space to drop keys.
The door is my favorite part of our house. I love the hand-carved design. Behind the door are wall hooks to collect book bags, purses, jackets and hats. Those hooks get a lot of use.
On the other side of the room there is a large wall diving the dining/ kitchen area and the living area. I decided to keep this wall to divide the space (anti-open concept). This left a large wall begging for large scale artwork. These Audubon prints are centered on the wall with more library sconces to highlight them at night. Connecting the living room to the bedrooms is a small walkway that I had wallpapered with a botanical print. I love seeing different wall treatments in one vantage point.
From this photo I am standing at the beginning of the hallway. You can see just how long and narrow this space is. To create multiple zones within one room I placed a large 11' x 21' natural fiber rug to cover nearly the whole floor but then layered with a wool rug in the seating area and then a cowhide in the "front entrace" portion of the room. I highly recommend a cow hide if you have dogs and kids. They are washable and they feel so amazing underfoot.
For the artwork, everything has been collected over time. The top left is a painting by an artist in Alabama that is island-floated in a guilded frame. The top right and bottom left shows horsehair raku plates by a local artist. The bottom right is an oil painting by an unknown artist that I collected from an Instagram account. His name is Fred and he is so dear to me.
So here is our living room! This area brings me so much joy. It is where I love to spend peaceful mornings before the household wakes up. Here, I enjoy watching the sunrise and often catch sight of deer grazing on our lawn in the early hours. In the upcoming post, I will delve into the schematics of how this narrow living room functions. I will compare my ideal floor plan for a long and narrow living room with the current layout we have settled on (for the time being).
Thank you for reading!
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