Room of the Day: A Master Retreat Designed for Quality Family Time
http://www.decor-ideas.org 04/20/2015 20:13 Decor Ideas
“This family loves to spend a lot of quality time together, and that includes spending time in the master bedroom,” says interior designer Melissa Hill. After listening carefully to how the clients’ household functioned, she and partner Sara Hartley created a cozy master bedroom where the parents and their two young boys unwind together at the end of each day with beloved books.
“At first they thought they’d want a TV in here, but by the time we were done, they realized it was about spending time together and reading, and they didn’t want it anymore,” Hill says. Inspired by the homeowners’ love of travel, eclectic style and bright colors, along with their art collection, the duo created an inviting room the whole family enjoys.
Room at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple with 2 young boys
Location: Madison, Connecticut
Size: About 200 square feet (18.5 square meters)
Hartley and Hill spent a lot of time figuring out how their clients functioned as a family before they got started on any design plans. Before, there was one chair and an ottoman in here that no one ever used, because the whole family wanted to be together.
Fitting in a corner sectional provided a seating area where the whole family could hang out. “In addition to reading, they also like to play games up here,” Hartley says. The walls are a gallery of family photos.
The room is large and has lots of angled walls and ceilings. At first it seemed like the only wall that would fit the bed was the one where the sectional is. But then the designers set the bed at an angle in front of one of the angled spaces. Now the bed has a nice view of the rest of the room and serves as a focal point.
The dark walls help to cozy up the large space and also minimize the looks of some of the room’s angles.
Wall paint: Stormy Sky; ceiling paint: Edgecomb Gray, both by Benjamin Moore
The home is located near the beach, which, along with the family’s love of travel, inspired lots of textures, like the rattan headboard, mix of rougher and softer linens, and sandy neutral hues.
The wine barrel chandeliers save precious nightstand surface space. “Because they love to read so much, they needed a lot of space on the nightstands for books,” Hill says. The chandeliers are on separate dimmers and remote controls.
After taking a lot of time getting to know what their clients liked, the duo found this bright blue and green paisley fabric and knew they’d hit the right note. “We just knew it was ‘them,’” Hill says.
They created all of the bedding custom, using several different linen fabrics and fabric-covered buttons on the duvet. In addition, the duvet is reversible, so the homeowners can switch it over to the white side to change things up.
Adding a variety of throw pillows brought in more textures, including chenille and wool houndstooth, as well as more color. They also welcome the whole family to casually flop down, be propped up and burrow in with books.
The couple wanted to repurpose a very traditional armoire they already had. They were completely game for this vibrant green paint, which has a special antiqued finish. Placed at an angle, the piece enlivens this corner with color.
The designers added plantation shutters to the windows and capped them off with cornices that have a larger and slightly different version of the duvet cover’s fabric pattern. The bottoms of the cornices are flexible, so it’s easy to open and shut the shades. They have bronze nailheads that pick up on other details in the room.
A trio of carved wood artworks adds to the well-traveled look, as does a bone inlay tray on the dresser. Two green bamboo chairs add to the whimsy and contrast the gray walls.
A large floor-length mirror adds a chevron pattern and rich gray wood to the texture mix.
“Before, there wasn’t room for the whole family, so they never spent much time in here,” Hartley says. “Now they’ve told us that their kids are up here every night!”
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