Room of the Day: Global Influence in Rhode Island

Meghan Shadrick’s clients had lived in their ranch house for five years, but they had never gotten around to furnishing their living room. “They have a family room, and that’s where they spend most of their time,” says Shadrick, of Meghan Shadrick Interiors. “When they finally decided to finish this room, they wanted to have some fun.” Shadrick’s primary client loves color but was timid about using it herself, and the rest of the house is done in neutrals. When Shadrick was hired, her directive was to make the room colorful and playful, with plenty of texture, art and seating thrown in.

Room at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple and their young kids
Location: Pawtucket, Rhode Island (just outside Providence)
Size: Roughly 308 square feet (28 square meters)
Tip: In a design world that’s increasingly global, don’t be afraid to mix items from around the world in one room. “A confluence of cultures is a great American look,” Shadrick says.

The first thing the designer did was to address the layout. The room is long and narrow, and the clients wanted to be able to seat as many people as possible when they entertained. Shadrick placed a console behind the sofa to push it out into the room a bit and help center it on the fireplace. This also helped bring light to the seating area without taking up room with floor lamps or occasional tables.

The art is by Kristen Dowd, and it’s bookended with two metal mirrors that hail from Morocco but were discovered in a thrift shop. The pattern on the pillows, black with brightly colored birds and flowers, is a century old but was updated with contemporary colors. “That’s the room in a nutshell,” Shadrick says. “We took a space in an older house and made it feel fresh.”

Dark pillow fabric: Nympheus, Lee Jofa; yellow pillows: Studded Velvet pillow cover, West Elm; lamps: Ralph Lauren Home and HomeGoods


Across from the sofa, Shadrick installed a daybed. This allows guests to face the sofa or the armchairs that sit beyond it.

The global beat continues with pillows made from a variety of tribal fabrics and a Turkish kilim rug underneath the coffee table. “The rug adds a lot of texture and color in the room,” Shadrick says. “It’s too small to stand on its own, but it really helps cozy up the seating area in front of the fireplace.”

Daybed: Room & Board


Before the remodel, the mantel encircling the black marble fireplace surround was white. To the client it looked off, a bit like wearing white shoes with heavy black tights. Shadrick painted the mantel gray to make a better match.

The client discovered the painting of the woman in a local art gallery and loved it, but it was too small to stand alone. Shadrick commissioned the abstract painting from another artist to complement it, and together they make the focal point.

Antiqued brass fireplace screen: Crate & Barrel


The armchairs were two other vintage finds that were given new life with fresh upholstery.

The framed panels in the background were a ragged room-dividing screen found in an antiques shop. “It was in rough shape with corners missing, but it was beautiful,” Shadrick says. “We had three sections of the screen sandwiched between acrylic sheets and mounted directly to the wall with brass rivets. The treatment makes them look special, like old relics.”

The clients had wanted a room that was enlivened by color and pattern, and they got it. “It serves as something of a wow factor in this home,” Shadrick says.

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URL: Room of the Day: Global Influence in Rhode Island http://www.decor-ideas.org/cases-view-id-26143.html