Room of the Day: The Age of Elegance

This room was a dining area when interior designer Liza Riguerra first laid eyes on it. As she got to know her client, a woman she describes as the epitome of elegance, she was inspired to turn the space into what she calls a sitting room. “It’s kind of like a formal living room,” she says, “but it’s where she could write notes, drink tea or relax with a book as well.”

Photos by Mark Darley

Room at a Glance: Sitting Room
Who lives here: A technology executive and her son
Location: San Francisco
Size: 163 square feet (15 square meters)
Designer: Liza Riguerra

Tip: To make a room feel spacious (particularly an unusually shaped room such as this one), use a rug that’s been cut to follow the contours of the room. The rug here wraps the hearth and hugs the walls. “You could use no floor covering at all,” Riguerra says. “But I wanted to incorporate the warmth of a rug.”

In the remodel, the designer relocated the dining room closer to the kitchen. Since the family (a technology executive and her son) have a family room, Riguerra recast this area as what it probably was when the Victorian home was built: a traditional sitting room (a space that people at the turn of the last century would have used to sit and relax in). By the designer’s definition, it’s a room that is less casual than a formal living room and spiffier than a family room. Since it’s the first area you see when you enter the house, she wanted it to be beautiful and welcoming.

A bay window gives the room an unusual geometry. Riguerra helped make the most of it by tucking a love seat into the niche created by the windows.

But another piece of furniture sparked the design for the room. “You could say I designed the whole room around the writing desk,” Riguerra says. She spotted the old-school piece in New York, and it reminded her of her client.

Writing desk: Varenne, Maxine Snider



Although computers are the owner’s business, Riguerra says the woman is the kind of person who would sit down and handwrite a note. “The desk definitely reflects her style: tailored, elegant and sophisticated,” she says.

The desk is also a place where the client enjoys a cup of tea. Thanks to the bay window on the right, the space is flooded with a pleasant natural light for most of the day.


After the writing desk was selected, the designer wanted to balance things out with a liquor cabinet on the other side of the fireplace. “This is a person who likes to entertain,” Riguerra says.

Two other points of interest: The fireplace mantel looks like it has always been there, but it was added by Riguerra. She says the existing mantel was strangely low, and with the dining table out of the way, the focal point was even more prominent. She re-created it as a taller, more traditional piece. The client doesn’t use the fireplace (no one is quite sure whether it’s functional), so the designer filled it with stacked birch logs.

The classic, symmetrical look is underscored by the artwork: two framed panels of hand-painted wallpaper.

“Framing interesting wallpaper is a cost-effective way to add art to your wall. But try to use wallpaper that can stand alone as something interesting to look at,” Riguerra says. “The wallpaper we used here looks like a contemporary chinoiserie painting.”

Console: Jiun Ho: wallpaper: Fromental


The owner had these worn leather books (they are part of her cookbook collection), and Riguerra used them to reinforce the classic and elegant look of the space.

Candlesticks: Ted Muehling


The love seat in the window is nice for sitting but a bit small for stretching out, so Riguerra put a chaise on the opposite wall. “It’s good to have a variety of seating in a room like this. And we have a love seat, occasional chairs and this piece for relaxing,” she says.

An abstract painting above the chaise incorporates many of the hues in the space.

Painting: Connie Kirk; chaise: Baker


Colors are one of the keys to the timeless look and feel of this room. “If you want a classic look, you can’t go wrong with creamy tones and dark wood finishes,” Riguerra says.

Wall paint: Spring in Aspen, Benjamin Moore

See previous Rooms of the Day

URL: Room of the Day: The Age of Elegance http://www.decor-ideas.org/cases-view-id-26542.html