We have been working on a beautiful garden inspired library space this year and we’ve finished the design phase and…because it is 2022, now we wait….and wait…..and wait….for all the things to come in. But some things are worth waiting for!

Our clients understand that the high quality, custom furniture we ordered is going to take months, but is worth waiting for and will be beautiful when it all comes together!

Meanwhile, I’m going to share a sneak preview of the design for this stunning room - you’ll have to imagine the finished product because it’s likely to be almost a year before we get the reveal pictures!

Defining The Problem(s)

As with all of our projects, we start with the “why” of doing the project at all. You must have a reason even if that reason is “I don’t like this color anymore”. In this case, the room had never really been designed - it more or less just collected enough furniture to facilitate the seating for the family to crash in to play games or watch TV while everyone was trapped at home for the pandemic.

And aside from the fact that nothing in there really “sparked joy”, there were a number of glaring problems with the current state of affairs 

• Not enough storage for books. The family still has tons of books in boxes in spite of the fact they have lived here for a few years.

• Skimpy mantel. A significant size fieldstone fireplace with a raised hearth has an undersize stone mantel that neither holds up to the scale of the fireplace nor relates to the bookshelves that flank it..

• Not fond of the current chandelier. Our clients have never been fond of the current tole chandelier - it’s not bad, just not their taste.

• Furniture is tired and falling apart. It was never particularly high quality furniture and it has been heavily used by this family of 8 over the past couple of years.

• The current furniture arrangement is focused on a TV on the wall opposite the fireplace. This means the back of the sofa is what faces the fireplace…also the size and placement of these seating pieces currently dictates they overlap. Altogether an awkward and unwelcoming arrangement.

• Doorways on all 4 walls make the layout challenging as this is a walk through space to get to a variety of other rooms.

Defining the Function

This room is home to (or would like to be home to) a variety of activities. Here are the ones we’ve identified:

• Reading

• Watching TV

• Playing games

• Enjoying the fireplace

This is the second main floor space we are tackling in this gracious sprawling home. The first was this home office which is a favorite room now!

Define the Assets

Like the rest of the home, this room has fabulous “bones”.

• It is a sunny space on the back of the house

• Adjacent to the breakfast room, it features a wall of French doors out to a lovely patio and gardens.

• Like the other rooms on the main floor, it is a gracious size with high ceilings and beautiful millwork

• The striking river rock fireplace wall already contains built-in bookshelves and cabinetry

• A deep coffered ceiling and hardwood floors along with the millwork lend an elegant envelope to the space

Define the Inspiration

The clients love of books along with expansive views of the garden and the natural stone of the fireplace inspired our design direction.

The Garden Inspired Library would incorporate casual, comfortable elegance with a touch of glam, befitting our client.

The homeowner’s preferences lean to pastels and garden colors (especially pink!), and we’ve chosen a broad spectrum of those colors for this central space to allow cohesiveness throughout the public rooms as we redo and personalize each of them in the coming months. A foundation of green as nature’s neutral will support a palette of pinks, corals, golds, taupes, and blues.

Design Solutions

• Add an additional wall of built-in bookcases to house the homeowners extensive library

• Beef up the mantel with a larger painted wood millwork mantel shelf with detailing to match the existing millwork and installed right over the existing stone mantel

• Add new deep, comfy high quality seating in a mix of pretty patterns and touchable textures

• Relocate the TV so furniture can be oriented toward the fireplace

• Add more lighting and side tables for ease of use

• Add garden inspired art and furnishings

We always try to reuse anything important or workable in the new design. In this case, the coffee table was a good size and the existing area rug supported the color story. Some of the furnishings will be retired, and some will be reused in other rooms.

To update and freshen the millwork, it will all be repainted in a soft white. The walls will be painted a neutral taupe and the backs of the bookshelves will get a contrasting garden green. The ceiling between the coffered beams will be painted a shade of blue evoking the sky and giving the impression of sitting under a garden pergola.

The artwork selected features gardens and plants and the TV will be replaced with the Samsung Frame TV to look like another piece of art when not in use. A cast stone relief wall sculpture and cast stone baluster console table echo formal garden elements.

Upholstery fabrics are a riot of garden colors with chive green chenille on the sofas, a multicolor stripe for the pillows and a pair of ottomans, a Jacobean floral for the tufted tub chair and ottoman, and a fun, large-scale coral houndstooth check for a pair of reading chairs flanking the fireplace.

Touches of brass and iron in lighting and occasional furnishings are a perfect complement to the garden colors.

We can’t wait to see this completed…alas, we will HAVE to wait…but we look forward to sharing the reveal when it is all done!