New This Week: 4 Living Rooms With Nice Architectural Features
See how ceiling beams, built-ins and fireplace details help create dynamic designs
Furniture and accessories go a long way toward making a living room look stylish. But standout architectural features like ceiling beams, fireplace details and archways can really take a room to another level of design. Here, four living rooms show how dynamic — and dramatic — architectural features can be.
2. Coffered Ceiling and Multisurface Fireplace
Designer: Wendy Langston of Everything Home
Location: Westfield, Indiana
Size: 360 square feet (33 square meters); 18 by 20 feet
Homeowners’ request. An inviting, spacious and modern gathering place for two people or a crowd that highlights the rear yard view.
Architectural features. Designer Wendy Langston wanted the space to have tall ceilings without feeling sterile. She designed the coffered wood beams to warm the ceiling plane, create visual interest and bring the room down to human scale. For the mantel she used reclaimed wood from an 1860 farmhouse that she had milled, stained and sealed. “To provide contrast to the wood and continue the use of organic materials, I chose a vein-cut stacked limestone for the fireplace surround,” Langston says.
A wallcovering above the mantel mimics the look of galvanized sheet metal with rivets. “It’s a super affordable solution to the real thing,” Langston says.
Other special features. “The cabinets flanking the hearth were intentionally sourced as furniture pieces rather than on-site builder built-ins in order to complement the stain colors of the room and create impact with their scale and the geometry of the door panels,” Langston says.
Custom drapery panels feature color blocks of high-contrast charcoals and ivory linens to frame the view and add drama.
Designer tip. “The use of pink and blush hues in accent pieces, fabrics and art mimic the view we see in the sky and nature, creating a space of calm without boredom,” Langston says.
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Designer: Wendy Langston of Everything Home
Location: Westfield, Indiana
Size: 360 square feet (33 square meters); 18 by 20 feet
Homeowners’ request. An inviting, spacious and modern gathering place for two people or a crowd that highlights the rear yard view.
Architectural features. Designer Wendy Langston wanted the space to have tall ceilings without feeling sterile. She designed the coffered wood beams to warm the ceiling plane, create visual interest and bring the room down to human scale. For the mantel she used reclaimed wood from an 1860 farmhouse that she had milled, stained and sealed. “To provide contrast to the wood and continue the use of organic materials, I chose a vein-cut stacked limestone for the fireplace surround,” Langston says.
A wallcovering above the mantel mimics the look of galvanized sheet metal with rivets. “It’s a super affordable solution to the real thing,” Langston says.
Other special features. “The cabinets flanking the hearth were intentionally sourced as furniture pieces rather than on-site builder built-ins in order to complement the stain colors of the room and create impact with their scale and the geometry of the door panels,” Langston says.
Custom drapery panels feature color blocks of high-contrast charcoals and ivory linens to frame the view and add drama.
Designer tip. “The use of pink and blush hues in accent pieces, fabrics and art mimic the view we see in the sky and nature, creating a space of calm without boredom,” Langston says.
Shop for sofas on Houzz
3. Beams, Doors and Fireplace Surround
Designer: Kristal Jackson of Kristal Custom Homes
Location: Houston
Homeowners’ request. Add charm and warmth to the living area while maintaining elegance.
Architectural features. Reclaimed barn wood ceiling beams. The fireplace features an 18th-century surround from France.
Other special features. Two 19th-century French blue doors flank the fireplace. A 16th-century Swedish daybed sits in front of the fireplace. Two 18th-century crystal chandeliers from France hang above the sitting area. “They give the room a timelessness and breathtaking ambiance,” designer Kristal Jackson says.
Designer: Kristal Jackson of Kristal Custom Homes
Location: Houston
Homeowners’ request. Add charm and warmth to the living area while maintaining elegance.
Architectural features. Reclaimed barn wood ceiling beams. The fireplace features an 18th-century surround from France.
Other special features. Two 19th-century French blue doors flank the fireplace. A 16th-century Swedish daybed sits in front of the fireplace. Two 18th-century crystal chandeliers from France hang above the sitting area. “They give the room a timelessness and breathtaking ambiance,” designer Kristal Jackson says.
4. Beams, Built-Ins and Fireplace Details
Designers: Laura Buchner of Meadowbank Designs (interior design) and Spence Kass of Kass & Associates (architecture)
Builder: Janiczek Homes
Location: Villanova, Pennsylvania
Size: 432 square feet (40 square meters); 18 by 24 feet
Homeowners’ request. This was a major renovation of a 1928 stone Colonial-style home that included upgrading the building systems and infrastructure while enhancing light and opening up the flow of the rooms.
Architectural features. Painted wood trim and decorative ceiling beams. New marble fireplace mantel and painted millwork surround. Built-in entertainment center.
Other special features. Textile wallcovering. Vintage sectional and vintage cocktail table.
More on Houzz
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Designers: Laura Buchner of Meadowbank Designs (interior design) and Spence Kass of Kass & Associates (architecture)
Builder: Janiczek Homes
Location: Villanova, Pennsylvania
Size: 432 square feet (40 square meters); 18 by 24 feet
Homeowners’ request. This was a major renovation of a 1928 stone Colonial-style home that included upgrading the building systems and infrastructure while enhancing light and opening up the flow of the rooms.
Architectural features. Painted wood trim and decorative ceiling beams. New marble fireplace mantel and painted millwork surround. Built-in entertainment center.
Other special features. Textile wallcovering. Vintage sectional and vintage cocktail table.
More on Houzz
How to Decorate a Living Room: 11 Designer Tips
Key Measurements for Your Living Room
Get more living room ideas
Find an interior designer
Shop for living room furniture and accessories
Designers: Marla Sher Design (interior design) and Justin Pauly Architects
Location: Pebble Beach, California
Size: 540 square feet (50 square meters); 18 by 30 feet
Homeowners’ request. “If there was a ‘mandate’ for the project, it was to be true to the original design of the house,” architect Justin Pauly says. The residence, which is a listed historic structure, was originally designed in 1926 by Clarence A. Tantau and is considered a prime example of his Spanish Eclectic style, a brand of architecture that permeated much of California’s residential design culture in the early decades of the 20th century. While in need of a significant restoration, the home remained fairly intact, with the exception of a series of minor interior remodels that had been undertaken over the decades.
Architectural features. “Many of the architectural features in the room were original to the design, including the heavy Douglas fir ceiling beams and the large arched opening to the entry hall,” Pauly says. “Architectural interventions that were part of the remodel included replacing a small swinging door into the dining room [at rear in photo] with a large framed opening in order to create a stronger relationship between the two spaces. We also redesigned the fireplace in a more historically relevant manner, as the original fireplace had been covered with a glossy black granite tile at some point in the recent past.”
Other special features. Iron and cut glass chandelier. Custom sofas by Marla Sher Design. Antique ram’s head chairs. “The original wall sconces were removed, refurbished and rewired before being reinstalled in the space,” Pauly says. “Paint colors and floor finishes were selected so as to be consistent with the historical nature of the residence. Period charcoal drawings by Jeannette Maxfield Lewis were placed on either side of the new opening to the dining room.”
Designer tip. “When working with a historical building, it is important to do the necessary research to make the final solution credible in every way,” Pauly says. “‘A good craftsman leaves no traces.”
“Uh-oh” moment. Although the home was in good shape historically speaking, significant areas of damage were uncovered during the construction process, Pauly says. “Major water damage on several of the exterior walls and roofs needed extensive repair, and the original perimeter drainage system for the house had completely failed, leading to significant water infiltration into the basement and foundation of the home.”
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