Room of the Day: Ohio Family Room Gets a Bold Costume Change
A designer creates a dramatic and personalized look for a friend, a retired movie costume designer
Designer Sebastian Herald was part of this project before it even existed: He joined his client on his real estate hunt for the ideal retirement retreat in a town and state radically different from the big cities where his client had spent his career as a movie costume designer. Once the house was selected, Herald got to work, and at the top of the list was a reimagining of the two-story family room. Herald considers his design process similar to that of a movie set designer. “We see our clients as characters in their own drama, so we create an atmosphere apropos to the world they inhabit,” he says.
AFTER: The first decision Herald made was to remove the staircase while preserving the upper railing to keep the second-floor office open to the family room below. The home now has one staircase in the front of the house, and the sacrifice of the second was well worth it. With newly liberated wall space, Herald turned his attention to the brick fireplace, which felt undersized against such a large wall. The team was reluctant to install a new fireplace to the tune of $30,000, so it got creative, choosing instead to cover the brick fireplace with drywall and then enlist a carpenter to build custom woodwork and wainscoting around the hearth for closer to $5,000. Even the black granite and rough-hewn ledger tile used around the fireplace opening weren’t terribly expensive.
Most of the furnishings were purchased new or reupholstered during the remodel. The three ottomans, pushed together to create one long coffee table, are upholstered in a striped fabric. The tight-back sofas were chosen for their luxurious depth and to avoid the informality and slouchiness of pillow-back sofas.
Most of the furnishings were purchased new or reupholstered during the remodel. The three ottomans, pushed together to create one long coffee table, are upholstered in a striped fabric. The tight-back sofas were chosen for their luxurious depth and to avoid the informality and slouchiness of pillow-back sofas.
The furnishings are primarily new acquisitions, but most of the objects and art are from the owner’s collection. The triptych on the interior wall is an original signed painting from 1790. The work, on handmade paper, depicts Manchurian cranes in three stages of life and is one of the homeowner’s most cherished pieces.
With the triptych painting, a feather sculpture on one side of the fireplace and a bird painting on the other side, there’s a clear avian theme to the artwork. This is no accident, says Herald: “We often try to group, or reinterpret, a client’s art so it has a thematic message. We find it amplifies the themes within each individual piece and adds a layer of storyline to the room.”
With the triptych painting, a feather sculpture on one side of the fireplace and a bird painting on the other side, there’s a clear avian theme to the artwork. This is no accident, says Herald: “We often try to group, or reinterpret, a client’s art so it has a thematic message. We find it amplifies the themes within each individual piece and adds a layer of storyline to the room.”
The Restoration Hardware light fixture hangs from the highest point of the 18-foot ceiling. The fixture’s single Edison bulb creates an “incandescent light pool” against the metal housing’s reflective surface, Herald says. It doesn’t put out a ton of light, but its brightly polished finish adds a dynamic, sculptural element to the room.
The dramatic floor-to-ceiling curtains are another key element of the room’s design. With these, the designer effectively controls the impression of the window size by suggesting through the window treatment that the glass goes all the way to the wall. ”When you keep the draperies light and airy and aggrandize the scale, it gives a wonderful warmth to a space. You can put blinds in, but they’re very institutional and cold,” Herald says.
The dramatic floor-to-ceiling curtains are another key element of the room’s design. With these, the designer effectively controls the impression of the window size by suggesting through the window treatment that the glass goes all the way to the wall. ”When you keep the draperies light and airy and aggrandize the scale, it gives a wonderful warmth to a space. You can put blinds in, but they’re very institutional and cold,” Herald says.
The team had originally specified a gray carpet for the gray room. However, with the taupe mohair chairs and the Italian velvet sofas in elephant gray, the mood was more somber than anticipated. So the team decided to go with a different rug that introduced some powerful color blocking instead. “We challenged ourselves to choose a color that wasn’t commonly seen with gray,” Herald says. The choice was a refreshing apple green for the 12-by-15-foot New Zealand wool rug.
In studying the color scheme, you’ll also notice that the designer did not rely on much pattern to carry the design. “If there’s a signature for us, it’s that we incorporate very few patterns,” Herald says. “We find that the use of solids warms a room and takes down its busyness.”
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In studying the color scheme, you’ll also notice that the designer did not rely on much pattern to carry the design. “If there’s a signature for us, it’s that we incorporate very few patterns,” Herald says. “We find that the use of solids warms a room and takes down its busyness.”
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Family Room at a Glance
Who lives here: A retired costume designer
Location: Columbus, Ohio
Size: 520 square feet (48.3 square meters)
Designer: Sebastian Herald of Herald Gardell
BEFORE: The first floor was sectioned off into separate living and dining spaces, and two staircases chopped up the layout even more. It was apparent that the family room, with its large set of windows, luminous skylights, river view and tall ceilings, was the hub of the home. But the staircase made it feel unduly narrow, with no satisfying options for furniture arrangement.