Judith Rosenberg Art

A House that Needed Tweaking

This house has a stunning view of the city and the mountains. That is hard to compete with, so we decided to complement it. The owner of this house has some interesting pieces of furniture but they weren't showing to the best of their ability as they were being crowded out by other, not so fine pieces.

We took out 18 pieces of furniture and then rearranged the very best pieces to showcase them and the view. The client is very pleased and the new arrangement of furniture, art and accessories is an elegant frame for the client's entertaining and style.

Here are the before pictures of the entry hall. As shown by the area rugs, it is a crossroads that connects the kitchen with the bedroom wing, and the front door with the living room.

There are beautiful pieces of furniture in this entry: a marble-topped antique washstand from England, an antique gate-leg table from the 1700's, a grandfather clock, a bow-front drop-leaf chest, a case piece that becomes a dining table for 10... and some lovely accessories. It is hard however to fully appreciate their beauty because they are in competition with so many other items.

Let's see how this entry was simplified...

This entry is now pared down to the best of the best. The original paintings on the left are in blues and grays which set the stage for the colors in the living room. The grandfather clock now stands on its own, and there is a French chest with a mirror over it and two Hepplewhite chairs that can be easily pulled up for extra seating in the living room. The space is spare but lovely, open and expansive; showing off each piece of furniture to its best advantage and allowing plenty of room for large gatherings of guests... which is a favorite thing for this client to do.

The Living Room

This is an impressive living room. Not only is the view incomparable, but the scope of the room is lovely.

The central piece of the room is the custom sofa in a pale blue-gray. On one side of the room are built-in display cases and on the other are a lineup of bookshelves.

There was however several items that kept this room from realizing its full potential. The rocking chair was too light and small, the bookshelves too overpowering, the coffee table and side tables were too contemporary, and behind the sofa was a grouping of disparate items that did nothing to complement the elegance of the room.

We took out the furniture, art and accessories that did not make this room 'pop'! We 'kept the best, and got rid of the rest'. See the difference below...

The Living Room After Simplification

What did we do?

We removed two of the six bookcases and halved the amount of books, introducing colorful accessories.

We removed the recliner and large table with the photographs that were behind the sofa and arranged the drop-leaf chest with two dining room chairs, new art and accessories.

We took out a multitude of small accessories in the built-in display case and arranged only accessories that were either blue or red: to complement the room's decor. The best accessories are now showcased.

We brought in a wing-chair from an extra guest bedroom, and added in red throw pillows from two other rooms.

We took the drop-leaf table from the entry and put it at the end of the sofa, placing a lamp on it.

We used the client's favorite elephant side tables and showcased them which gave additional character to the room.

Now, the room 'pops'...which was the goal of the client. The other benefit is that there are four other chairs readily available for the large gatherings that are commonplace with this 'entertaining' client. The room awaits a more appropriate coffee table, but otherwise, it is elegant, simplified and easy to entertain in.

This house had two dedicated guest rooms. After consulting with the client, it was determined that only one guest room was needed and the other room could be dedicated to her large library of books. We took a recliner from her bedroom, a matching recliner from the sun room and created a much-needed private library/reading room where the client could relax, listen to music and read to her heart's content.

While this is a lovely guest room, it was also a room that was never used. We removed the wing chair to the living room to replace the rocking chair, we removed the large armoire (not pictured) to the other guest room and completely removed the single bed, side table and bookshelf to be donated. The French chest is now in the entry with a mirror over it.

What does the new library look like? Take a look....

Two bookshelves were removed from the living room, and two more were removed from the home office and brought into this room to create a personal library. New artwork was brought in from other rooms as well as a chest that was in an awkward position in the sun room. A favorite elephant side-table was used as well as personal books and photographs to create a private library to read in. While all the other 'public' rooms are lovely, this room becomes a private and quiet retreat for the owner... a space that is just for one of her favorite pastimes: reading.

The Master Bedroom

A bookcase and recliner were removed from this room as well as a sofa table and two bedside tables that were too small for the client's needs. Once these extra items were removed and better furniture introduced and the remaining furniture rearranged, the room looked so much larger and serene.

In the first picture you can see a chest of drawers on the right side. It is flanked by two Hepplewhite chairs... that were totally lost in this room. The chairs are now showcased in the entry way...and if you look below you will see where the chest of drawers went. Notice, that the too small rocking chair for the living room is now a lovely addition to this bedroom.

The Finished Master Bedroom

The marble-topped washstand from England was brought from the entry and placed on one side of the bed. Another piece was brought from the entry and placed on the other side of the bed. This gave the owner much larger 'bedside' tables and showcased these beautiful antiques.

The large chest of drawers that was just inside the bedroom doorway was moved to the far side of the low chest of drawers. Now they are a unit and balance out the weight of the bed and side tables on the other side of the room.

Moving the chests together also opened up the wall to the right of the bed, making the room feel so much larger and serene. All the art was rehung, and accessories were chosen to complement the red and green theme of the room.

The Sun Room

This room looks out over the city and mountains and was the private area for the owner's mother in her last years. Some of the furniture was too large, and by exchanging the coffee table and end tables with the ones that did not work well in the living room, the scale of this room was improved.

The blue recliner that used to be behind the living room sofa was brought into this room to heighten the blues in the room. The coffee and end tables used to be in the living room and are a better height than the ones in the before picture. The art has been rehung to accentuate the serene blues of this room and the accessories have all been changed out to reflect blues and an ocean theme. The red throw pillows in the before pictures are now in the living room...giving it the 'pop' that the client wanted.

How can I help your house to get the 'pop' of color and design that you want? Call me to discuss all the possibilities and then live with great design forever.