a couple keeps their resolution to update the ranch house family room into a warm and inviting area
by joetta moulden
photography by janet lenzen
This is the time of year that we make — and strive to keep — those shiny New Year’s resolutions. The holidays are over. It’s chilly outside, and it’s the perfect time to take stock of all those projects that we keep pushing to the back burner.
Houstonians Kimberly and Palmer kept their resolution to update their ranch house family room. They first contacted me after seeing a makeover in Houston House & Home.
A SEA OF WHITE
Kimberly had an idea of the overall feel and color scheme she wanted, but was having trouble pulling it all together with paint, coordinating fabrics and window treatments for her west-facing French doors. “We were drowning in a sea of white walls and white kitchen cabinets,” she says. The rooms, she added, offered no warmth or comfort, and she wanted to add sunny color while keeping the decorating very simple.
At our first meeting, I noticed that the red rug (inherited from her grandmother), black leather chair and neutral taupe sofa needed coordinating
throw pillow fabrics to tie them together and that the room could use an additional pair of chairs to create a cozy conversation grouping.
She was expecting our first visit to be a preliminary look; instead, I gave her a detailed list of written notes, sketches, measurements and sources.
With her “to-do list” in hand, Kimberly could focus on her priorities and move forward. She was happy to receive sources for workrooms and craftspeople, as she had no idea how to find these types of services on her own. And the contacts list saved her a considerable amount of time.
A NEW COLOR PALETTE
Since the painted knotty-pine paneling had separated at the seams and, with no guarantee it wouldn’t happen again, the couple decided to update the look of the room by covering the paneling with Sheetrock and adding new crown and base moldings. After buying testers, painting a few sample poster boards and living with the suggested colors, they selected Sherwin-Williams’ #6128 “Blonde.” The end result was an amazing change.
Kimberly admits deciding on the paint color was the most difficult homework assignment I gave her. She was fearful the color would be too yellow and the rooms would look like one big lemon.
“Your idea of painting sample boards was most helpful, but I was still apprehensive since you never really know how a color will look until the entire room is painted. The color holds its own during the bright afternoon west sun, but gives the house a warm glow in the evening,” Kimberly says, adding, “We love it.”
For color flow, the back wall of the bookcases was painted to match the nearby dining room (Devoe’s #2U55B “Cannes”). It can be color-matched to the same formula at ICI Paints, the company that bought Devoe Paint.
TIP: Painting the rear wall of a bookcase a deeper color makes accessories “pop” and adds visual interest to the room.
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