Having lived in Florida for the majority of my life, I’m no stranger to the 1980s/1990s Florida style home with vaulted ceilings, stucco and clay roofs. These homes tend to have strange wall niches and built-in shelves in very hard to reach places and a lot of stone pavers. When my client came to me requesting a redesign of their family room and dated fireplace, I was excited to see what we could come up with.
The original design of the fireplace had built-in shelves between the windows and the wall where the fireplace juts out. There was also a long step that went from one end of the wall to other underneath the windows. The finished material was marble look tile. The whole design made the room feel heavy and dated (original photos coming soon). They wanted something that was true to their style while also staying cohesive with the home.
Starting from a blank slate is quite difficult, so I always start by viewing what others have done in their space for a spark of creative energy. We considered a lot of options including shiplap, herringbone tile, and concrete. I also learned more about firebox, hearth and mantel codes than I ever thought I’d need to! Since this is a wood burning fireplace, we had to follow specific codes in order to ensure fire safety. This meant that some of the things that client preferred, like removing the hearth, was not an option.
Gathering inspirational images and sharing them with the client is really helpful as well because it gives me an idea of what the client likes and does not like. From there I can design something that fits their style and their space. We looked at a lot of images for inspiration but landed on these two below as our jumping off points.
The cast stone in Kelsey Leigh’s design is absolutely stunning and the window seats flanking the fireplace in the design on the left inspired the window seats in this design. I also have to mention the scale and use of paint here to create depth is genius (I am having difficulty finding the original designer of this room and would love to credit them! Comment below if you know!).
Using these two images as inspiration, I designed the fireplace and window seats to meet the style preference of my clients. The design is modern and utilizes stone which fits well with the other materials in the home. I added a white oak shelf to mantle to add some warmth and to meet the needs of clients. They had requested something a bit more earthy with texture from natural wood. I removed the built-in shelves and step and replaced it with some window seats that have storage underneath.
Since their ceilings are so high, I added a black picture light above each window to help break up the wall and create a horizontal line to catch your eye and some dramatic lighting to fill the space where the vaulted ceiling is.
The clients requested a layout to would provide ample seating, not only for their family of five but also for guests. This space is connected to their open kitchen so they felt it would be the most common gathering place. Striking a balance between cozy but minimal is tough, especially when a lot of seating is requested.
After going through several layouts, a symmetrical look with two large sofas facing each other felt the most appropriate to maintain minimalism but with ample seating. For visual interest, I added some ottomans which can also provide additional seating when it’s a full house.
In addition to providing a fireplace redesign and a layout, the client requested a shopping list for products that meet their style and give them a unified look. While the result seems easy, putting together a “mood board” and shopping list is quite tedious involving a lot of decisions.
Scale, dimensions, balance, color – it is so much to think through and so easy to make the wrong choice. For example, a 36″ tall mirror versus a 48″ tall mirror seems like a minor difference, but it’s the small things like this can throw off the whole room. When you have such high ceilings and a fireplace that is a focal point, you need something decorative above the fireplace that will match the scale of the ceiling height. Also, I went with a rounded top on the mirror because of the asymmetrical line on the ceiling and a round line on the top of the mirror is easy for your eye to process, otherwise there would be too many stopping and starting points. Its all quite technical, but these are the little decisions that make the space come together!
This room is currently under construction and awaiting furniture. Like all things with Covid-19, lead times are extra long so we won’t see furniture in this space until September.
If you want to update your dated fireplace or find the best layout for your space and family needs, I’d love to help! Having digital renderings of your exact space is such a game changer when it comes to remodeling, saving you time and money since you know exactly what the result will be before making big changes. Check out my services page for more info!
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