As an interior designer the most rewarding projects are those that allow us to re-think a home and arrange all of its rooms and parts to function for the individual needs of a homeowner. Here, as we continue our tour of before and after photos of this beautiful Cottage Farm renovation project, I want to show you how we completed the first floor for family living.

We begin in the stately library of this English Revival with it’s original paneled walls and stunning, yet hidden, carved forest green marble fireplace surround. For today’s family, the space was too dark and formal. Our task was to retain the existing grandeur while making the space more casual and livable.

The walls were expertly stripped and re-stained by a master wood re-finisher. What a transformation! The former marble fireplace surround now stands proud with heightened importance against the lighter walls.

We were asked to make the space work for adult gatherings and to do so we created a floor plan that offered seating to fit 10 comfortably with plenty of room to pull up additional chairs. We added a contemporary dry bar and peppered the room with furnishings that, at first glance, may appear to lean toward traditional, yet take a closer look….a modern cocktail table combined with vibrant contemporary art by Deborah Zlotsky and Michael Zigmond adds a more upbeat, adult sophistication while still making the room accessible to children with the addition of a games table.

Now let’s look at how we re-worked other first floor areas to accommodate the family’s needs.

How about children and all those backpacks, shoes and jackets?

Are you enjoying the before and after images? I hope they help to show how we at Daher Interior Design can translate needs and challenges with fresh, functional design to accommodate all! Want to see more of this beautiful home? Check out our Cottage Farm project on our website and don’t forget to circle back for our next post that will highlight the second floor renovation of this amazing project!