LIVING ROOM

ROOM SPOTLIGHT: THE LIVING ROOM AT THE MANOR COTTAGE

 

What we think they did a few decades ago was close in a single car garage and then add this living room space on to the original home. The space had a large wall closing it off and had 8 foot ceilings and literally no light. Other than the two windows on either side of the fireplace, this space didn’t even have recessed lighting!

 

 

The first thing we did was take this wall out! And the new floor plan fit beautifully, moving the kitchen into the old powder/laundry/storage area just on the other side of the wall pictured above. We immediately got more light into the living room just by removing this wall, but we knew we needed more so we added two sets of French doors and two huge windows!

And as if that wasn’t enough, we vaulted the ceilings with panel detail to accentuate the height and bring your eyes up a bit. Just like Haverford Manor, this space is the same size as it was before, but with a few alterations (like windows and higher ceilings) it makes it feel so much bigger.

 

 

The fireplace needed a bit of an upgrade as well, but we kept it simple. With a layer of paint and a premade mantel, we then accentuated the existing windows with tall and soft drapery.

 

 

We did in fact replace the fake wood flooring in here with new hardwood flooring in a Dark Walnut stain.

And while this space is rather long, I really love the idea of a small breakfast table under this window. I’d had this pictured in my head since we set the floor plans and think it would be a perfect use of the space. Either that or putting two love seats over there for a little coffee corner. I did add extra seating around the kitchen island so if you’re like us and super casual with most of your meals, that’s still a spacious place to eat.

 

 

 

 

 

Trim Paint Color: Benjamin Moore Swiss Coffee

Wall Paint Color: Benjamin Moore White Dove

Floor stain: Dark Walnut on Red Oak

Drapes: Everhem Tailored Drapes in Bone with Brass Hardware

Rug: Rugs USA Jute

Breakfast Table Chairs: Slipcovered Armless Dining Chairs

Vintage Drop Leaf Table: mine is from a local shop in Nashville, but linked are some similar!

LIVING ROOM

HAVERFORD MANOR: THE LIVING ROOM

 

I think this is my favorite transformation of the entire house, let me explain.

This room stayed the exact same in size and location. Seriously! We knew the size of the room was plenty for a great living area and that the flow into the covered porch would work beautifully with French doors. Sure we could have had more square footage by continuing the second floor above this room, but come on, those vaulted ceilings? That’s a dramatic moment I didn’t want to miss. But let’s just do a quick side by side shall we?

 

 

Ya, loads better. And that’s not even to mention the horrible smell of dog from the carpet.

What you can’t see from the before picture is that the photo was taken from the old dining area, now the kitchen. And while that flow worked well for us, it was closed in a bit with walls and a large cased opening going into the living room. It was amazing how much bigger the whole space was when we simple opened up the entire opening to the room, taking down that drywall and cased opening. It completely opened up the space to what is now the kitchen making it flow much better and an open concept floor plan.

Because we added on the attached garage we lost the a set of windows, therefore a good amount of natural light. But by adding the French doors we kept that natural light and even enhanced it a bit. Plus with the vaulted ceilings everything feels lighter.

 

 

While I love wooden beams, I know they aren’t for everyone. And I felt like this house was a bit more on the traditional side to stylistically fit wood beams. So, as a compromise we ceiling beams in the same paint and finish as the ceiling. So there was still some dimension to accentuate the tall ceilings. I love how they turn out and think they really add a design element to the room, even when it’s empty.

And one of my favorite parts about this area? Is the view from the kitchen. I worked really hard to get the range and sink centered on the fireplace so that when you are washing the dishes, you have a direct line into the living room. And while I would have loved to have done a cast limestone fireplace surround, we went with Taj Mahal Quartzite. Definitely on the expensive end of materials but it was neutral enough to fit the space but nice enough to be a real accent in the living room. I added the 3 inch ledge around the outside to again, add dimension but to also give a little big of a ledge.

 

 

I absolutely love this transformation. It proves that you don’t need to completely change a floor plan to get a big new house. I’m so glad we were able to accomplish what we wanted to out of this space and so thrilled with the result.

Sofa + Chairs

Coffee Table

Jute Rug

Mirror vintage c/o Gaslamp Too

Chandelier c/o Visual Comfort & Co.

Floor Lamp c/o Visual Comfort & Co.

Ottomans c/o Canterbury Antiques

 

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