Dining Room

Project Spotlight: New Home, Fresh & Fun Look

One of the best compliments is when past clients connect me with future clients and last year I was lucky to have the opportunity to partner with Audrey & David to help make their new home in American University Park (built in 1937, mind you) the perfect “at home” for their young family of five (plus one furry friend).

Whimsical Windom

Whimsical Windom

While my clients already had a few projects in mind for their main level living areas (such as refinishing the hardwood floors, painting and adding recessed lighting), we made a few additions — including installing a modern wainscoting to the dining room topped with a fun wallpaper and making the front door pop on the inside in a beautiful deep blue. However, we spent most of our time focusing on fixtures and finishes that would be updated, family friendly and stylish and complement this DC colonial.

Working with pieces that would be moving to their new home, including a well-loved sofa and beautiful dining room table, the ultimate goal was an eclectic but timeless space where modern touches could play with rustic and bohemian accents. For our palette we focused on blending tones of blue and blush while adding structure with black and white accents (which you’ll see in curtain hardware, that amazing inlay accent table and even subtle pinstriping in the curtains) and warmth with gold tones.

We also played with shapes, and you’ll see a theme of hexagons throughout, balanced with round accents (from side tables and mirrors to finials) and organic edges in pieces like the coffee table. And, while not an open concept space, we wanted spaces to talk to each other but each have have own feel. Above you’ll see before and after shots of the living and dining rooms, and you can scroll down for a slide show with more details. And, while we shopped for decorative accents to complete the spaces, I love how we were able to include pieces of art from the family’s collection to complete the look.

To wrap things up, let me give a shout out to Beth Caldwell for the beautiful photography…and you can find out more about the pieces and finishes below!

Get the Look

Living Room

Dining Room

Entryway

Amber Harris is the owner of At Home DC, an interior decorator and a licensed real estate agent with Keller Williams Capital Properties working with clients in DC, Maryland and Virginia. 

Project Spotlight: Focusing on Function & Family in Southeast DC

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While interior design is thought to primarily be concerned with aesthetics, some of the biggest transformations when working with a designer or decorator are measured by the function of the space for the person(s) that call it home.

That is exactly the case with the family I had the pleasure of working with in southeast DC recently. While they loved their DC rowhome, with two rambunctious kids, the space (and more importantly the furniture) they had did not match their style or need for flexibility. At the heart of this challenge was a beautiful, traditional six-seat dining room table that rarely was used partially for fear of it falling prey to adorable but potentially destructive young hands. This piece was creating a physical and emotional block that was preventing the space from meeting their needs. 

Other challenges that came up through our consultation included:

  • Frantic feel when you entered the house and a need for organization;
  • Limited space for kids to play (especially important with all the rainy days we've had lately);
  • Multiple dining spaces but none of which met all their needs; and
  • Untapped space in the kitchen that housed a mostly unused desk turned drop area.

To tackle these problems, we identified a few keys tasks and pieces that would transform the design and function of the home:

  • Consolidate dining spaces from three to two, including adding a cost-effective dining nook and new, kid-friendly drop-leaf dining room table (allowing the dining room to become a larger playroom, when needed);
  • Bring more modern lines and finishes to the space, playing into existing wrought iron elements and adding more casual/weathered wood elements;
  • Modernize the color palette, while working with the existing wall color (Benjamin Moore's Spanish Olive);
  • Incorporate flexible pieces that can work in multiple spaces and be moved easily, as well storage options (primarily for toys); and
  • Add sophistication by juxtaposing patterns and textures.

And here's where we are now (photos by Beth Caldwell):

While there is still room for some more touches (new/updated upholstered cornices above the windows, removing baseboards in dining nook for a more custom look with the benches, adding a console in the dining room for extra serving space, etc.), the transformation has helped my clients enjoy their home even more...which is always priority number one from the outset.

Goods Guide

Living Room

Dining Room

Dining Nook

Amber Harris is the owner of At Home DC, an interior decorator and a licensed real estate agent with Keller Williams Capital Properties working with clients in DC, Maryland and Virginia.