And the Living Room layout is....

Yesterday I shared three space plans for a tricky living room in New Jersey.  Interestingly, of the Facebook commenters I don't think anyone chose the layout the clients did (which was my favorite for them, too):  Number 1.

The one with the pair of loveseats and the little reading area.

In terms of the look and feel, the clients wanted something rustic modern.  They wanted to keep their warm clay wall color (Behr's "Suntan Glow")

and a cool old trunk they use as a coffee table, but everything else was fair game.

Here are the looks I came up with, one a little more modern and one a little more rustic.

Look 1:

With a detail of the TV room side:

And look 2, with the upholstered pieces, curtains, and key accessories swapped out.

What do you think?  Do you have a favorite?  I know grey seems a little counter-intuitive with clay walls and copper radiators, but the fabrics are quite a green-gray that looks beautiful with the warm tones.  Plus, brown (the more obvious neutral) would have gotten real muddy real fast.  All the reds run to the rust end of the scale to bring the scheme to life, and all the white keeps things airy (together with the leggy furniture).

Speaking of white: white rugs in a room that's meant to be kid friendly?  Makes me think of Secrets from a Stylist, when Emily covered all the furniture in white linen and then jokingly asked the (mom) homeowner "oh, you have kids?"  But hear me out.  Hide is incredibly forgiving--just wipe a spill down, like any kind of leather.  And the other rug is a super deep shag with lots of different fibers, perfect for hiding anything but grape juice or red wine.

It will be fun to see this room come together.  Being a big fan of COLOR and PATTERN, it was really fun for me to do something that derives its interest more from texture and finishes.  I know the clients are already busy painting the walls (the suntan had been on two walls, they added it to the others), and priming the fireplace to paint out the brick white.  I know they're planning to do this in bits and pieces over the course of a year, but it will be fun to see the status along the way!