Via friends I was approached by a wonderful couple in their early forties, who had just moved with their two small children from an apartment in Amsterdam to a family home in Baarn (province Utrecht).
They invited me to come over to meet them and to take a look at their house. Although they did a few things to the house when they moved in, they still didn’t feel very happy about the look and feel. When I arrived there I understood what they meant.
They are a vibrant and sporty couple and the house just didn’t reflect that at all. It seemed a bit safe with lots of beige and it lacked colour and fun. On a practical note; the girls didn’t use their playroom because it was not very inviting or cosy. There was a lot of room for improvement! I wrote a plan for them with suggestions for the interior styling and for the spatial planning.
I suggested to paint the hall, now plain white, into a dark blue color from Farrow & Ball. We used ‘Stiffkey Blue’ for the walls and up the stairway. The hall is an ideal room to use dark or bold colours or a wonderful statement wallpaper.
The use of darker colours or wallpaper in the hall, will make the living room feel lighter and brighter. This trick I love to use and I call it ‘the dramatic hallway’. We indeed kept the living room light and bright, so I advised my client to use a light colour of Farrow & Ball, named Joa’s White. I advised my client to use art, lamp shades and cushions for further touches of colour and decoration.
I advised my clients to replace the sofa in the living room for a new sofa in a royal blue velvet. We also added two chairs in a lighter velvet which worked out really well. For the dining room I advised them to use wallpaper. Although this was a bit out of their comfort zone, they really liked the idea. I explained that the use of prints and colour would make their dining room a lot more personal and inviting.
I showed them several samples of wallpaper and finally we decided that ‘Willow’ by Ben Pentreath for Morris & Co would make a really nice and cheerful statement. The wallpaper has yellow leaves on it and the print is fun yet structured and of a beautiful quality and design. For the girls I advised to remove an old bookcase and to create a build in desk that gave room enough for both of them.
We added two little chairs and a cute lamp and this made the room a lot more inviting. It’s actually such a nice room now that their mother likes to use it as her home office space when the girls are in school! Last but not least I advised them to use flowers in the hall since the blue walls and the antique mirror are a wonderful backdrop for a stylish vase filled with beautiful flowers!
The family home in Baarn is now an inviting and stylish happy home!