AN EPIC BEFORE & AFTER
Happy Spring! This new season always feels like a great time to refresh. So on that note, we are excited to share an epic 'before & after’ of a Principal Bedroom in the Beaches. As designers, we are addicted to transformation - and boy, have we got a doozy to share.
Our clients came to us in hopes of turning their bedroom into a peaceful oasis - the kind of room they could sneak away to early in the evening and enjoy time together. Like a lot of couples who spent 25+ years raising their kids (they have four!) and putting heaps of energy and money into them, they realized it was time to do something for themselves.
We got their call after they saw Emily’s Hambly Principal Suite transformation, featured in House & Home’s April 2022 issue. Soon after, Emily and Candace got to work revamping their bedroom. It had a lot of good things going for it. It was spacious and had plenty of opportunities for storage, but it just wasn’t reaching its full potential.
Upon entering the room, you are led down a hallway before opening up into a space with tall ceilings and lots of windows. The room has south and west exposures, but the windows and doors were covered by shutters blocking out loads of light.
One of our biggest design moves was to open up the framed-in closet beside their bed to make way for a cozy alcove that fits a dresser and mirror. Not only did this make the room feel bigger and brighter, but it also allowed for a beautiful decorating moment. And as you know, we love those. We wallpapered behind the dresser in a soft floral pattern, mounted a rattan mirror, and added ceramic and wood sconces for ambient light.
We redirected the remaining storage needs into a new built-in closet across from the bed. This area of the room worked perfectly for wall-to-wall closets. Our clients had previously been using Ikea Pax units, but they didn’t optimize the space and were not their style. We wanted this to feel warm and sophisticated so we went with white oak shaker doors inset with a gorgeous Phillip Jeffries grasscloth to add texture.
The new closet went from floor-to-ceiling to draw the eye upward and take advantage of the 12' ceiling height. We kept the upper doors in solid white oak to add some visual weight and interest. Not only did the additional closet space solve all their storage needs, but it now feels intentional, and importantly, very pretty to look at.
Along with these thoughtful design moves, we replaced the hardwood flooring, swapped out the awkwardly hinged balcony door for a new sliding door, and updated all the window trim to reflect a more modern aesthetic. All of this is just a great reminder of how important it is to get the canvas and space planning right before jumping into furniture and fabrics.
We then went to town decorating. The room was begging for a king size bed, which fit perfectly between the two windows. We added a custom velvet headboard and reading lights and layered in gorgeous fabrics in a palette of green, cream, and terracotta in the window treatments, bed linens, lampshades, and new bench.
We believe that the small details and layers that you add to a room can make a huge difference to the overall look and feel of a finished space. In this case, we recovered store bought lampshades with a subtle floral fabric. We painted the baseboards a slightly darker colour than the walls for some visual interest and the wallpaper behind the dresser is barely visible but adds that little something that makes the alcove sing.
Often when we are hired by a husband and wife, it's the wife who spearheads the job and pushes the husband to get on board. Recently, they told us a story of the husband coming into the bedroom one evening, and quietly whispering “I get it.” He could see that it was so much more than a few new pretty things. And to us, that means we’ve done our job well. Now which room would you like to transform?
All photographs by James Arthurs
Contact us for all your design needs at studio@griffinhoughton.com
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