Adrena's Living and Dining Room - DIY+

Here's the first of interior designer Jason Martin's DIY+ makeovers of readers' homes. Let's start with Adrena’s notes.

This is the space we need help with, our living room/dining room area. My dilemma is that the whole room feels so cold and unwelcoming. It is the first room you see when you walk into our home and the only place we have to gather as a family and entertain (we have a three year old daughter). We’ve already collected a few Danish Modern pieces (credenza and dining set), and hope to add more. We love this style and feel it works well with our home, which was built in 1954. The room is 27 feet long and 15 feet wide, (the dining room is slightly less wide). A few things to note are that there are seven windows in the room, and deciding on window treatments has been a big issue! Also some type of concealed toy/ book storage would be great. Overall we’d love a warm, welcoming room furnished in Midcentury modern style. We need it all – paint colors, rug, new seating and window treatments and accessories. One sofa I love is the ‘Petrie’ model from Crate & Barrel. I should add that I’m a photographer and we love displaying family photos! Help! I have always wanted to walk into this room and say, "WOW!"

On a personal note, this home is very special because it is the home where my husband grew up.

And here's what Jason came up with for Adrena. Let's drop in on their consultation.

Floor Plan-
I think the room is basically laid out the best way possible. There is not enough room to float the sofa but have you tried chairs in the middle of the space to delineate the living and dining rooms?

“No we haven’t – are willing to try – possibly two smallish chairs?”

Chairs-See below for single chair opt and for a pair of chairs.

Sofa – If you can only fit one chair on the opposite wall, I might suggest a sectional where your sofa is now. If you have space for two chairs, you could go with one of the two traditional sofa options.

For the sofa and chairs-if you are looking for other options look for pieces that have high legs and thin arms. It gives more of a mid-century look and keeps the upholstery from making the room too heavy.

Coffee table – There is an opt for a traditional style coffee table but if you like you might try a set of ottomans, these rattan stools small or tables/stools like the Eames style pieces. This option would allow for extra seating and mobility in the space.

Upholstery

New storage under TV

Windows and walls

Note on rugs-

Since this is one open space used for two functions the best way to break it up is with rugs. My suggestion is to use a rug for each space but buy the same pattern for both. It with delineate the living room from the dining room without adding too much visual noise. You want the rug to be big enough for the front 3rd of the sofa to sit on it as well as the chairs-smaller will not anchor the room enough.

For accessories

I have made four different color stories here. You can keep thinks pared down and monochromatic buy sticking to just one color group or mix and match from each.

Accessories Options

Dining Room

I like the table and chairs and think they work great for the overall feel you want. If you want to change the hanging fixture here are a few options as well as some thoughts on upholstery fabric for the seats.

Dining Room Layout

Is the table/buffet group of center because off the door way or can it be centered in the space?*

“It can be moved over just a bit, but it does block the doorway to the kitchen somewhat”

Dining Room

I would go monochromatic with the major pieces of the room (rug, sofa, chairs and wall color). When trying to make one space function in two ways (living/dining) don't think of monochromatic as matchy-matchy think of it as paring down the visual noise in such and open space. Focus on similar colors but vary the textures and patterns. In this space I think a cool grey is the best option to make the mid-century colors pop. Since Adrena needs a rug in the living area and one in the dining area my suggestion is to use two of the same design to stick with the monochromatic idea. I promise it won't look bland.

DIY+

Guest post from interior designer Jason Martin who has just launched his e-design venture DIY+.

First, I would like to say thank you to everyone who sent in his or her design challenge. I appreciate the time it took to photograph and write about your spaces. It is always enlightening to get a peek into the homes of others. The rooms that I picked to highlight are spaces that represent questions that came from multiple readers so I hope that there will be ideas to help everyone. Just a side note, out of all the entries we received I didn’t see one bedroom! Is that because everyone has a clear idea of how they live in their bedroom or is it that we lead such busy lives the bedroom has become the place we spend the least amount of time?

Week 1. Living/Dining - Two different spaces with similar problems-

Adrena's Living/Dining

Adrena has a good start but needs help bringing it all together. Like many out there, she has a combined living dining space that is long and narrow. She is having a hard time making the space multifunctional and comfortable at the same time. I think showing Adrena how to complete this space will help others with this dilemma too.

Rali's House

The design needs in Rali's living/dining area similar to those at Adrena's house. She wants to find a way to make the best use of the space and create a family friendly beach house. Rali, like many people who move into a new house, is struggling to make the new space feel like home.

Week 2. Corennei's Dining Room

Corennei's dining room is the prefect example of a room that is 90% there but just that illusive extra 10% to feel complete. It is a case where a fresh perspective is the only way around the design dilemma. I hope the design work we do for Corennei will help others to look at their own home with new eyes.

Week 3. Roeshel's Living Room

Roeshel's living room is a good example of working too hard on a space. Often when we are graced with a room as detailed as this it can be more daunting than figuring out what to do with a charmless "white box". With built-in shelves, a fireplace, staircase and French doors this space is a great example of understanding how to respect all those elements and still make room for you and your family.

Week 4. Maggi's Apartment

Maggi's apartment is representative of many of our homes. She obviously loves design and has no problem getting in there and working on her space. However like many homes what Maggi's place needs is an editor’s eye. I have a feeling a lot of readers out there will find the info in this post very helpful.

Week 5. Mariana's house

If only we all had the problem Mariana has- How to make an amazing house in Brazil feel cohesive and comfortable. Outside of the location Mariana's home is similar to a lot of new construction these days - large open floor plans with high ceiling. As nice as that is it creates some design problems with paint, furniture layout and general flow of a house. We will address all those topics in Mariana's house.

DIY+

Only 2 days left to wrap up your entries to add the + to your house DIY. Interior designer Jason Martin is working his way through all the photos and links he has received and is excited to get down to the business end. To have a chance for him to weave his magic at your place you'll find the details here and send your entries here.

DIY+ the countdown begins

Just a quick reminder that the deadline for submissions to have interior designer Jason Martin finesse ideas for your home is this Friday May 15. I'm sure you know but details here and send your entries here.

DIY+

Jason is loving the entries he's getting. He even joked that some of them are so good to begin with that you'll think that we made them up. No it's just that we know you guys are all so design savvy in the first place! This weekend is the perfect time to get your submission together if you haven't already. The deadline is Friday May 15 that's if I can keep a rein on Jason. He's itching to go. Details here and send your entries here.