A Designer's Home Renovation

I hope you all had a fabulous Easter weekend and a well deserved break. Mine was very productive, with some long overdue work done on zhushing up our twins' bedroom (more on that later). I also got the chance to catch up on some of my favourite magazines and blogs - all in the name of research! I loved this article on Domino about the Virginia home of designer, Lauren Liess, and her family. They made some fantastic changes to the original 1970's home, I love the light, airy feel it has coupled with lots of warm tones and textures.

Lauren had layered rugs in the living area very effectively. A large seagrass mat anchors the living area (and remember when it comes to rugs, size DOES matter), and a smaller vintage rug connects the two sofas and adds some gorgeous subtle pattern to the neutral colour palette.

A Lucite coffee table allows the rug to shine, and the incredible chandelier is another stand-out piece.

A wall was removed from the kitchen and a large island was added. Lauren chose to remove the large overhead cabinets in favour of open shelving to display their everyday tableware.

I love this collection of paintings over the kitchen sink, largely because it's so unexpected. It's things like this that add personality and life to a home.

In the breakfast room the window on the right was added to create a sense of symmetry and bring more light into the space.

The dining room, on the other hand, was the darkest room in the house, but because they couldn't change that, Lauren embraced it instead. She added a cedar ceiling which now gives the room an intimate, cosy feel.

This is one of my favourite photos, I love the little area under the stairs. The ironworker who custom made the stair railing left it out in the rain to get a vintage, tarnished look. It's beautiful with the wood and white.

This cosy loft serves as the library, media room, and Lauren's evening work room. Enveloped in books, they sit on shelves made from Ikea butcher-block countertops.

Lauren's favourite piece in the house is their brass bed that her husband found on the side of the road. Which just goes to show, that someone's trash really is someone else's treasure.

photos by Brittany Ambridge

Consistent with the colour palette of black, white and warm caramels, the bathroom features a vintage dresser as the vanity. Wood is great in bathrooms for bringing in some warmth and texture.

To see more photos make sure you pop over to Domino.