Garden Library Family Room Reveal

April 9, 2023 Janet Lorusso

Finally, we are able to share some photos of the garden inspired library project!

We shared the photos of the elegant pink home office in this gracious home recently.

This library/family room is the heart of the house and was designed to be the locus of the color palette for the whole main floor.

As always, we began this project with an assessment of needs and a wish list of wants and looked at the assets and deficiencies of the space. You can see the project brief and the before pictures of the space HERE.

TV Wall

The plan called for rearranging the furniture to orient it to the fireplace and relocating the TV to an adjacent wall. The slim new Samsung frame TV displays art when it is off and becomes part of the gallery of artwork on the wall instead of a glaring black hole.

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There are a variety of options for hiding the TV, but this is one of my favorites for hiding it in plain sight. It is convenient - with no need to move anything to see the screen when you want to use the TV.

AND it is attractive. The technology allows it to be no thicker than a framed picture and the display is engineered to look like artwork rather than a backlit picture. The displayed artwork can be selected from the Samsung gallery or any digital art or photo you wish to upload. This is a designers dream!

A console table reminiscent of a stone balustrade is the perfect complement to this garden room.

Custom Upholstery

The custom upholstery for the library was ordered early last year, and took 7 months to arrive. But good things indeed DO come to those who wait and the super comfy, beautifully made furniture was totally worth the wait.

The pattern matching of the Jacobean floral on the tufted tub chair and ottoman is perfect, and it is outlined in contrast green welting.

The coral houndstooth check on the club chairs flanking the fireplace is a perfect mix of unexpected color and oversize scale in a tailored pattern.

And the velvety chenille stripe in a deep green on the sofas is SO soft it is impossible not to pat it like a pet.

Millwork and Paint

While we were waiting for the furniture, new built-in bookcases and a new wood mantel shelf were installed.

The millwork was all freshened with a white paint (Benjamin Moore white dove, one of our go-to whites) and the backs of the bookcases were highlighted with a celery green (Benjamin Moore fernwood green) .

The walls were painted a pale taupe (Benjamin Moore edgecomb gray) that reflects the tones in the fieldstone of the fireplace.

And the coffered ceiling was highlighted in a light blue (Benjamin Moore Palladian blue) so that one almost has the impression of sitting under a garden pergola with the sky peeking through.

Lighting

The existing tole chandelier that our clients didn’t particularly like was given a second life repainted in a fun bright coral and relocated to the breakfast room. A new classic brass ring chandelier was hung in its place in the library.

The garden library is now a magnet for gathering family and friends and is the perfect venue for new memories to be made.