Friday, August 19, 2011

Elegant In Austin | The Family Room


I'm back with another glimpse into my fun Austin project.
Today I'm showing you the family room. This home doesn't have a formal living area, and so our challenge with this space was to make the family room formal enough to walk right into from the front door, but casual enough to kick back and watch TV in as well.
All of the fabrics in the room are durable, upholstery weights that stand up to lots of use. We opted for a casual jute rug to tone down some of the formality of the space. I love the natural element that this introduces, especially paired with the brassy and antique mirrored cocktail table. The antique mirror is great for setting drinks on etc. and you don't have to worry about keeping a pristine glass top.
I went with a strong dose of symmetry in this room and I love the mirrored effect it creates. Sidenote...we eventually plan to mount a motorized painting over the flatscreen.

The ceilings are high in this space, so we warmed them up with distressed and gray-washed wood beams. We brought even more warmth down into the space with the iron and wood beaded chandelier. I love the rustic materials of this chandelier paired with some of the more refined finishes in the space. Notice the beaming is continued into the lintels of the pass throughs.

In the background you can see more of the delicious dark painted doors.
Behind those double doors is a gorgeous peacock blue lacquered study...but that is for another day :-)
Another fun architectural element you will see repeated throughout this space is the slurried stone. We brought this in from the dining room (that I wrote about here) and applied it to the gallery pass throughs and the fireplace. It is slightly rustic but just smooth enough that it works, again, with the more refined finishes and furniture.

This space is open, all around, to the entry, kitchen and hearthroom, but feels very cozy due to our warm finishes, fabrics and overall color palette.
Some of the details...
I love to use these antique leather bound books. I actually collect them myself. They are just beautiful!

A bronze lantern sits atop a cararra marble and black lacquer table.

The cocktail table sports some pretty cocktail books and a phaleanopsis orchid in a shell planter. Isn't that planter cool?!...those are tons of mini seashells.

I hope you are enjoying peeks into this lovely project and what has turned into a series :-)
There is still lots more to see from this gorgeous home!
I hope you're having a great week.
Check back later this week for another Nursery Journal entry.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love this room----and all of your designs. I am in the process of building a home and did not want to do bookshelves on both sides of the fireplace in living space off our kitchen. The mirror idea is amazing---so stunning. I would love to order mirrors if I can order through you?? Thank you so much for the inspiration. julie

Maria@Live Beautifully said...

Thank you Julie! I'm happy to hear that I am inspiring some ideas for your own home. I received your email and will send you the mirror info. Thanks for reading :-)

Unknown said...

Beautiful room. I am looking for two mirrors like that too. Can you provide the info to me also?

Thanks!

Mrs. Davis said...

I am trying to find a jute rug in that pattern. Are you able to tell me where I can get the same. debshahan@yahoo.com
thank you so much!

Robin M said...

I know this is an old post but where are the mirrors from? So beautiful.

hamptonjewels said...

You can find this at Ballard Designs, the Amiel Arch mirror

Unknown said...

Hi where can I order the mirrors !?
Kizasose@aol.com