Home design ideas: Uncomplicated goes a extensive way in a living room

In advance of Michael Kim of MK Architecture and David Cohen of Hampden Layout + Design reworked this 1964 addition to their client’s 1938 Colonial in Weston, there was a laundry area in a corner, a minimal ceiling, and minimal access to the garden. Practically nothing about the space felt correct. Following using the space down to the studs and simplifying the shell, the pair designed a tranquil sitting home with an inconspicuous backdrop of built-in bookshelves and a focal issue-deserving hearth. “Now the room seems to be like it is supposed to, like it’s usually been this way,” Kim says. “That was the point, that was our assignment.”

1. A rug with Jap flavor from Dover Rug & Home gives subtle colour and a pattern that echoes the homeowners’ intercontinental sensibilities.

2. Deep blue Pumpkin chairs by Pierre Paulin for Ligne Roset are a sculptural assertion that balances the heft and neutral colour of the sectional.

3. Kim developed the bookshelves, which he phone calls the room’s “supporting actor,” to be as visually tranquil as achievable. “They’re not meant to connect with attention to themselves,” the architect claims. “Their operate is to highlight the homeowners’ artifacts and publications.”

4. Cohen refaced the stone veneer chimney with 11-inch-wide white oak boards divided by skinny strips of ipe established within aluminum channels. “We at first tried oak floorboards, but the impact was way too busy,” Cohen says. “This has the similar natural texture, but appears to be a lot calmer.”

5. Thomas D. Mangelsen’s confined-edition photograph of a grizzly bear in Yellowstone National Park hangs above the fire and a Indigenous American peace pipe rests on the mantel.

6. The curved structure of the burnished, hand-forged metal Switchback pendant by Hubbardton Forge was inspired by Vermont ski trails. Cohen changed dated recessed lights with strength-efficient LED types.


Marni Elyse Katz is a common contributor to the World Journal. Send opinions to [email protected].