A “Great Room” = Togetherness

Designing a customized family room:

When meeting with our new client, the first thing he did was walk us through the house and show us each room...

This room, he affectionately called “the great room”, although besides the views and the vigas, initially there wasn’t anything all that “great” about it. I took this photo when we were in the midst of updating the electrical, however, when I first saw it, it had a few pieces of outdated furniture from the '70s and a bunk bed nook with some thin worn-down mattresses...

It had been used as the place where our client, his wife, and kids once stayed when they came to visit his parents. He had plenty of complaints about it, such as it wasn’t very comfortable, it felt cramped, and there was never enough storage space for all of the family's needs.

However, times had changed. He recently inherited the home after his dad’s passing, and he was ready to update the space for the next generation. He was adamant about making it a more comfortable and enjoyable place that his kids would want to come and stay now that they were grown and moving off in different directions. He wanted to create a space that would be a touchstone to keep the family coming together for decades to come.

I had to do a little research into the meaning of the term “Great Room”, which I have typically associated with an open floor plan between the kitchen, dining room and living room, such as this space designed by "The Handmade Home"...

However, I have since learned that a great room combines the roles of multiple rooms into one space, creating a central area for gathering and entertaining family members and guests. In essence, the primary goal of a “Great Room” is to create a space that is conducive to “togetherness” — a positive communal shared experience.

Of all the things we did, updating the furnishings made the largest impact in this room. When I brought my client to the local furniture store, I recommended a few pieces and then took note of what he was most drawn to. He quickly made himself at home on this large sectional. It brought back memories for him of what it was like having his three kids growing up in their childhood home, watching movies and having sleepovers with their friends on a large couch. He wanted to recreate this experience for them and provide as much potential for sleeping spaces as possible in case they wanted to invite their friends over to join them at the family's ski lodge. He showed me how his kids would bring an ottoman up to the edge of the couch so they could extend their legs out and sleep on it.

Although the ottoman we ended up selecting I would typically classify as oversized for this space, I realized that it was going to be perfect for their specific needs. I was able to further customize the couch, ottoman, and pillows with custom upholstery based on their favorite colors. We used this as a starting point for the color theme that would carry throughout the room.

Our client wanted to have a large, oversized TV to create a theater-like entertainment experience, so even someone sleeping in the bunk nook could enjoy watching a movie from a distance...

We originally suggested getting a projector that could roll down and back up so as not to block the view out the windows; however, our client wasn’t interested in dealing with that, so we purchased a TV stand that provided additional storage space.

In general, providing additional storage space was a fun, creative challenge in this room. I tried to visualize myself walking into this room as a guest, and how I would go about getting settled in the space. What I realized was there needed to be a landing pad in the room to sit down, take off shoes, jackets, and gloves, and to have a designated place for luggage...

I worked with a carpenter to refinish an old bench, create a custom hook rack, and add a floating shelf with baskets for gloves, hats, etc. We moved an old end table into the corner so there would be a temporary place to set bags down before setting up in the bunk nook area.

The whole vibe of the original bunk nook area was very cold and bare and looked like a place that you “had” to stay instead of a place you would “want” to stay in. I realized that by painting the background a warm and grounding color, it would make the space feel far more cozy. We replaced the mattresses with considerably more comfortable cushy ones, added adjustable reading lamps, and cozy bedding that complemented and coordinated with the main color scheme of the room.

You can see there was a lot of wasted space in the lower left corner, which previously was a collection point for clutter. We ended up installing shelving for suitcases to go and my husband David built a custom door to cover that area. We changed out the hardware on the storage space and added some New Mexican flare with rod iron strapping and decorative pulls.

The bathroom was area where the most heavy duty renovating took place. We gutted and re-tiled the shower, and restyled the vanity area by putting into a new sink, new counter tops, fixtures and mirror.

Again, designing more storage opportunities was important in a small shared bathroom. We added in two niches for storage inside of the shower, added a horizontal mirror so two people could see each other in it side by side, and added a vertical storage ladder for many towels could be hung. Although not pictured here, we also added additional storage over the toilet and a frosted shower door so that more than one person could use the space as once. Personally I didn’t grow up in a house hold where I would share the bathroom with other family members at the same time, but I realized that this was something that my clients family was used to so it made sense to design the space based on their needs and comforts.

Our client wanted the shower to feel like they were outside showering amongst the rocks in a natural environment...

For this reason we worked with natural stone tile and a natural stone flooring. I worked with the crew that was installing the tiles to order the tiles in a way that the patterns flowed together visually. I also placed the most visually interesting tile patterns in the areas where they would be most visible and appreciated.

In the end, this guest suite became “Great” because it was designed for optimal enjoyment of the people who are going to share it. I receive satisfaction knowing that is has become a space that now supports them to come together for many years to come.

If you’re interested in scheduling a consultation to discuss how I can assist you with creating YOUR Home Sanctuary Design, you are welcome to email me at maryarosehines@gmail.com. The initial meeting is free to get clear on your goals and see if we are a good fit. From there I provide a quote based on your budget.

You can learn more about my work at: www.homesanctuarydesign.com