A Room (mate) Examined.

So I had the lucky fortune to stay at my college roommate BFF's gorgeous house in New Jersey last night. Her husband and two beautiful kids occupy this traditional space filled with light floors, gleaming mouldings, and a whole lot of square footage to furnish. They have this fantastic space right off the formal dining room that has a real working fireplace which you just want to cozy right into. A sofa and two leather chairs were purchased, a small occasional table from West Elm seemed to want to fit in the scheme soooomewhere, and the base was certainly a great start. But they weren't quite feeling the space as a warm and invited like it was close to being. So with a quick trip down the road to scoop up some smart accessories and occasional furniture, we pulled it all together.
Full disclosure... the first picture was taken the with the lights off with my crappy cell phone and perhaps under the influence of a glass of wine while we caught up with 4 children underfoot:


And here are the after photos:




So what made it work? We grabbed two oversized pillows in a sunny yellow and grey tone to pick up subtle references that fill the rest of the downstairs space ( repetition is very soothing to the eye). The playful pattern and color also gave a less formal feel to the leather club chairs, adding some warmth and personality. I also stole some beautiful greens from the dining room in a pretty vase and a glass jar filled with memory laden colorful matches (love that) to bring the West Elm table to life, which was thoughfully placed between the two clubs to add an easy spot to rest a drink or snack. Then came in a score of a piece, a x based upholstered ottoman that serves as a coffee table of sorts to the lovely sofa that was already in place. We plan to add some laquered trays to offer some additional drink placement. A warm throw was placed as well which picked up the tones of the husband's favorite vase that found a perfect home on the mantel. Last but not least the fireplace. The thought was how do you embrace all the stonework, but show it off in a youthful way (after all this is a fun family of four). Well, we grabbed a round, white textured mirror that added some shimmer and offered a departure from all that hard stone. What fun!!! Oh, and p.s... this is what the other BFF's were doing in the other room: