Melissa and her hubby knew what they liked, they just needed some clearcut direction on how to get the ideal familyroom put together. We also worked on the foyer. You can see from these pics that a very bad faux finish was in place. It was there when her hubby moved in the house and he didn’t bother to change it. That was one of the first things I addressed and advised them to paint out that foyer one color, the same color that was flowing up the stairs.
AFTER
BEFORE
AFTER
And here is the AFTER, foyer table in place and the artwork. She added a new lamp and a few new accessories here. 
She picked up this other smaller companion oil painting for the little nook going into their bedroom and they both make a nice statement.
BEFORE
BEFORE: This is the room as it was when I first met with them, except the old rug was very neutral, with no color. This is already the new rug in place. I told Melissa that once everything that was needed was purchased and in her house, I would come back over and we would empty out the room and I would put it all back together again. Just like on TV! And that’s exactly what I did.
BEFORE: Wall on right coming into the familyroom, a set of Pottery Barn bookshelves with a fountain in the middle. 
AFTER: Melissa already owned the olive green sofa pictured here, so that was brought in and the rug was the only other thing she purchased for this room. I brought back all the accessories and shopped other rooms in the house to fill in where it was needed. We talked about colors to bring in and decided to get a rug that had olive greens that will pull into their diningroom, as well as working with the olive sofa. I told her I would like to bring some blues into the room and she was very excited about that, so made sure the new rug had blues in it. We used all her things and just moved them all around. That’s the fun part about a redesign! Notice the fireplace here. It got a makeover too, per my instructions, and they did that after this redesign day. 
BEFORE: The red brick fireplace was a little blah and needed some major perking up. I advised them to glaze or paint the brick to tone it down & make it flow better with the contemporary feel of the room. She ordered a fireplace glazing kit and they did it themselves. I also told her to paint the mantel black. Notice the changes above the fireplace too, when you see the “After” shot below.
AFTER: The newly glazed fireplace looks great! Since their dogs are a big part of their family, I brought this dog pic from another room and it’s Melissa’s favorite pic, so why not highlight it over the fireplace? She had this pair of faux plants and I added them up there for some visual height and fun. 
ALL AFTER: This shows the Pottery Barn bookshelves moved to another wall and pushed together for more impact. This area was great for displaying all their collectibles. I used all their artwork, just moved them to different areas.
The bookcase was moved to this large wall, where it takes center stage in front of the sofa. It’s a very pretty piece and looks much better on this wall where it can be appreciated. The blue fish on top was brought in from the bedroom and she already had the mirror, I just added it to the mix. The plant up there is real and looks pretty trailing along the top. Those 4 prints are original photographs that her hubby took.
Back to the bookshelves, I arranged all of those with pretty books they had, along with collectibles and family photos for a very pleasing look. All the pops of blue really add a nice contrast to the black shelves, as do the photographs on the wall above.
I loved the & sign and decided to display it in the middle. They had some nice pieces to work with that meant something too. You can see the pops of blue in the accessories, which really work well in the room.
I added a sofa table behind the sofa, with a lamp (brought in from the bedroom), accessories, and the artwork that used to be over the fireplace. See the pops of blue in the candles and single pillow on the sofa? Works well to bring in that color around the room.
They have large windows in this room that bring in a lot of light. I advised her to just leave them open with no other window treatments since this room is casual. They have blinds so don’t really need more fabric in here, so we’ll just leave them alone. I love the big real ficus tree in the corner.
You can see what a colorful rug she found and I thought it was perfect for them. This was one case where I sent them to do the shopping, since they already know what they like. That worked best in this case and then I came in and did the redesign of the room to pull it all together. I just loved using what they already had to completely change the space.
Melissa sent me the sweetest email:
Rhoda, thank you so much for yesterday. I have enjoyed my room SO much! This morning I got up at 6:30 to just sit in there and drink my coffee. It is so peaceful which is what I was looking for. Now, I can enjoy my home! Thank you so much. This was more than just a room re-do. I can’t tell you how much peace it gives me and totally eliminated conflicts. Thank you, you are heaven sent! You had the greatest ideas, and pulled them together with expertise and ease!!
Now, THAT makes my day! Hope you enjoyed the redo! I sure enjoyed orchestrating it. Thank you Melissa, for allowing me to come in your home.
Rhoda,
Where do you get a “fireplace glazing kit”?? I need one desperately. Could you e-mail me with the info please?
I see that you have joined the Seasonal Decorators on BD. I have no idea how it works, but I am certainly game to learn.
Janet @ Housepeepers
Great job! Amazing. Looks so much better 🙂
Hi Rhoda,
I always enjoy looking at your makeovers and studying the little details that you throw in.
It is great that you were able to use lots of what they already had.
I think the fireplace difference is really dramatic! And the idea of putting the bookshelves together was a great one.
Great job…and thanks to your client for allowing the photos to be published on your blog!
diane
Wow! I just know you walked away with some happy clients sitting in their lovely ‘new’ home enjoying looking at all of the wonderful changes! How neat to see! The fireplace was the biggest ‘wowzer’ of it all!
Great job Rhoda. Before and After’s are my favorite things to see. Love the changes.
Wow! Great job. I especially love the foyer makeover. It looks SO much better. I love the new color scheme in the living room too. That rug is awesome. I see on the bookshelves are some speakers (it looks like). I am so happyt to see that, usually on the design shows, they just eliminate those pieces from the rooms, because they’re unattractive, but you know they have to end up back in there anyway. I like how you made it work. Almost, not even noticable.
Looks great Rhoda. I am Happy they painted that foyer! What a change for the better. Blessings, Nancy
I love what you did with this redesign rhoda. Everything looks so warm and inviting… That faux was an oh-no! Thanks for showing us your super-talent as usual!
Lovely work;) French
The room was pulled together nicely. It’s amazing that little changes can make such a big impact. Great job Rhoda!
Isn’t it so much fun to help make someone’s house their home! It’s a rewarding job.
You did a great job! Now, if someone would just come here and solve all my dilemmas.
Well, okay, back to reality. Funds will not allow for that luxury. I love the direction you gave them, it is all much nicer now. I imagine that she is beyond grateful and will continue to be for a long time to come.
Yep – that is the sweetest email. I am sure when you read things like that you realize that this definitely isn’t just a job.
Great job Rhoda! Good luck with you new business.
Cathy
Rhoda it's BEAUTIFUL!!!!
I really love the & sign in between the four prints. I may be putting that to work on my office space!
I like the changes and looks so much better. It all seems to fit their tastes wonderfully.
I love the layout of your blog & if I ever need an interior decorator I will surely call you since I live in Atlanta!
Sarah
Holy cow, girl! This is amazing! I’m especially drawn to the fireplace makeover…AMAZING! We just moved into a 13 year old home and have done lots of remodeling. My hubby raised the fireplace box and added a nice sized hearth. It has travertine surrounding the fireplace and on the hearth. I would like to add a mantle, but not quite sure how to go about it. Wish you were here! 🙂
~melody~
Thank you ALL for the great comments! I'm so happy that you all love it too.
A couple of people asked about the fireplace glazing kit. This is what they used, in Twilight Taupe:
http://www.brick-anew.com/shop/brick-paint/page1.html
I'm sure if you are good with picking colors, you could probably duplicate this for less money, but they ordered the kit & did it DIY & it really turned out great.
Rhoda
hi Rhoda
sigh I do love coming by your blog…I just sat down with a cup of coffee and had a lovely browse, I am itching to move my sitting room around, the sofa is so against the wall, looking at the photos of your makeover makes me even more raring to go, isn’t it amazing it looks so much more welcoming, I bet the client is soooo happy, I can imagine too that I would have just sat there, taking it all in!
isn’t it just so amazing what can be done with stuff we already have??
so pleased that you got results from the article, I am sure the ball will really start to roll now
I would love to do something similar in terms of a business, in fact I am very tentatively in the back of my head planning to maybe start moving this from a hobby to doing it for other people…how did you get started, if you don’t think it rude of me to ask?
Sarah