Quigley House: Before and After
Welcome to Quigley House!
The clients are first time home-owners with a love of color, comfort, and of course their adorable dog. They love to have friends and family over and approach life with lots of joy and enthusiasm. Before we dig in, here are a few photos of where we landed:
Art: Peace by Chasing Paper
As you can see, I opted to use color and contrast to bring personality, but kept the base elements of the room calm and neutral.
The Sitting Room
While the oak bar cabinet to the left and leather wing back chair to the right were purchased as part of the design, let’s still call this the “before” picture.
One of the major challenges of this space was establishing a floor plan that allowed for conversation and traffic flow from the living room to the dining room. After some deliberation, it was clear that the door to the right of the fireplace was offering very little for the house and was disrupting a potential floor plan that could add a lot of comfort. We decided to close up the door and relocate the television, letting this front room act as the designated sitting room.
The other major challenge was letting previously owned furniture go to find pieces that were more proportionate to the room. While this room looks fairly spacious in photos, it is a high-traffic room that means a generous walkway is needed, limiting a lot of typical furniture placements. That meant scaling the furniture back with more mid-century shapes that allowed for more space and flow.
Art above the fireplace left to right: Abstract Plant no. 1 by Sarah Golden, Still Life in Green by Sarah Golden
Additionally, I wanted to bring color into the house while still making each room feel laidback and comfortable. I opted for color blocking, using Sherwin Williams “Rainwashed” as the lower color, and “Surf Green” as the top trim color. This trim color will also pop up on a few exterior doors as well. I love how these cool colors play off of the natural leather and oak details. This was also a great opportunity to feature a few special pieces of art. I’m so glad we went with Sarah Golden’s work in here. If you aren’t familiar with her work you can see more of it here or here.
The Sitting Room: Window View
The oak bar cabinet was a great way to add a little drink service in the sitting room without always having bottles on display.
For eagle eyed viewers, you may notice a raw piece of wood acting as a drink table next to the wing back chair. I picked this piece up at my favorite local shop “The Forest” and before you google it, yes I mean the woods. All jokes aside, there is something so wonderfully disarming about having a raw natural elements in a home and I’m glad my clients were up for this whimsical detail.
The Entryway Area
This area is directly across from the front door, though I wouldn’t say it fully qualifies as an entryway. I wanted to use this space to create a landing spot with enclosed storage, while also blending into the sitting room that is just out of frame in this picture.
And here’s where we landed! This little cabinet from Anthropologie adds color, texture, and depth while providing some out-of-sight storage. It’s sweet, simple, and welcomes you into the house in a cheerful way.
This was another wall that needed color and impact, but was still a pass-through area as you traverse from one room to another through this area.
Art Clockwise: Day 256: Vintage Airline Tags by Lisa Congdon, Fan Art by Nicole Cicak of On Lane Avenue, Blue Ways by Adriano Oliveira, Monstera Plant, Louis The Third by Jessica Snow, Burn by Emily Blincoe
Ta-da! A great little grouping of colorful, high contrast art to add some interest and quirk to an awkward wall. This collection was a great opportunity to show the clients’ personalities, their love of color, travel, and vintage items.
And one more view for good measure:
The Dining Room
Moving on to the dining area. This space was in pretty good starting shape. The existing table was in great condition, good quality and very pretty.
I kept this room calm relaxed and breezy. Adding a massive drum shade helped to center this room and the new chairs and buffet added another nice touch of natural wood and sleek design.
A little color, art, chairs, and buffet goes a long way to show off this beautiful space. As lovely as the natural light in the front of the house is, it’s even better back here with that incredible picture window. Here you can see the back door, painted Surf Green by Sherwin Williams.
Thanks for touring Quigley House with me. To see more detailed photos, check them out here or if you would like to see more completed projects, check the Select Projects page.
Lastly, if you are at a crossroads with your home and are looking for design direction, styling, or full design service, please reach out via the Contact Page or at west.hollar@gmail.com
First consultations are held virtually and are free. Let’s make something special together!
-Aimee
**Design and photos by Aimee Kick via West Hollar llc. *Use of photos without expressed permission is prohibited.