The dining room of this center hall colonial in New Canaan, Connecticut started as a traditional New England dining room with a built-in corner hutch, wainscoting on the wall, a generic light fixture, and neutral beige walls. JerMar Designs was brought in to add a modern touch to the room while keeping the overall aesthetic in line with a center hall colonial. The family entertains a great deal and often has children as young as elementary school eating in the space. The surfaces needed to stand up to younger guests while designing a room with a feeling of sophistication and luxury. The room had transitional wood furniture with a large dining table and sideboard which were to remain in the space. All the other items were to be replaced.

The design process resulted in a color scheme of navy and silver. The room has a large bay window facing east which casts natural light for part of the day. A navy silk wallpaper was selected to add richness and texture to the walls. The ceiling was painted a high gloss silver to help reflect the light from the chandelier since the room does not have any other ceiling lighting. The chandelier adds not only a modern, sophistication to the space, but it prevents the space from becoming too formal while adding light in multiple directions. The homeowners challenged us to find ways to add lighting to the otherwise poorly lit room, without adding an enormous electrician bill to the project. We added 2 large wall sconces on a wall that already had electricity to keep costs down. By doing this before the wallpaper was hung, it was easy to repair the walls. 

The focal wall of the room has an 85-pound mirror which acts as a large piece of artwork in addition to reflecting light and giving the perception of a larger space. Underneath the mirror sits a unique cow hide-covered credenza with large ornate door handles and much-needed added storage. The credenza is topped with two tall crystal lamps which add soft ambient light in addition to providing a view of the silk wallpaper. There is a large custom orchid arrangement on the credenza adding texture, height and elegance to the focal wall.

We were asked to commission custom artwork for one of the walls with the goal of showcasing a local artist as well as adding contemporary artwork to the home. We identified a local artist who was able to paint a custom piece taking advantage of the multiple blues in the space as well as the accents of silver. It was exciting to work with an artist to bring the vision to life and create a one-of-a-kind piece of artwork for this home.

For seating, we found an elegant velvet fabric from Holly Hunt in an ice blue which is an indoor/outdoor fabric enabling the fabric to maintain its beauty even with young guests! The homeowner had chairs in another room which we re-upholstered in the new fabric. We had custom end chairs made in the same fabric in a similar rounded style so they complemented the existing chairs while adding variety to the ends of the table.

The final show-stopping design piece for the space is the hand-loomed Tibetan rug which took months to arrive but was worth the wait. The rug is made of multiple shades of grays with an ice blue geometric pattern. This adds texture and pattern to the room since all the other design elements are in solid colors. The rug is sized to fill the center space which results in a larger feeling space as the room is actually quite narrow. The rug is the “wow” factor design element in the space. 

Adding the final touches of silk soft fold roman shades to the room completed the envisioned design. The windows had not previously had window treatments but seeing them installed helped the homeowner see how they are the sophisticated accessory to the luxurious space we designed!