This Old(ish) (Town)House - Styling 500 SqFt
/If you were to break up our 500 square feet of main floor space now, you would have 200 square feet of kitchen/entry and 300 of main living but I don’t see how you can actually divide the space. While each space need to function on it’s own and for it’s intended purpose, because of the lack of walls and the small footprint they all need to flow into each other without constraints.
On top of that this is our main living floor. This floor is our do everything floor. Yes we have a basement that is utilized as a play room/big TV space but this floor is the family hang out spot. It’s the Magnatile and monster truck central, its LEGO engineering HQ, it’s also where I cozy up with the dog and read and relax, and where we eat and cook. So let’s see how we are going to cram all of that into 500 square feet of space in a (I hope) stylish way.
ENTRY WAY DESIGN
My goal with the entryway was to transform it from a constricted space to one that is open, welcoming, and uncluttered. The first thing guests see when they walk into our house is … our whole house and I want it to feel inviting.
To make our new layout work, we gave up our first floor coat closet. Now, before you go and look at me like I have 3 heads, I have an explanation and a plan.
Before, our entryway was cramped and short. People walked in and had a 2’x3’ landing pad to take off shoes and discard jackets before hitting the hardwood floors.
In the new space we will be installing a 1”x1” hexagonal tile “rug” for the first 7(ish) feet of the entryway. Very traditional and old school NYC. It fits well in this house’s esthetic being a tall brick townhome. I’m hoping our contractor can manage to tile our house number at the very front like the picture. The tile rug should give guests a little breathing room to walk into the house and get comfortable.
But what about the closet?! I can hear you worrying. We will be utilizing the newly found space upstairs where the washer dryer was for bulky and lesser worn items, but for the OOTD, there will be hooks behind the door, both at adult and kid friendly level! (I’m done hanging everyone’s coats up - do it yourself family)
Also, we will be bringing in a simple and sleek wooden bench to sit against the entry wall where guests (and our family) can sit and get shoes on and off comfortably without having to rely on the stairs.
We are changing out our original foyer lantern which has a distinctively traditional feel for a newer less formal light that will be installed flush mount to the ceiling.
Add in a large round mirror (I’m thinking 36”) and some plants to brighten and lighten up the space (check out Young House Love for great recs on faux plants) and I think this will be an airy and welcoming entry into our home!
LIVING SPACE
We do not have the luxury of separate “adults only” and “kids only” upstairs living spaces. We are working with around 300 square feet of space that melds into the kitchen, backs up to the stairs and opens down to the basement. This space needs to work for socializing when it’s just adults, families when we have kids over, but really for most occasions just us as a multi-purpose relaxing space for us.
Like I said when explaining our style for the kitchen, we lean towards the clean lines of mid-century modern design but also like to pick up warmth and welcoming feeling through some traditional styling as well. Mixing these two in a cohesive way through the whole first floor is our goal to make a warm and inviting yet open and clean space.
The fireplace is the focal point of the living space. We removed the drafty old wood burning fireplace and pushed back the footprint as far as we could from 30 inches to 12 inches, reclaiming much needed floor space. We decided to install an electric insert fireplace in the wall, both for form and function. Form: we needed a place to hang stockings, Santa needs a place to drop goodies at Christmas! and I couldn’t wrap my head around a blank wall. Function: this bad boy puts out enough head for 400-500 square feet, perfect for our first floor.
In keeping with the clean lines of the entry way and kitchen, the fireplace will be tiled with a deep smoky blue tile, and the mantle is a custom asymmetrical mantle that is going to wrap around from right to left.
We purchased the Samsung Frame TV to hang over the fireplace. The I was drawn to the TV first at CES 2018 when I saw the flat hanging TV, completely unobtrusive against the wall. Instead of a black box on our wall we will have a TV when it’s on and art when it’s off!
The couch is a traditional design with rounded arms and legs, while we will be replacing our original overstuffed the chair is a mid-century silhouette in leather.
In place of side tables, which take up too much room, we are putting a brass and glass mid-century inspired console table behind the sofa. It’s just wide enough for a table lamp, books, drinks, and I’m sure some trucks to fit on.
Lighting felt light a challenge to me. We had recessed lights put in during the main construction phase but I don’t want to rely on the as our only source of lighting. For soft accent and reading light, a table lamp will go on the console table. I need to find a floor lamp to go in the corner to the right of the fireplace but I haven’t found one that is just right yet. I’m looking for something sleek and unobtrusive since we are low on space.
Teddy’s little table is also getting an upgrade. His simple Ikea LATT table is getting new mid-century modern white molded chairs and it will fit perfectly to the left of the fireplace. A nice little Teddy corner with some books, trucks, and coloring things, and of course, baskets under the table for toy storage, in the midst of all the adult going on!
Now here comes where I need your help. My biggest sticking point for the living room is how to store our booze! We have some nice decanters that are family pieces and we keep a pretty fully stocked bar that is used on the regular (hey, we have a 4 year old!). I’d like to replace it with something simple a la a bar cart or even something mounted on the wall. Any ideas?
So there it is, my dream of what our first floor will look look and feel like in, oh, 7 weeks when we finally get into the house. Three more weeks of waiting on cabinets and then all the tiling and flooring and custom fireplace work. We have a long way to go but at least I can see where we are headed!
