MURRAY BUNGALOW : LIVING ROOM PLAN

Hello, and Happy Friday!! Today, we're sharing our plan for the living room at the Murray Bungalow property. Generous in size, the living room is located directly off the front entry, adjacent to the dining room (see below).

BACKGROUND

A few things stand out when considering the form & function of the living room in its existing state. First, all of the inherent charm: the pretty light and lovely view to the street courtesy of the west window bank, the accompanying built-in window seat along this wall, the pair of original lead glass transoms, and the soaring height of the ceiling (~8.5'!), accentuated by wood beams spanning the width of the room ... all features that we'll aim to retain and highlight. In terms of deficiencies, the main ones are the color scheme (too dim), and lack of connection to other parts of the home.

INSPIRATION

Since the ceiling beams truly define the living room -- they lend a feeling of grandness to the space, and set it apart visually from every other room in the home -- it was easy to draw inspiration from living rooms that similarly enjoy strong ceiling treatments. What we love most in the inspiration photos below is that all of these living rooms feel special (with those beams working their magic), yet integrally connected to other parts of the home. And of course, all of these spaces feel light, bright, warm, and modern -- in perfect alignment with our design hopes for this project.

SOURCES :
|1| Wit & Delight, |2| Wendy Word Design, |3| unknown.

DESIGN PLAN

So, the trick with the living room will be to balance bungalow appeal with the need to lighten, brighten, and modernize the space. Here's how we plan to tackle it:

WINDOWS & TRIM | Similar to the dining room, we'll keep the original windows in this room, with their difficult-to-replicate charm, but refinish all of the dark woodwork in a fresh, clean white.

WALLS + FLOORS| We'll update the walls & floors with lighter, brighter materials & color palette, the approach that we're taking throughout the home (read more about that here).

WOOD BEAMS | We love the cedar ceiling beams and the added character & definition they bring, however will plan to lighten their weight in the room by refinishing in a pretty white or soft neutral paint hue.

BUILT-IN WINDOW BENCH | We'll overhaul the window bench with a new wood top and fresh paint. Picture a sweet built-in spot for greeting guests as they come and go, relaxing with a book, and/or displaying pretty plants and housewares, etc. You get the idea :).

LINKAGE TO KITCHEN | Last, in the future layout of the house (catch up on all of our proposed floorplan changes here), the living room will enjoy much improved proximity to the heart of the home -- the kitchen. To take advantage of this, we'll open the wall between them via a wide cased opening, linking the two rooms together while allowing each to retain its own identity.

We can't wait to unlock this room's potential! Will keep you posted on progress.

More room plans to come soon, including the home's most exciting transformation -- the kitchen. Thanks for following along :).

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