Artistic Family Salon
“It goes so fast.” Every parent hears this phrase more times than they can count, and we all learn how true it is.
When our clients came to us, their 1980s simple ranch house was dark, lacked storage, was choppy with small walled-off spaces, and had a lot of deadspace. It was easy to identify the home’s pain points.
While those are important problems to address, there was something far more important we wanted to solve. The family had a young teen and a pre-teen who spent most of their time in their rooms; their parents felt like they didn’t see them much. So we wanted to magnetize the central spaces to be so irresistible, the kids would want to be there, even if doing their own thing.
So we opened up the whole space. Instead of three separate rooms, we made one big room with four clearly defined zones: the living room, the art/creative zone, the lounge/music nook, and the kitchen/dining area. Layered into each space are more uses and invitations hidden in plain sight: an art/homework table under the picture window, a stackable washer/dryer right in the kitchen behind cabinet doors, entry storage via a shoe cabinet off the front door. We wanted to pack this creative family’s home packed with opportunity and possibility, and for it to feel like a story built over time, lived-in and imperfect. Which is exactly what makes it perfectly inviting.
Now the whole family loves being in the central spaces. Whether they’re doing something together, or doing a solo activity, they’re together. Not only that, they’ve found more of themselves in it:
The guitar that sits out in the lounge enticed their oldest to tinker more, and she re-discovered a passion for guitar and bass that led her to apply for a grant for a new guitar!
The pre-loved, pre-paint-splattered table in the art zone invited creativity from mom, who took up collaging and now has a creative outlet (with easy clean-up in the vintage credenza for storage!).
The comfy, low-slung seating and colorful accents lured the kids to hang out in the main areas, and even now invite their friends over.
There are so many other details we’re really smitten with in this project, like the matte black brick fireplace and floating painted shelves, the saffron zellige tile range surround, and the bright orange cabinet that created an easy place for a bar. But the thing that makes this project matter most is how it led a family to new passions, and to one another. Because it goes so fast.
