Family rooms should be comfortable, inviting, and definitely reflect a strong sense of your personality by featuring themes that make you feel good. In this particular case, my clients are passionate sailors. Therefore, I created a nautical theme throughout the design of the room by choosing an elegant and subtle aqua color palette, reminiscent of the sea, carried through in the choice of upholstery, window treatments, accessories, and rugs. My client’s boat models are features in the room’s décor, punctuated by custom made solid cherry furniture imported from France and reminiscent in color of their classic 1950’s yacht decks.

The subtlety of the two-tone distressed solid cherry cocktail table completes the color palette and invites the visitor into an environment of comfort, leisure, and relaxation. The light gold color of the walls, inspired by the color palette of the stunning hand-made Persian rug, is echoed in the soft silk throw pillows and the custom made two tone lampshades. Even though I wanted the room to have a monochromatic feel, I thought it necessary to vary the palette by upholstering the chairs with exquisite dark brown distressed leather, framed by beautiful antique brass nails, adding necessary casual touch to the room.

My client’s impressive collection of rare nautical instruments, collected from their many voyages at sea, are another feature in the room; to display them I found the center cocktail table to be a perfect stage.

Sample Family Room

I believe rooms should feature objects that remind you of happy experiences and should be displayed because they are part of your identity. As for the layout of a family room, try to place your furniture in a way that naturally creates conversational spaces. That arrangement immediately creates a more intimate setting. Also, try to accommodate comfortably at least eight seated people, as it will probably be your first room of choice for entertaining.

Small details, such as not adding crown moldings to the walls, not adding trim to the curtain panels, choosing distressed finishes and distressed leathers are great ways to keep your family room casual even if, as in this case, you want to create an elegant setting by using silk curtain panels, silk throw pillows, hand-made Persian rugs, and a tufted settee. Ultimately, the choice is yours, but remember that you do not have to sacrifice elegance for comfort. And consider this thought from Paul Valery’s citation: “A Poem is never finished, just abandoned….” I like to think of a room in those terms.

The kitchen is the heart of the home and, because of its daily use and particular preferences of the owner, is often the first room to be renovated after the purchase of a new house. Many homeowners believe that it is less expensive to purchase pre-made cabinetry, but often, with the right designer teamed with an honest carpenter, it is possible to design and build a completely custom kitchen for a cost similar to that of installing pre-made cabinetry. For example, let me show you what you can achieve when you decide to go Custom.
My clients had purchased a beautiful 1930’s mansion, located in the heart of Greenwich, complete with an existing 1970’s Formica kitchen they were eager to replace  with an old world French style kitchen, characterized by innovative style and simplified functionality. Had the owners chosen to go with pre-made cabinetry, the existing architecture of the room along with the location and height of the windows would have required them to lose a great deal of storage space as well as sacrifice the aesthetic value of the room. Not wanting to lose that aesthetic value, the custom option was immediately appealing to them.  With a design created to take advantage of the kitchen’s  unique architectural features, we built angled base cabinets in front of the low windows. Over the stove, we created a boxed beam on top of the windows to host the exhaust then matched it on the other side to create a symmetrically balanced look. With the continuity of antiqued copper trim and crown moldings, it looked as though this was the way the kitchen was always meant to be.
To give the kitchen a sophistication that usually only time can bring, we carefully chose imported European distressed Terracotta tiles and added a slightly distressed glazing on the cabinets. We also designed a special bottom curve casing to the base cabinets to let the central air access the room. The design of the Island was inspired by the solid cherry bar stools imported from France. For lightning we used a symmetrical framing on the ceiling with low voltage MR16 fixtures that are cozy and soft to the eye. To break the monotony of straight lines on the long wall, we expanded the sink and its base two inches out and matched the arched top cabinetry by expanding it as well.
This is the beauty of custom cabinetry and design based on the client’s requirements; it gives the designer the ability to take maximum advantage of the space available with innovative design.  In this old world French style kitchen, for example, the interiors of all the cabinetry have been designed according to the clients’ wishes: open shelves provide space for beautiful caned baskets to hold fruits and onions, discreetly paneled appliances blend with the design, and a pantry is elegantly concealed  behind a gorgeous custom-built French door. The backsplash completes the tone-on-tone color palette that is harmonious and inviting.
As Rabelais said so well: “ A man who doesn’t value his kitchen cannot be fundamentally good….”

Naturally, one side of the room will find itself with a larger space behind the sofa. Therefore, the two custom made chairs, dressed in beautiful Beacon Hill silk in front of the windows, punctuated by a stunning center display cabinet by Century Furniture, serves as the perfect balance for this space. And offers the two additional required seating in case of a party of eight. On the fireplace wall, the pair of Italian sconces and the pair of English artist prints by Throwbridge from England, also emphasize the symmetrical design of the room. When using sconces and art on the same wall, try to place the electrical outlets at a height that will level your sconces’ lights with the center of your art’s frames.
It is important, when designing a rectangular room, to break its length through smart design. One of the most efficient ways to do so is to introduce options that emphasize the room’s height. In this case, long drapery panels placed as high as possible, over the two beautiful long windows, flawlessly balance the shape of this room by creating a more dramatic aesthetic statement. The display cabinet is also high, offering a direct view of the homeowner’s collection without being obstructed by the sofa’s height. To build a successful color palette, start with a rug, and choose contrasting colors that will coordinate the tones of the rug. As Mongiardino pointed out so well: “Rooms speak, just try to listen…”

Gilles Clement’s work can be found at www.lecirquedesigns.com

This particular home already had a living room, a family room and a study, therefore this room, (which being a small room with a lot of passage represents a typical issue to a lot of home owners) opened by a standard size doorway on the living-room, a double French door on the garden and a smaller doorway on the foyer needed to find a purpose.
This is a small room and in small rooms, function often determines design. They are numerous in nineteen Century dwellings as perfect refuges for solitary rest, places of concentration and work, and rooms of reserved intimacy.   Since the home owner already owned a baby-grand piano, the room was created around it. It is always good when you have such room to start with a theme based on one of your main interest or passion, it means you will use the room and it gives you the foundation to build upon it.
Naturally it is primordial to keep a visual balance within the space; it comforts the eye and discreetly prevents an immediate perception of the individual elements, offering a more distinguished visual perception of the room.
A stunning eighteen Century style French writing desk, purposively oversized to balance the weight of the piano offers as well a great working surface for reading large books or writing.  The piano and the writing desk were placed in parallel angles to leave the walkways between the doors available for passage.
A very elegant black velvet daybed with gold contrasting welt was designed to create a perpendicular balance for the weight of the piano and the desk as well as to give a great functional piece to listen to music or read.
A rare antiqued mirror screen, reminiscent of David Hicks’ designs, and a black lacquer etagere with gold accents, were chosen to lighten the furniture mass by their height.   The screen placed behind the daybed, opens the room with its reflection and completes with its distressed gold finish the welting of the daybed, while the etagere, with its open spaces offers a great structure to display antiques and collectibles.
The gorgeous draperies made by hand of fine crushed black velvet stripes on an ivory linen, and lined with an exquisite two-toned trim, are very highly hung, to better accentuate the height of the ceiling;  though they must slightly break on the floor (at least one and a half inch) to create the illusion of heightening the room.
Two very fine hand-made Persian rugs with vegetable dyes, orchestrated by gold and blacks complete the color palette of the room, while defining the seating areas, through the warmth of the New Zealand wools and the delicacy of the silk.
Lighting is certainly a primordial design element that defines the comfort of a room and that implements its use. In this case we have four different sources of light, each carefully designed to serve its functionality but also to make the room look cozier and more inviting.
When accessorizing, using antiques or pieces that tell one of your stories, brought back from your trips or adventures, is a great way to make a room more individualistic. Naturally, dress your walls with real Fine Arts if possible, or like in this case, with exceptional lithographs on aged paper signed by the artist.
This room certainly proves that elegance and comfort can work together and as the Italian design icon, Renzo Mongiardino says it so well: “The Goal, the miracle of beauty in art, lies in the rules, but goes beyond the rules…”

For resources visit lecirquedesigns.com

Naturally, one side of the room will find itself with a larger space behind the sofa. Therefore, the two custom made chairs, dressed in beautiful Beacon Hill silk in front of the windows, punctuated by a stunning center display cabinet by Century Furniture, serves as the perfect balance for this space. And offers the two additional required seating in case of a party of eight. On the fireplace wall, the pair of Italian sconces and the pair of English artist prints by Throwbridge from England, also emphasize the symmetrical design of the room. When using sconces and art on the same wall, try to place the electrical outlets at a height that will level your sconces’ lights with the center of your art’s frames.
It is important, when designing a rectangular room, to break its length through smart design. One of the most efficient ways to do so is to introduce options that emphasize the room’s height. In this case, long drapery panels placed as high as possible, over the two beautiful long windows, flawlessly balance the shape of this room by creating a more dramatic aesthetic statement. The display cabinet is also high, offering a direct view of the homeowner’s collection without being obstructed by the sofa’s height. To build a successful color palette, start with a rug, and choose contrasting colors that will coordinate the tones of the rug. As Mongiardino pointed out so well: “Rooms speak, just try to listen…”

Gilles Clement’s work can be found at www.lecirquedesigns.com