The Sunset House: Great Room, Kitchen & Dining Nook

Today, we’re excited to share more details

from the great room, kitchen, and dining nook of one of our projects recently featured on our Netflix show “Dream Home Makeover.” 

Our clients, featured in Episode 2: “Manor House Designs,” wanted to build a home that felt welcoming, comfortable, and lived-in for their family to grow and create memories together, and today’s spaces are a perfect expression of that intention. 

Thank you to our partners at Killowen Construction for helping us make this project possible!

Here’s a deeper dive into the pieces, methods, and elements used in this space. 

Design Tip No. 1: Create pathways in furniture placement

When we start thinking about the furniture in a great room, pathways are the first things we consider. Thinking about the functionality of the space allows us to make aesthetic decisions that meet our clients’ needs. Asking questions like “How will people be walking through the home,” or “Where is the most natural place to watch TV?” eliminates impractical choices early on. 

Once we have a feel for how the room should function, we start to consider how we can meet the visual challenges. 

We love using chairs rather than a sofa when we need to place seating where the main flow of traffic comes into the room. In this space, we chose chairs with these beautiful metal backs that you see when you walk into the space, and we love how it works to open up the design and pull everything together. 

Try this at home: Is there a piece of furniture blocking the flow of traffic in your space? Experiment with moving it around to see if you can find a better solution. You never know what you could come up with! 

Design Tip No. 2: Let your favorite elements shine

We love pulling out design elements that speak to us in a home and incorporating them in our furniture and styling. Since we got to be involved in this project from start to finish, we knew from the beginning that the big black metal windows would be a defining feature in the final result. To draw the eye to the windows, we tied in black metal or wood elements in accent pieces throughout the entire home. 

In the great room, we tied this element in through the black metal base of the chairs and other decorative accents. Then, in the dining nook, we incorporated some of our favorite black wooden dining chairs around the table.

Try this at home: What is your favorite element of your home? It could be anything from a finish, to a light fixture, to an art piece! Experiment with drawing the eye to it more by pulling out its tone or texture through decor, textiles, or pieces. 

Design Tip No. 3: Balance the scale of your pieces

Paying attention to scale is an integral part of the design process, and although we always suggest measuring and taping out what you can, sometimes breaking the rules can lend the best result. In this space, we went with these large gold pendants, and although they might have been bigger than the typical pendant-island ratio because the space feels so grand and open, they work to make the perfect statement. 

Try this at home: Scale applies to styling, too! Don’t be afraid to mix larger decorative objects into your vignette to create a statement moment.