My Family Room Makeover with Gatehouse No. 1
It all started with a new sofa……
…and then, it spiraled into a full-blown room makeover! While scrolling instagram a few months ago, I noticed that Gatehouse No. 1 was having a sale and one of my favorite sofas that I had my eye on was included in the sale. I decided to go to their showroom and sit on the sofa and test it out. Well, I LOVED it. I have furnished my home with Gatehouse in the past, and the quality of their furniture is exceptional. I knew this new sofa would be a quality piece I would have for years. I excitedly decided to purchase the sofa. I began chatting with the designers at Gatehouse and they suggested a new rug to go along with the sofa. Then we started strolling through the showroom, and before you know it, I was picking out a new ottoman, pillows, and poufs. The designers suggested an entirely new layout of furniture in my family room that I had never thought of before. I have an odd shaped family room, so it’s been hard to determine the furniture layout in the past. The girls suggested centering my furniture around my fireplace and creating an intimate conversation area that was cozy and inviting. I absolutely loved their ideas and decided to run with it! I made another appointment with the Gatehouse principal designer Stephanie Holdaway and we spent the afternoon fine-tuning my selections and really nailing down the details of the room makeover. We had the best time playing with fabric samples and selecting the perfect pillows for the new sofa! The furniture looked perfect, but there was one small problem. I had a really old and dated fireplace that I wasn’t crazy about. I was having a hard time envisioning a room full of beautiful furniture centered around the old fireplace that I didn’t love.
Enter Tiek Design Group….
Steve Tiek and I have worked together in the past on some photo shoots, and I knew he would be the best person to recruit to help me with some of the architectural elements of my family room. He is amazingly talented and super fun to work with. He came over to my home and we talked through the different ways to possibly fix up the current fireplace. We ultimately determined that due to the age of the fireplace, it was time to invest in an update. He also suggested adding some architectural elements to the room that would give the space some more character such as custom finish carpentry, new drapes, new lighting, and removing some of the odd arches and plant shelves that were built into the family room. He took measurements of my room and within a couple of days he sent over some beautiful renderings that showed exactly what my room would look like with the new furniture, fireplace, art, drapes, and updated architectural details. I was blown away! It was so nice to be able to actually visualize what the final result would be.
Because I work so frequently in the new construction and design arena, I knew exactly who I needed to contact to help me with the updates that Steve suggested. My first major concern was the fireplace. This thing was a beast! It was made of heavy river rock that was cemented to the wall. I reached out the Hearth and Home and they came by and completely put me at ease letting me know that they remove old fireplaces all the time. Hearth and Home does most of the beautiful fireplaces in the multi-million homes I shoot, so I knew I would be in good hands. They scheduled a time for me to come by their showroom in Orem and I selected a beautiful clean-face insert with a herringbone brick background. I am SO excited to see the finished product. In addition to the new insert I selected a beautiful precast fireplace mantle from Stone Mountain Castings that is clean and refined.
Another important aspect of the family room makeover was window coverings. Because the windows were framing the fireplace I needed to select something that highlighted the focal point of the room. My first choice was Park City Blind and Design because I work with them all the time and they do beautiful work. I spent the afternoon in their showroom in Park City going through thousands of fabric samples. The owners are wonderful and were so helpful when I was trying to make my final choices. I settled on a blue and grey herringbone weave fabric with aged brass curtain rods.
Last but not least, I needed new lighting to replace my old white ceiling fan from 2000. Hudson Valley Lighting came to my mind because I have photographed so many homes that feature their amazing lighting. Lighting truly is like jewelry in a home! This was totally new territory for me because I have never invested in quality lighting. We didn’t build our home, so we were just stuck with what the builder selected for our home in 2000. I spent hours scrolling through the Hudson Valley Lighting website and even talked with them to help me make my final selections. They helped me with correct sizing and even made suggestions on what would look good in my new room. They were fantastic to work with! They had the lighting delivered to my garage and the whole process was seamless.
We are currently in the construction phase of the family room makeover. It has been so fun to work with my clients in another capacity. I am usually shooting homes for them, but this time around they are helping me with my own home. Being on the other side of the design process has been exciting and it’s a testament as to why these individuals are in such high demand. They truly are some of the best-of-the-best in the design and home building industries and I feel so privileged to work with them!
Video courtesy of Jared Medley
Keep following along as I will be posting updates and a big reveal when the project is finished.
xoxo - Rebekah
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