A Useful Addition

An add-on living room serves dual function as a music room.

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Filed under: Living Rooms, French Style, Design Style

Opposite the television is a fireplace surrounded by a cozy seating area.

Five years ago, Judy and Bill Gagnon fell in love with a charming 1900 Mansard-roofed Victorian in Duxbury, Mass., near Boston. The one thing they didn't like was the newly added-on family room, so they gave it to their neighbor and added on another one.

The bump-out in the back part of the room is where the family keeps their musical instruments.

The new addition is one large living room divided up into three spaces — a living space for watching the television, a conversation area by the fireplace and a bay window in the back that makes room for the many musical instruments played by the family members.

This side of the room is set up as the television viewing area.

A Paris vacation inspired the style of the room, which exudes a subdued French country look. Judy had two objectives when decorating the room — everything had to match the drapes hanging in the bay window and every piece had to be comfortable. She chose a mixture of antiques and modern French-style items for the furnishings and accented the look with iron pieces to pull in more of the rustic French country character.