Coastal-Inspired Family Room

Before

Like many suburban families Karen, Doug and Amanda spend most of their time driving — to work, school, home again, soccer practice, piano lessons. While it's time spent together, it's not exactly quality time. Until recently, quality time meant vacations to the East coast with sandy beaches and wide open spaces. Their busy lifestyle today will more likely find them in the family room watching a good movie or reading the paper during their down time.

After

Unfortunately, the dated dusty rose carpet, feminine stencil and patterned sofa don't give the same sense of relaxation as sunning on the coast of Maine, which is exactly what host Jane Lockhart is going to bring to this room. The pink carpet and accents have got to go.

The layout of the room is the same, but the introduction of colors reminiscent of seaside trips including sunny yellow walls and chairs plus watery blue upholstery and window treatments make it look like a totally new space. The white accents and trim would lighten up any color scheme.

paint: yellow walls (Weston Flax HC-5); white trim, fireplace and armoire (Cloud White CC-40) (Benjamin Moore, Canada)