A Designer Turns a Connecticut Townhouse With Good Bones Into a Cozy Family Home

Interior designer Angela Belt knows how to bring a room to life. With a background in interior design, showroom styling and market editing, not only does Angela know what’s trending in design, she knows how to bring what’s next together seamlessly in a space. All of that experience served the designer and stylist well when the time came to make over her West Hartford home. With a 7-year-old eager for a big girl room and everyone working and schooling from home, Angela was able to create a family home filled to the brim with personal style to suit her husband, Leon, and daughter, Brooklyn. "We all cuddle up on this sectional all day long. I’m going to be thankful for this in the winter months to come,” says Angela.

Five years ago, when the family first found this home, a 1,000-square-foot, two-bedroom townhome, it took a designer's eye to spot its potential. "When we first moved into this apartment it was in rough condition, but it had great bones," Angela remembers. Getting it into shape took TLC from the outside in, including a transformation of the traditional front patio into an outdoor lounge complete with dining area and innovative plant screens for privacy.

"The patio might have been the easiest part of the whole home to design," Angela says. "Seeing everything from my mood board come to life outside so effortlessly made me so happy." Her efforts created a perfectly serene environment. Angela knows how to create zones in even the smallest of spaces, as she did on the patio. The outdoor space is neatly divided into an alfresco dining area and seating area. Under a bright color palette of yellows and blues that works throughout the space, the family comes together outside for dinners and watches fireflies on summer evenings. For Angela, it was a project long overdue. "I have no idea why I waited so long to make this a reality," she confesses.

The living room is the family’s main area for being together and is “hands-down my favorite space in the house,” Angela says. A recent redesign has seen a 7-year-old sofa with “pancake shaped cushions and a crooked leg” replaced with a beautiful new sectional. Just above the sofa, a gallery wall features memories and personal works of art from a family in which all three members paint. But Angela’s most exciting moment was the arrival of a key piece of living room furniture. “I love my new coffee table,” she beams. “We haven’t had one in two years because my daughter bounces all over the place and it just got in the way. I can finally sit my tea down on the table like a real grown up!”