At Home Room of the Week 7.21.09

Ever wished you could find out a few more details about the rooms you see on our pages?

Maybe some insider tips or the decorating whys, wheres and hows? The behind-the-scenes scoop and reality check?

Wish no more–your personal two-way conversation about those photos is here. I’ll post a favorite room each week and give you all the details, you can ask away with your design questions or add some comments of your own.

This week, my candidate for MOST IMPROVED ROOM:

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Nice, huh? A beautiful lakefront living room (in Eden Isle, on Greers Ferry Lake) by Little Rock designer Cortney Singleton. But here’s what she started with!

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Bye, bye Brady Bunch…hello 2009. She took the room from 1970s drab to current, fresh and family friendly with just a cosmetic makeover. Her tips?

*Paint, lots of white paint, on the paneling, trim and molding. She kept the ceiling beam dark for contrast, and as an eye-catching place for that great chandelier

*Curtains, white linen for a crisp beachy look

*Slipcovered furniture in a tea-stained color, so it would contrast with the walls and show dirt a little less than plain white

*Striped carpet, my favorite Dash & Albert line (it’s from Cobblestone & Vine, as are the furnishings). Those bold stripes wake up any room, and they’re pretty good at hiding dirt too

I can imagine a balmy July day spent lounging on that sofa, flipping through the pages of a favorite magazine (At Home of course, or maybe Coastal Living with that lakeside setting), then heading through the doors to enjoy a Greers Ferry sunset.