Home design ideas: An airy family room that connects with the outdoors

Katie Bogart’s clients, a young family who recently moved from the city to Weston, asked her to design a family room with utility and a peaceful feel where the kids and adults could live with ease. To accentuate the show-stopping Palladian windows and wooded landscape beyond, Bogart created a light and airy scheme accented with blues and greens that bring the outside in. A sectional upholstered in performance linen maximizes comfort, functionality, and floor space. “The layout provides flexibility,” Bogart says. “There’s enough room for the kids to play, but once the toys are gone, it looks beautiful.”

1 A leather swivel chair from Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams enables easy interaction with the adjacent kitchen and the seating area.

2 A faux olive tree from Etsy draws the eye up to the top of the window and a fern from Russell’s Garden Center in Wayland pulls green into the center of the space. The serene seascape by Kathleen Kolb is from Edgewater Gallery.

3 The Noir wire-brushed mahogany cocktail table with a distressed gray finish has a driftwood feel in a modern form. Its soft aesthetic blends seamlessly while its substantial size accommodates both sides of the sectional.

4 A sculpture by Bogart’s uncle, Jacques Schickel of Maryhill Clayworks, personalizes and elevates the space while introducing subtle whimsy.

5 A teak burl cube balances the cognac-colored leather chair on the other side of the room. “The darker tones ground the eye,” Bogart says. “If everything was a wash of soft neutrals, the eye wouldn’t know where to rest.”

6 Bogart used an indoor/outdoor version of the iconic Christopher Farr Cloth Carnival fabric for the pair of X-stools. “They work well as extra seating or are easily moved so the kids can play Legos,” Bogart says.


Marni Elyse Katz is a regular contributor to the Globe Magazine. Send comments to [email protected].