Friendssssss. I'm so excited because today I'm taking you on a tour of my FAVORITE room in our new house!!!
This room was definitely on the top of the list for things that sold me on this house. It's just off the kitchen, and runs along the west side of the house (why we often call it "the west wing").
It has huge windows that look out onto rolling hills, and is the sunniest spot in the house all year round.
This room has gone through so many changes since we moved in, and so, it has a bit of an identity crisis.
We've arranged and rearranged the furniture, moved pieces in and out, added a baby grand piano, and most recently, we added a massive built-in hutch (see blog post at this link!) that I'd been dreaming up since we moved in.
The room is not part of the original 1847 structure. When the house was moved to this location in the 1980s, the new owners added a completely new foundation, which included two single stall garages and an unfinished walkout basement (which is now finished).
The West Wing sits atop the two garage stalls on the side of the house and is just off the kitchen.
When we looked at the house, this room was being used as the owner's main living room (see photos below). They had a TV in here, a little table, and some cute decor, and the formal living room (which I'll share in another post) was set up as a more traditional sitting room.
West Wing "Before" from Listing Photos
When we first moved in, we didn't have Larry's baby grand piano yet, but we knew from the start that it would sit in the far end of the West Wing. Who wouldn't want to play Bach sonatas with that light and that view??
Then, for a while, we had a dining table sitting in the area just off the kitchen, but it was a little bulky for that space, and it ended up being the perfect desk for Larry's office.
I could go on and on (and ON) about the built-in unit in this space, but I've already done that in another blog post, so I won't bore you here.
A quick recap is that the cabinetry for my design was executed by our friends at Katt Design & Carpentry, mirror by Glass Doctors of Flint, and of course, my parents helped us with a bunnnnnch of little details, like wiring electrical, adding hardware, installing the light, and more.
Now that the builtin unit is complete, this room very much feels like an extension of our kitchen (you can see how it's connected to the kitchen in the images below). Our coffee pot lives out here, along with our cocktail supplies, and we've put some lesser used kitchen items like serving trays and dishes in the storage below.
While it was one of our more expensive updates, it's felt like a very worthwhile investment because we use it every. single. day. Plus, it's pretty darn beautiful and makes the space feel huge.
Confession: the bottom right cabinet doors are currently completely empty LOL. This piece added so much storage and we didn't end up using all of it!
BAH. But, if we ever sell the place, the storage will definitely be appealing to a new owner. And of course, I'm sure if we are here long enough, they will find a use.
The little cafe table is a bit of a work in progress...I found the table base on marketplace, and put what used to be our coffee table top on the table base. I adore the look of it, but it's not super sturdy, so now I'm on the hunt for a new base.
The two MCM dining chairs were another marketplace find (there were actually four, and I wish SO badly that I'd purchased all of them! Ahhh well...), and the vintage rug above is from my favorite vintage rug shop on Etsy, Turkish Rug Empire.
This rug I originally purchased as one of two options for the guest bedroom, and it happily but accidentally ended up here. I LOVE that the rug has both the blue of the chairs and the green of the coffee bar...kismet!
In the sitting area, we have our sofa from the living room in the Madison house (aka Ruby's choice sofa for napping), and the coffee table and vintage arm chair were from the loft Airbnb in our Madison House.
The window treatments were left here by the previous owners, and while they aren't what I would have chosen on my own, I really like them, they're functional, and they're nice quality—plus, I'm all about using what you already have!
You might also notice that we fogged the bottom half of the windows using a removable film...a lot of people like to walk their dogs in the field next door, and Ruby was not having it (aka she LOSES HER MIND when she sees them).
This is a pretty simple solution that allows us to let in the light, but still blocks her view. Thanks to out dog trainer Sara Crocket for this hack!
And, since this room has massive west facing windows, this is all of my plant babies' favorite room. Over the winter, this room ended up with alllll the plants from the sunroom, which is way too cold in the winter, and any plant that seems like it's struggling in another room tends to find its way here, too.
For example, the Norfolk Pine was previously in my bedroom and seemed to be doing fine, but just a few weeks ago it started turning brown. My mom suggested moving it to the west wing, and it's already doing much better!
I guess this room is destined to be a jungle, and I'm not mad about it.
And of course, artwork! This room houses a lot of meaningful pieces for us. The textile piece behind the piano (above) was a wedding gift from our friend Mike and is from the Philippines.
The framed grid wall behind the sofa (three above) are photos from a trip to Italy, and the painting beside the builtins (two above) was one I painted recently.
Lastly, the painting above the vintage chair (above photo) was gifted to us by our Grand Rapid's faith community when we moved here. It's by Grand Rapids artist Matt Plescher and is based on what is known as "The Priestly Blessing" in the Hebrew bible:
"The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace."
What else can I tell you...let's see...we swapped out the old "boob" lights for these classic brass bell jar fixtures. If you love them, I do sell them, so shoot me a message here for pricing.
The floors are knotty pine and were here when we moved in. They are brighter than I would have chosen, but I've come to really appreciate the warmth and variation in color—they hide fur and crumbs realllllly well, and we have a lot of both!
This room in particular has tapped into the maximalist eclectic designer I always knew was inside of me. I've always liked to think I'm a minimalist in the sense that I don't need a lot to live well, and anything I do have, I want to be useful, functional, or beautiful.
But, aesthetically, at least in my own home, I definitely will not claim have to have a minimalist decor approach!
Work with Lauren Figueroa Interior Design
LFID is a full-service interior design firm serving West and Southeast Michigan known especially for our Designed in a Day service.
We work with clients from Detroit to Novi to Clarkston, and Grand Rapids to Holland to Traverse City—and anywhere in between! We pride ourselves on creating bespoke, people-centered spaces—because after all, people are what this life is all about!
If you have a project on the horizon, get started by telling us about your vision here, and you can view past projects here. Thanks for stopping by!
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