Designer Critique: Savvy Home Design™ Meets With Interior Designer Jacquelyn LeFevers to Transition an Ordinary Room Into a Work of Genius

For this issue, Savvy Home Design™ met with Jacquelyn LeFevers from Square O.N.E., Interiors by Design. LeFevers is an A.S.I.D. certified designer with experience in both residential and commercial projects. Some of her design projects include Trump Towers in New York City, Warwick Towers in Houston and Waterfall in Clayton, Georgia, which was featured in Southern Living magazine.

LeFevers, with 25 years of design industry experience, graciously offered easy, budget conscious suggestions on turning what may be the least noticeable room in the house into a showcase.

LeFevers visited the lovely Atlanta home of Steve and Susan Creel. A walk through of the home revealed the one room with the greatest potential for a successful makeover -- the dining room. LeFevers? expertise provided suggestions for transforming an ordinary room into a crowd-drawing delight.

How to add height to a room:
LeFevers first noticed that the dining room seemed to close in on you. A number of things can open a space and create a feeling of continuity. The white ceiling was in stark contrast with the bronze faux finished walls. LeFevers recommended taking one of the lighter bronze tones in the faux finish to the ceiling to give the room more depth.

LeFevers also recommended removal of the chair rail or painting it to blend with the walls. LeFevers added, ?When there is a low ceiling of eight or nine feet, a chair rail cuts the room in half. Removing it all together will open up the room.?

Additionally, the short cabinets on the back wall give the illusion that the ceiling ends with the cabinets. According to LeFevers, ?The cabinets should be removed or separated. They not only shrink the room, but they also serve as a boring focal point.?

Creating a focal point:
The Creel?s dining room has the look and feel of traditional elegance; however, without a focal point, the room, although soothing, can be easily overlooked and a bit dull. According to LeFevers, the focal point is the first thing you see when you enter a room and the one thing you remember when you leave. The focal point of the room should draw a person into the room. LeFevers recommends making the focal point symmetrical, giving the room balance and avoiding a look that is too busy or cluttered.

Opening the space in a dramatic way:
There is only one way to open this space in a dramatic way?mirrors, mirrors and mirrors! LeFevers recommended using tinted, bronze mirrors on all of the walls creating a jewel box appearance. Alternately, one mirror can be used as a focal point on the back wall. If a single mirror on the back wall is used, LeFevers recommended hanging a painting inside of the mirror to add a splash of life to the room.

LeFevers found the perfect painting in another room of the Creel?s house that would look spectacular set in a bronze mirror on the back wall of the dining room. It could serve as the eye-catching focal point the dining room needs.

Additional details to spruce up the room:
LeFevers suggested adding fully upholstered host and hostess wing back chairs. According to LeFevers, ?Red or black would work with the color scheme in this particular room. Black is great because it is a neutral, but it brings both depth and color to a room. More dramatic patterns would also work well here.?

First choice for a centerpiece in the room is a crystal bowl. It would work perfectly with the added mirrors. When crystal is paired with mirrors it picks up the reflected light, allowing the room to dance. Adding water and fresh flowers to the crystal bowl would add a little more zing to the centerpiece. Using an odd number of candles is another option for a centerpiece.

Bound carpet or area rugs are perfect for this type of room, according to LeFevers. ?Rugs are a great way to inject color in a room,? says LeFevers, ?they are also easy to roll up and switch out when it is time to redesign.? STAINMASTER® carpet offers many options of rugs that work with any room décor and the stain-resistant technology of STAINMASTER® nylon 6,6 makes it the perfect choice for a busy family.