Interior designer Laura Keany, principal of South Coast Design, critiqued the living room of a California coastal home with an extraordinary view and provided her insights to Savvy Home Design™. Keany is an ASID certified designer with 25 years experience in all facets of design.

Keany specializes in model home, contract, and private residential design. Laura's extensive knowledge and experience in facilitating projects from the blueprint phase to actual installation translated into great design advice for Californian homeowners, Jim and Susan Walsh.

The design ingenuity Keany offered presented the Walsh's with several creative ways to transform their living room into a welcoming space with an entrancing view. Laura chose to critique the living room largely because the open windows with the Pacific Ocean view could create a magnificent focal point with the right window treatments. There are also furniture pieces in the room that are out of scale and the color scheme is monochromatic. Keany provides insightful advice to easily alleviate these design issues and general tips that can be applied to any home.

The first thing Laura looks at when she is critiquing a room is the scale of the objects in the room. "I notice the proportion of items in a room immediately. It is important to watch the scale of objects when you are putting a room together. You do not want to pair a solid piece of furniture with a fragile piece. It throws off the balance of the room and the smaller piece is over shadowed," says Keany. She recommends choosing the main elements of the room first, then selecting accent pieces of the same proportion.

For example, the Walsh's living room sofa, which is a substantial piece of furniture, is paired with a very delicate end table. According to Keany, "The frail end table would be more appropriate next to one of the chairs or removed from the room completely, replacing it with a more robust end table to match the scale of the sofa."

The large open windows in the Walsh's living room create the perfect opportunity for an excellent focal point with the appropriate window treatments. "Window treatments introduce interest, texture and height to a space. Woven Roman match-stick blinds would add to the Walsh's coastal atmosphere and bring more texture to the space," says Keany. Laura suggests treating each window individually with woven wood blinds at the top of the windows, then adding non-functional white linen drapes as side panels. The white linen will keep the room feeling light and airy, and cohesive with the beach theme.

The window treatments should incorporate the entire wall, and start at the ceiling to add height. These treatments will create the look of a single grand window, using drapes to cover wall space in between the windows and drawing attention to the magnificent view.

"Color, pattern and texture are all important elements that add depth and allure to a space. Although the room has bright pieces in it, the colors used are very monochromatic. A blue-grey robin's egg color on the walls would add warmth to the room and bring subtle contrast to the white drapes," says Keany. Additional punches of color, pattern and texture can be added to this space through flooring, accessories and art.

Broadloom STAINMASTER carpet in any color or style can be bound or surged, a budget conscious alternative to an area rug and perfect for any décor. "Use bright colors and thick cable yarn to add both color and texture to a space with bound or surged carpet," says Laura.

"Additionally, adding accessories like pillows and fresh flowers in orange, yellow or blue will further channel the beautiful San Diego coast sunset. Use pillows to inject pattern and texture and avoid using palm trees, which are beach clichés. Use floral patterns instead for a more personal touch," says Keany. If you are on a budget, you can still use that beautiful yet expensive fabric you've had your eye on. She recommends covering only half of the pillow with the expensive fabric to save money.

Art is another great way to add punches of color and personalization to any space. "An inexpensive way to change your décor with art is to cut pictures from an art book or calendar and frame them in groupings for impact," says Keany.

Keany also suggests using durable, stain resistant fabrics or pattern for your furniture and flooring to resist or conceal stains. "Although we wish our homes to be beautiful, we need them to be livable. Fortunately for homeowners, fabrics and flooring today offer both beauty and livability," says Keany.

According to Keany, "When revamping home décor it is important to look at the overall space and assess the feeling that you want to convey. Use home magazines, show rooms and fashion for inspiration. Also, think outside of the box. Line your furniture at angles to add interest to a space. Also switch furniture and accessories in different rooms in your house to refresh your décor."

"A space should never be finalized. Always keep an eye open for that one piece that will give your room something extra and be sure to experiment to come up with the unexpected!" says Keany.