Julie Fletcher, president of Interiors by Julie Fletcher of Aurora, Colorado, critiqued Mike Lynch and Katie Koch's recreation room in their newly built mountain home. The homeowners, who are getting married next fall, have an undecorated recreation room that provides a blank canvas for Fletcher to critique. Fletcher offered the couple advice on how to decorate their recreation room for a complete yet functional look that is interesting and inviting.

Fletcher is a Colorado native and an award-winning interior designer with 26 years of design experience. She has a degree in interior design and is an Allied Member of ASID. Fletcher specializes in art consulting for major corporations, small businesses and individuals.

"The first thing I notice when I critique a room is the lighting. Although this room has recessed lighting and is well-lit, it lacks mood lighting. Lighting works great when set up as a 'triangle,' so there should be lamps placed throughout the room in this formation," said Fletcher.

Fletcher recommends placing lamps on each side of the sofa and one standing lamp across the room. For optimal lighting, use light linen lamp shades and standing lamps that reach over the couch or chair and shine downward.

Flooring is another important component to consider in a space. "When you choose flooring for a recreation room, find a sturdy, durable carpet with a good warranty that will wear well. Mike and Katie have STAINMASTER® carpet in this room, which is great for these spaces because it has a wonderful warranty and is quite resilient," said Fletcher.

Fletcher urges homeowners to have fun with pattern, texture and color in their flooring selections. The texture and pattern in Corinthian, a Berber loop STAINMASTER® carpet style from Shaw, adds an extra visual element to the space. She recommends an area rug for the seating area of this room that stops six inches from the entertainment center. If the couple decides to leave the entry space open, an area rug would work nicely there as well. "Mike and Katie should choose area rugs that they love; the area rugs should not match each other. Area rugs are like pieces of art and contribute a great deal to the feel of the room."

According to Fletcher, this room is very plain and needs more color, pattern and texture. She recommends using art, window treatments and accessories to inject interest into this space.

"Artwork is the most important element people can place in their homes. Art should reflect travels and personal experiences and should be special. One misconception is that artwork in a room should match, when in fact it should not. You can blend Western, African and contemporary pieces. Be sure to hang all art 58 inches from the floor up (measuring from the center of the piece), so that the art in the room is balanced despite the size or color," said Fletcher.

For this room, Fletcher recommends one long narrow piece of art or a series of pieces over the sofa. The empty wall space in this room should be filled with art, while a sculpture on a pedestal in a corner of the room would add an extra dimension to the space. However, mirrors would not work in this space. "When you hang mirrors consider what they reflect, and if it is the bathroom door, you may want to reconsider hanging a mirror. In order to work, mirrors have to have a function and a mirror would not make sense in this room," said Fletcher.

For the windows in this room, Fletcher suggests installing cornice boxes with pattern and color to lengthen the windows and give them a finished look. Additionally, the two windows in this room are different sizes. "To create the illusion that the windows are the same size, mount the existing wood shades outside of the shorter window, adding length to it."

Fletcher said, "Mike and Katie should incorporate any colors they like into the room; however, deep tones and warmer colors will work best. A red and gold combination would work well on a cornice box over the windows. Color and pattern can easily be injected with a cornice box and texture can be injected with pillows on the sofa."

Geometric patterns will work well in this space, while vertical lines or floral prints will not match the straight lines and clean look of the space. Additionally, the texture on the sofa is so smooth and shiny that pillows with a contrasting matte finish would work nicely against the leather and would add an extra element to the room.

"The exercise equipment does not work in this room. A game table or a pub table with four comfortable chairs would fit the purpose of the space," said Fletcher.

The homeowners would like a bar in this space to help them entertain. A stand alone bar with stools would work perfectly in the entry space. Additionally, the refrigerator in this room should be behind the bar.

After her critique of the Denver recreation room, Fletcher adds, "I don't worry about trends because I want to create a room that is timeless and unique. I strive to find something that my client can evolve with and add onto. Furniture and remodeling is expensive so it is important to find items you can live with for years. Keep in mind that you do not have to finish a room all at once. I love to see people travel to get their art."