This Detroit Colonial Living Room Gets a Makeover with a Blast of Floral Wallpaper

This Designed in a Day session project comes to you from the city of Grosse Point, Michigan. My clients house was a very traditional colonial style home with a center stairwell. I love this kind of a layout!

When you walk into the house, it feels very grand with a large staircase and central hallway. To the right, you find the living room, which was the subject of our day session. To the left was the dining room, and behind the dining room was the kitchen.

My client moved to Grosse Pointe from Chicago back in 2021, and while they've been slowly checking projects off the list, they finally felt professional help was the answer to getting their living room makeover where they wanted it to be.

The Living Room Makeover

We were starting with a beautiful blank slate of a room—nothing in here needed to stay—with it's gorgeous cove ceilings, a grand bay window, and a stately central fireplace.

The room is long and narrow, as many of these colonial style homes living rooms are, which can be tricky for creating layouts for modern living—these rooms were not designed around having a TV!

This is my clients main location for watching TV and movies with their family, and they also like to store games and books in this area as well. One set of their parents live close by as well, and they do a lot of hosting between family and friends.

Project Style Inspiration

We started out by taking a look at two Instagram accounts that my client really connected with.

The first is Ellie Hervin (@ellie_the_home_bird on instagram), and the second is Stef Turner (@stefmturner on instagram) .

Here's a quick screen shot of each of their feeds so you can get a feel for their styles:

Inspiration by Stef Turner

Inspiration by Elie Hervin

My client said she wanted color, warmth, and pattern. She said she didn't like clutter, but she also doesn't like minimalism. She wanted cozy, casual, and collected.

And she definitely wanted wallpaper—YAY!

The Living Room Layout—Creating Two Zones

My client was excited about the idea of having a game table live in the space, so my first thought was to split the room into two different zones and not even try to center up the room on the fireplace.

This really open things up for us to be able to refine the layout:

We used the left side of the room as our sitting area and defined that using a large area rug, and on the right side, the bay window created the perfect nook for a game table, as well as a little piano practice area, opposite a narrow console for book and game storage.

The Living Room Design & Iterations

Here were my first two iterations of the design, which are exactly hte same aside from the wallpaper and the paint selections for the fireplace.

My client's feedback on the original design is that she wanted to see examples of dining chairs for the game table that would be more comfortable, and she wanted end tables that would be more sturdy when two small kiddos were running around.

Wallpaper wise, she leaned toward option two (me too!).

Wallpaper & Paint Option One

Wallpaper & Paint Option Two

Next you'll see a few different variations on chairs and side tables. I chose tables that had wider, drum style bases:

Dining Chair & Side Table Variation 1

Dining Chair & Side Table Variation 2

Dining Chair & Side Table Variation 3

My client ultimately chose dining chair variation number one, but needed more time to decide on end tables.

Below you can see a better example of how the space would look with the wallpaper, as well as some pillow and throw ideas for the sitting area:

Following our session, my client asked if I might have a few options to replace the accent chairs with a more cost effective swivel, and if there were a few other options for side tables and ottomans that might be a bit more economical as well.

Here are three versions I came up with below!

Swivel Chair & Side Table Variation One

Swivel Chair & Side Table Variation Two

Accent Chair & Side Table Variation Three

I'm excited to see which direction my client chooses! They're all great options, and with her custom furniture collection and list of item links, it will be very easy for her and her partner to execute their project like a pro.

Which is your favorite? Let me know in the comments below!

Shop the Living Room Design

Most of the above items can be found in my client's custom collection here. Additional items can be found linked below.

ADDITIONAL DESIGN RESOURCES, ELEMENTS, + LINKS

• Wallpaper (Peonia in Sage)

• Tiffany Light (1) 

• Curtain Rods (2) 

  • Length: 48"-88"

  • Finish: Oil-Rubbed Bronze

• Curtain Panels (2) 

  • Fabric: Sandstone Melange

  • Length: *I did not grab the height of your window or ceilings, but choose the length that allows you to hang them as high as possible below the trim and still touch the floor. 

• Banquette (1) 

  • Fabric: Essex

  • Size: 48"

  • Tufting: Diamond Tufting

• Sectional Sofa (1) 

  • Fabric: Camel

  • Leg: Oiled Walnut Tapered Turned Wood 

  • Depth: Standard, 37"

  • Size: 104"

  • Cushion Fill: Client's Choice 

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Work with Lauren Figueroa Interior Design

Lauren Figueroa is an interior designer working with folks in West + Southeast Michigan and NYC, known especially for her unique and speedy Designed in a Day service.

LFID works with clients from Detroit to Clarkston, and all the way to Grand Rapids, Holland and Traverse City, and most recently, NYC. I pride myself on creating bespoke, people-centered spaces—because after all, the people you love is what this life is all about!

If you have a project on the horizon, get started by telling me about your vision here, and you can view past projects here.

Thanks for stopping by!