Home By Design Weekly Article | A Jewel of a Room

A jewel box, even one artfully made, is meant to showcase the jewels rather than the box itself. This room, located in a show house in Westchester, Connecticut, is like that jewel box. The coffered ceiling and wall of windows make bold architectural statements but serve as unassuming backdrops for the brilliant tones of the art, accessories, and accent pieces.

For designer Rona Landman of Rona Landman Interior Design, the jumping-off point for this family room was the fireplace. When she first found it, it was an eyesore clad with wooden planks. “I thought it ruined the beauty of the room,” she says. Landman found a coppery wallpaper and covered the fireplace with it. That choice helped the design come together. “That started to transform the room with the color and feel that I wanted,” she says.

The fireplace wasn’t the only unusual place to get a wallpaper treatment. Landman also lined the edges of the ceiling with a metallic graphic print. The wainscoting on the ceiling center received its own dose of shine with metallic paint. Reflection is a recurrent theme in the room. The light from the windows allows the metallic surfaces to shimmer. Reflections are echoed in the mirrored sofa table and the glossy surfaces of other accent furniture in the room.

The neutral walls serve as a calming balance for the room’s glamour. Landman says, “I kept the off-white paint color. It worked well with everything in there, so I didn’t want to change that. I wanted to show how easy it is to use neutrals as a backdrop and then enhance it by putting in jewel-like pieces of furniture.” The nesting tables, benches, and bar cart are from Landman’s furniture line, Inspired. “I wanted to highlight the furniture in the room. The pieces are relatively small scale and I believe each speaks for itself. They make a nice statement and bring in a punch of color. ”

The brown tones of the chairs, sofa, and ottoman are neutral elements, but neutral need not be boring. The upholstered pieces have traditional lines, but with an updated twist. “Wing chairs are classics, but we overscaled them to make them more modern,” says Landman. Like the upholstery, the Greek key rug is another classic ingredient that helps anchor the modern elements.