Elegance isn’t everything, and when it began to get in the way of function in Greg and Lisa Diamond’s Indian Run Meadows home, they decided to make a change.
The family consulted Abode Real Living, the interior design duo of Eileen Schilling and Jennifer Valenzuela who specialize in making the most out of living spaces. Schilling and Valenzuela took a look at the home and decided to take the decorative dining room and turn it into the functional office it was meant to be.
“As a project manager, I can work from home now,” Lisa says. “It used to be a sort of dining room that we never really used. The kids would come in and do their homework in there. It used to have an armoire with china in it, but that’s about it. We get so much more use out of it now.”
Next up on the to-do list was the living room. Originally a play room – no longer needed for the couple’s 14- and 12-year-old children – the space was converted into an area committed to downtime.
“We wanted to make better use of the space and help them actually use it,” Valenzuela says. “They had a computer in the corner and a couch pushed against the wall. It looked really small, so we added a few touches and personalized it for comfort.”
Inspired, the Diamond family decided to have Abode complete the entire downstairs, including the kitchen and adjacent family room.
Granite countertops were added to the kitchen, and the extended surface allows for more seating space.
“Everyone ends up congregating around the kitchen—it just happens,” Diamond says. “The kids are now at the age where they have (other) kids over, so they like to sit around the counter.”
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A wall of grayscale family photos, (visible here in the mirror above the couch) and a stream of ceramic turtle shells add interest without disturbing the room’s neutral palette. Lisa, in particular, has taken a liking to the new space.
“My family likes to watch TV in the evenings, so I’ll come into this room with a glass of wine and a book,” she says. “My son also loves to read. Each night around 7:30 you’ll find him there with a snack and his Kindle. We all tend to gravitate to here for our quiet time. We never had that before.”
The wall color extends to the built-in bookcases, making the fireplace the room’s focal point. Greg had only one request – to mount the big screen TV above the previously unused fireplace.
“He got his wish,” Lisa says.
