Are you tackling a tricky room layout? Struggling to find the perfect color palette? Wondering how to blend your style with your space? Our in-house interior design expert, Jaclyn Bohn, is here to help!
Through renovating, furnishing, and decorating two of her own houses, Jaclyn has been able to utilize what she’s learned from her experiences to help others not only settle into their homes, but love spending time in them as well.
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Stylish Solutions for Kitchen Remodels, Fireplace Updates, and More
Our in-house design expert Jaclyn Bohn answers readers’ top design questions to help them transform their spaces.
Help!!!! We want to remodel our kitchen, but we want the remodel to complement our 1920’s 4,285 sq feet home. All floors are European clay tile, and the roof is Spanish tile with copper soffits. Any tips would be lovely and much appreciated. Thank you! –Morgan and Grant D., Hedrick, IA
Hi, Morgan and Grant! Your house sounds absolutely stunning. For a kitchen remodel that will complement your home, you want to incorporate modern functionality while still maintaining the 1920’s Mediterranean vibe. To do this, I would use warm, earthy tones such as soft whites, deep browns, and terracotta, which should play off of the European clay tile. I would also incorporate natural materials such as stone countertops in light tones. A marble or white quartz with gold veining would go really well with the earth tone color scheme. For the cabinets, I would go with a darker oak stain with brass hardware, and if you want some contrast in a kitchen island, I would do the base of an island in a muted shade of green which stays in the earth tone color family. For the backsplash, I would explore Zellige tiles, which is a handcrafted tile from Morocco. Each tile typically has some imperfections and irregularities which overall gives it a very organic, natural feel. You could also go with hand painted tiles if you are looking to incorporate more color and pattern and really lean into Spanish-inspired kitchens. I would also do a farmhouse sink, a brass faucet to match the cabinet hardware, and open shelving to be able to display cookbooks, hand painted bowls and plants.
Our living room has a stone fireplace that we want to look more contemporary. I would love to cover it, but I’m not sure what would be the best way to do this. I’ve seen some frame and cover it with shiplap, but I’m not sure that’s the look we want. –John W., Philadelphia, PA
Thank you for your question, John! Unless you are planning to take out the stone entirely and replace it with something else, I would recommend leaning into it and figuring out how to work around it, rather than covering it up with shiplap. There are a few ways you can modernize a stone fireplace, the first being painting the stone one color to give it a more neutral, modern feel. You can whitewash them, but I would lean towards going with a darker charcoal tone. Next, I would incorporate a black, modern fireplace screen. This can either be one that’s built in with doors or a standalone screen. I would also add a large, floating mantle, which can help to modernize a space versus an older, more traditional style mantle. You can also get a set of modern fireplace tools and a leather log holder, as I think once you start to decorate the fireplace itself with pieces that fit the style you are going for, you will notice the overall appearance changes.
I have an 800 sq foot long and narrow vacation condo, with an 18-foot wall that I’m trying to fill up. This is part of the dining room living room combo. The long wall has a metal entry table about 4 feet long. Then a big space and then a dresser-turned-tv stand that is 5–6 feet long. I don’t know what to put between the brownish entry table and tan tv stand. Across from the space is my white dining table and white end tables. How do I tie everything together and what can I fill up the big gap with? Any help is appreciated! –Maureen M., Sarasota, FL
Hi, Maureen! Without seeing pictures but having a general idea of what the wall looks like, I’m going to try and help you through this. It sounds like you have table height pieces of furniture on both ends of the wall. Typically, in a dining space I would incorporate a buffet or sideboard, but since that’s another piece of furniture that would be table height, we need to have some variety here. On an 18-foot wall, with two pieces of furniture totaling approximately 10 feet, we have about 8 feet to work. I would suggest either doing a gallery wall lined up with your dining table length, an oversized piece of art, around 5 ft tall by 6 feet wide, or those dimensions flipped, or a tall glass or black cabinet that is at least 3 feet wide. Even better if it’s closer to 4 feet wide. On each side of the cabinet, or on each side of the large art, I would add wall sconces which will help fill space the further without adding additional pieces of furniture. These options will help fill the wall space while also adding some visual variety in height, color and texture.
We are building a house and plan to have an open ceiling on the first floor. Our builder is using rough-hewn joists, so it’ll add a bit of rustic charm. I’d love suggestions for the type of wood we should use for the floor that would be complementary. Thanks! –Katya D., Waterbury, VT
Congratulations on the house! To complement the rustic charm, you are looking to achieve, you use either reclaimed oak which has natural character and imperfections or wide-plank oak which also goes well with the exposed beams. With both options, I would go with a matte finish so that the details of the wood are able to shine through, and slightly darker shade from natural oak, which will also help highlight the details of the wood while warming up the space.