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Lindsey Borchard

California Traditional Living + Dining Room

Our California Traditional project was a completely blank slate walking in. Our clients had just moved into the home and needed all new furniture. Their goal was something that felt casual and welcoming, and most importantly, acted as a place to entertain and hangout. Our clients host family very frequently and have two small children so things needed to be comfortable and kid friendly.


The home’s traditional bones were the perfect canvas. They had two living rooms, but not a traditionally formal dining room, so we didn’t want any space to feel too stuffy or “off-limits” to the busy family. Our focus with the design was to create comfortable seating areas that made a big impression when guests came over. The challenge was having that “wow” factor while ensuring the spaces were open and casual enough for guests to overflow into other spaces during dinner parties.


Because all the hard surfaces were cool, light, neutrals, we decided to add some color to warn up the space. By splurging on high performance fabric for the custom sofas (similar here), we ensured the new furniture was easy to clean. To make that “wow” statement the clients were looking for, we also splurged on designer pillows (here, here and here) to elevate the space.


Our clients are the perfect hosts. The kind that make you feel welcomed immediately, and they said in order to do that, they needed a dining area that was not too formal. They wanted a space to make entertaining relaxing for any potential impromptu dinner parties. We invested in a vintage rug (similar) to add a lot of personality to the room and help define the table and chairs. We also splurged on these beautiful leather and wood dining chairs to make sure their guests were super comfortable all night and never want to never get up from the table.


Working with our interior design clients, it’s really important to us that we find a balance in their budget. After careful consideration and planning, we’re able to advise where to splurge on investment pieces and where they can save funds to put toward additional rooms or upgrade items like amazing original artwork. In this project, we saved on the lighting. Since it isn’t a formal dining room, we could go more casual and still be impactful.


These two rooms set the tone for the rest of the house. They are truly the heart of this home because our clients entertain so often. As soon as you walk in the door, we created a space that functioned as two separate rooms, but flowed seamlessly into one inviting and casual floor plan.


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