Reviving a 1970s Family Room: Expert Decor Tips for Balancing Architecture
A Toronto homeowner recently reached out to design expert Virginie Martocq with a familiar dilemma. Their family room, added to their traditional house in the early 1970s, still holds sentimental value but desperately needs a contemporary refresh. The space features a striking brick wall, a warm wood ceiling, and a magnificent wall of windows overlooking the backyard. However, the current furniture feels disproportionately small, creating an unbalanced and somewhat ungrounded atmosphere.
Preserving the Past While Embracing the Present
Martocq immediately praised the homeowner, named Jodi, for preserving the room's original architectural textures. "I love all the warm textures you incorporated into the addition's architecture," she noted. While the brick and wood might have felt dated in the 1990s, these elements are now considered fabulous and very current. The challenge lies not in removing these features but in designing around them to create harmony.
The core issue, according to Martocq, is visual imbalance. The room possesses two very strong, competing architectural elements—the ceiling and the brick wall. Meanwhile, the wall of windows, while excellent for natural light, pulls focus entirely outdoors. The light flooring and underscaled furniture further prevent the space from feeling anchored and cohesive.
A Two-Pronged Strategy: Color and Scale
The expert proposes a focused strategy built on two pillars: strategic use of color and thoughtfully adjusting furniture scale. For a homeowner who prefers a neutral palette, Martocq suggests building upon the existing rug and drapery. A fresh coat of paint in a slightly lighter, more contemporary shade can modernize the walls. She recommends Benjamin Moore's OC-25 (Cloud Cover), a cream with a touch of grey.
Flooring presents another opportunity for enhancement. Options include:
- Textured carpet: A wall-to-wall option with a woven texture to mimic natural materials like sisal.
- Hardwood: A classic choice, though matching existing home flooring requires careful consideration.
- Large-format tile: Porcelain tile that mimics natural stone can add significant textural interest and beautifully bridge the indoor-outdoor connection.
Furniture Solutions for a Grounded Feel
To combat the scale problem, Martocq is drawn to replacing the current sofa with a substantial sectional. Placed where the existing sofa sits, a larger sectional would better balance the visual weight of the opposite brick wall and provide more seating. She notes that the configuration can comfortably wrap around, even partially covering the middle window of the trio, without issue.
She highlights the Crate and Barrel Barret II sofa as an example, praising its timeless, pared-down lines and customizable configurations. For fabric, she encourages a departure from the current light hue. "Choose a sofa fabric that has more strength of colour," she advises. Bold options could pull from teal blues or greens in the rug, while a more conservative approach would use a deeper, earthy tone several shades darker than the floor.
Finishing Touches with Personality
The existing wingback chair can be repositioned to a corner, replacing a more delicate antique piece. This chair becomes a perfect opportunity to introduce a fun, textured fabric—perhaps something velvety with a woven pattern that nods to the room's 1960s and 70s architectural roots. These patterns and colors can then be elegantly echoed in the throw pillows selected for the new sofa.
Martocq's overall vision is clear: honor the room's unique architectural history by keeping its best features, then carefully layer in modern elements of color, texture, and proportion. The goal is to transform the space into a balanced, grounded, and thoroughly contemporary family room that the homeowners will love for another fifty years.
