Two-Story Living Room Design | Contemporary Coastal Home
A frequently-asked question we hear from our clients is how to design a two-story living room- and that was a key element for this contemporary coastal home design in Durham, NC. Specifically, how we would furnish this very tall room to feel inviting, balanced, and complete. Working in alignment with this room’s soaring ceiling and expansive window, we brought in extra plush seating, artfully layered patterns, large art, and all the unique coastal-inspired details that brought these clients so much joy.
This Durham NC home featured a two-story living room with beautiful natural light, custom built-ins, and a stone fireplace. The contemporary coastal design included layering shades of blue with cool neutrals to complement the bright, airy feeling of the room.
Coastal, Reinvented
A little backstory on this home. If you've been following along, you know these homeowners have an inland home here in Durham, NC, but are originally from the New England coastal area. After years of living along the beautiful beaches there, they wanted to bring a little bit of that into their home here in Durham, and brought us in to help. We took an approach on coastal interior design that felt fresh, while still tying in elements of sea and sand to make it feel like home for this wonderful couple.
Layered open patterns and shades of blue create a coastal-inspired undercurrent in this Durham home design. Adding touches of modern in art and decor keep the design feeling fresh and interesting.
Custom upholstered armchairs added a pop of layered pattern and an airy blue and white color palette to this contemporary coastal design.
A Painted Ceiling
Creating a cozy feeling in a 2-story room involves a lot of strategic elements. In this room, well-sized plush furniture pieces, a perfectly sized rug with an open pattern, and a painted ceiling in a deep blue-green hue gave this room the mix of airy and cozy that felt just right for these clients. While the undercurrent of this multi-room design is a beautiful blue and white color story, we added depth an interest to the room by layering different color saturations and intensities to create a full, dimensional color palette. The soft blue walls of this room were perfectly primed for contrast, and we couldn't resist completing the space with a pop of moody, deep blue-green on the ceiling. You'll recognize this as the color that also graces the kitchen island).
A deep blue ceiling paint color and light blue wall color create a fresh take on contemporary coastal design in this water-inspired two-story living room - Durham North Carolina - Catherine French Design
Large Art and Layers
In a two-story living room, scale matters even more. What we mean by that is the ratio of the furnishings to the size of the room. Pieces that are too small will make the space feel cavernous. Scaling art and details is also important to give the room a balanced feel. A large art piece on the mantle layered with smaller, interesting detailed items creates balance in this room. The custom built-ins are styled with both larger and smaller items, including different shapes and textures- again adding depth to the space for balance.
The large stone fireplace in this Durham home design is flanked by tall custom built-ins. Bringing in a large focal art piece and layering in items of different shapes, sizes and colors keeps the room feeling balanced and complete. It was also the perfect way to bring in some coastal decor that felt meaningful to these wonderful clients.
For more from this home, you can view the full design on our portfolio here:
Connect With Us
Have questions about your own home design?
We’d love to help. Connect with us below!
Or, you can always give us a holler over at hello@catfrenchdesign.com. We’d love to hear from you<3
And if you’d like to follow along for more in-the-moment happenings and goings-on of this bustling design team, you can also find us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Pinterest!