Kevin Francis O’Gara Turns a Development Office Into a Comprehensive Apartment
When exploring for a position to connect with house, Atlanta designer Kevin Francis O’Gara stumbled on an unconventional alternative: the apartment developer’s place of work. “My property made use of to be the profits office environment for Hedgewood Households although they had been developing the neighborhood, so it had a meeting area, place of work, and sitting area for future prospective buyers,” suggests the founder of Kevin Francis Design.
While that might not have been the to start with alternative for much less imaginative owners, Francis observed the probable: “It was these kinds of a blank slate when I moved in, but all the finishes ended up superb, from the alabaster walls to the product tile in the kitchen area,” he gushes. Additionally, with his expertise marketing handmade rugs and curated decor, O’Gara experienced all the instruments on hand to reimagine it.
Converting a company area to a household just one had its problems, even so: “There were no closets in the dwelling,” O’Gara remembers, that means he experienced to get creative with storage in unforeseen places. An emphasis on the community-struggling with dwelling and kitchen area locations intended that the bedroom and study were lacking in home windows and therefore, precious light-weight. Furthermore, the space’s previous life still left rather of a sterile high-quality.
Much more From Home Wonderful
“I required it to truly feel like an escape from the earth.”
O’Gara solved the latter two conundrums by including depth and texture—both literal and figurative. He leaned into the back spaces with moody palettes and layered antiques and art to give the white box a homey really feel. “It meant a lot for me to be ready to use antiques from my mother and grandparents, primarily pieces that I grew up with, which actually elevate the style and design and make it truly feel more private,” states the designer. “I genuinely consider every room advantages from a person previous brown wood piece of home furnishings to floor the layout, so I’m content to see these kinds of pieces earning a comeback.”
Kitchen
“I’m entirely spoiled by my magnificent kitchen area, which capabilities bleached oak cabinetry and a built-in espresso maker, and was created by Hedgewood cofounder Pam Sessions,” claims O’Gara. He extra barstools from his own collection and antique lithographs to make it his have.
Residing Place
The spot rug, grey barrel-backed chair, and alabaster lamp are all from Kevin Francis Design and style. “My resources actually run the gamut, from House Depot to the antique retail store down the street,” states the designer.
Sectional: Write-up. Mirror: Ballard Designs. Espresso desk: Antique/Parc Monceau. Portrait art: Josh Youthful. Embroidered pillows: West Elm. Blue Ikat pillows: Vintage/Antiques & Over and above. Queen Anne eating chairs: Antique with China Seas fabric. Round pedestal table: Anthropologie. Marketing campaign desk: Antique. Rattan chairs: Mostly Baskets Residence.
Analyze
Proven at best.
Considering the fact that the study—in distinction to the dazzling, open living area and kitchen—gets small to no light, O’Gara went all in on creating it experience moody and inviting. “The wallpaper in my study is undoubtedly a beloved minute of mine because it’s such a visible shock that unfolds as you walk into the space,” says the designer. “It’s been these a discussion starter and men and women are generally so intrigued by the sample when they peek by means of the doorway I enjoy how it draws you into the space.”
Place of work
O’Gara framed architectural ideas from his childhood property to hang around his desk, an antique campaign-fashion piece whose drawers supply lots of storage. The ever-transforming bulletin board atop it also serves as a variety of rotating artwork piece. “With each vignette, I tried using to add 1 outdated issue that would elevate the structure and give a storied, collected appear, even if it was just a little accessory,” suggests the designer.
Bed room
“I test to area a mirror somewhere in just about every place to give the place far more dimension,” suggests O’Gara. The procedure is especially precious in a little space like O’Gara’s bedroom. Due to the fact the place made available small by way of wall area, he hung dark curtains throughout the windows to provide as a backdrop for the bed.
Selendi region rug: Kevin Francis Style and design. Upper body of drawers: Antique. Mirror: Classic. Headboard: Wayfair. Nightstand: AllModern. Quilt and shams: West Elm. Material: West Elm. Throw pillows: Williams-Sonoma Residence Summary portray: Kevin Francis Style and design Lamps: Kevin Francis Structure
Q&A
Residence Lovely: What was the inspiration for the new layout?
Kevin Francis O’Gara: With the wall of windows in my living room, I desired to emphasize the airiness of this place so I layered shades of product to produce a light-weight foundation for this room. I pulled pops of blue into the accents (my favorite coloration), which tie in my Cairene rug and enhance the heat wooden tones on my dining table and antique desk. This coloration palette also displays the kitchen, producing a wonderful blend that is light-weight and inviting in the course of the working day but glows at evening.
To contrast the brilliant living space, I went darkish and moody in my bedroom and research. I pulled gray velvet curtains throughout the full bed room wall to include depth and distinction to the place (which in fact allows the back wall recede, earning it come to feel even bigger!). I painted the review a abundant darkish brown and hung a daring crane wallpaper to make this room sense further special. It is in which I view motion pictures and Television and also doubles as a guest place, so I required it to experience like an escape from the globe.
HB: What was the trickiest component of the challenge?
KFO: A person of the biggest problems of this space was the lack of purely natural light-weight in the bed room and analyze. These rooms have just one particular lesser window, but as a substitute of fighting this constraint, I embraced the dark and moody seem in these rooms to produce cozier spaces that basically feel significantly larger. Also, my apartment doesn’t have a closet because it was created as a product sales workplace, so I maximized the storage furniture in each individual area, applying armoires and dressers to keep my apparel!
HB: In which did the greater part of the spending plan go?
KFO: The majority of my budget went to upholstered pieces like my living home sectional that I knew I would get lots of use out of, provide the ideal location for entertaining close friends and use for a truly prolonged time. I also invested in a huge, personalized-sized rug from my new Iconium selection for the residing home to definitely give the seating spot a stunning foundation. I definitely built that rug with my living place in thoughts, making use of a sunlight-pale palette and cream track record that feels gentle but is however simple!
HB: How did you save dollars/Do it yourself/get crafty?
KFO: I enjoy a blend of higher and reduced, and my sources really run the gamut, from House Depot to the antique keep down the road. I also scored the pedestal dining table from an Anthropologie outlet in Augusta—it was so worthy of the five-hour generate! I painted a ton of the artwork myself, and obtained imaginative with found parts, like framing previous architectural options from my childhood dwelling that I hung above my desk.
HB: Any other memorable facts?
KFO: My poodle Leopold possibly spends about 90{a57a8b399caa4911091be19c47013a92763fdea5dcb0fe03ef6810df8f2f239d} of his time on my dwelling room sectional—it’s like his small runway. He loves going for walks down the sectional and hunting out each individual window to keep an eye on just about every passerby!
Follow Dwelling Beautiful on Instagram.