THE GOOD LIFE
Sleep, Play, Repeat
Designer Katie Emmons creates a playroom with sleepovers in mind
MAKE ROOM “I couldn’t make the ceiling higher, but those niches were the perfect place to create bunk beds,” Emmons says. “It’s a T-shaped space, and there’s not much to do with those little nooks, so we had to incorporate small, comfortable furniture.” She created a seating area by the window with an apartment-sized sofa, two accent chairs, and round ottoman poufs that leave plenty of floor space.
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OVER THE LAST THREE YEARS, Katie Emmons, owner of Katie Emmons Design, transformed her client’s Myers Park home room by room. All that was left was a third-floor space that had become a dumping ground for toys and old furniture. The homeowners wanted their two children to have a place for sleepovers, but the quirky room full of nooks and sloped ceilings didn’t leave much space for traditional beds. Emmons worked with the irregular dimensions and built bunk beds into the niches to create a room where the kids could sleep and play. —Taylor Bowler
LIGHTEN UP Emmons lightened the dingy, khaki walls with Simply White by Benjamin Moore and upholstered the chairs in a bright cobalt blue fabric for a pop of color. The white coverlets on the bunk beds came from West Elm, the black and white gingham sheets are Serena & Lily, and all lighting is courtesy of Visual Comfort. She installed an overhead light fixture, two sconces on each side of the beds, lamps on either side of the sofa, and wallmounted lights inside each bed for reading. “Layers of lighting add a lot of personality,” she says, “and you can decide what mood you want to create.”
CHARLOTTEMAGAZINE.COM // AUGUST 2020
TIMELESS BLUE Her client’s 10-year-old daughter wanted a playroom filled with bold color, but Emmons worked with a more neutral palette that would age with both kids. “Bright cobalt blue is so livable, and black and white is just timeless,” she says. “Using both of those colors gave it a lot of energy, which it was really lacking before. Plus, I find blue to be the color people like for the longest amount of time.”
BRIE WILLIAMS AND KENDRA SURFACE
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