For the Boys: Dane Austin Design Participates in a Room to Dream Foundation Project
Guest blog post by Caitlin McLaughlin and Holly Vogel, members of the Dane Austin Design team who each designed a room for a family through the Room to Dream Foundation. Installation took place in September. Participating companies, including Dane Austin Design, will be honored by the Room to Dream Foundation at Wellesley Country Club on October 16, 2023.
Stefan Nathanson, from The Room to Dream Foundation, along with Dan Ryan of Shawmut Construction, invited Dane Austin Design to be a part of The Room To Dream team for 2023. Thrilled to participate, Dane Austin's firm accepted.
Designers Holly Vogel and Caitlin McLaughlin decided to divide and conquer the two rooms by each taking ownership of one of the rooms. Holly designed for Xavier, 16 and Olivier, 12 while Caitlin accepted the challenge to design the bedroom for Jameson, 16 and Jarett, 16.
ROOM FOR JAMESON AND JARETT BY CAITLIN
Jameson and Jarett are teenage twins who share a bedroom. While their aesthetic tastes are almost opposite - Jarett preferring blue and Jameson favoring red - creating individual areas for each young man was the challenge.
Jameson has a musical talent with the guitar, while Jarett loves listening to vinyl records. They both love sports and sneakers.
One request was made -- a full-over-full size bunk bed -- leaving the rest of the design open for creative solutions.
The bunk beds, two existing windows, and closet were a given; but storage for clothing and overall furniture layout was selected upon the size of the space.
The 11'3 x 10'4 room includes a full size bunk bed, 10'x10' wool rug, two dressers, two swivel chairs with a center table, an area for baseball hats, two additional underbed storage drawers, 43" Smart TV, additional shelving, lighting, record player, full-length mirror, custom closet and custom-design-and-build feature ceiling, that cascades down the far wall.
Initially, knowing that both of the young men like music, the thought of installing an insulated slat wall to soften the sounds of guitar and vinyl was proposed. After collaborating with Jerry, from Starlite Building Services, he developed upon this idea and created an absolute work of art. https://www.starlitebuildingservices.com
The black walnut of the feature wall and ceiling contrasted harmoniously with the pale blue paint color that enveloped the ceiling, walls and trim (SW Rain 6219), provided by Sherwin Williams through Heather Bourgeois and Samantha Noonan. https://www.sherwin-williams.com
Contrasting against the pale blue walls is a geometric fabric sourced from Zimmans in Lynn, MA. http://www.zimmans.com/ and fabricated by Makkas Workroom in Framingham, MA https://makkasdrapery.com
Across from the walnut ceiling and wall, is the dark wood full bunk bed, which balances the wood across the room. Select pieces were chosen to fit the remaining spaces and which are all anchored by a large wool rug, spanning across the area of the newly laid wood floor. The flooring can be seen as you enter into the room, as well as inside the custom closet, designed by Hailee Jacobson at California Closets.
Each item placed in the room was designed to the inch -- there was literally no room for error. Alas, math wins again! Once everything was installed, TV hung and accessories styled, the twins were welcomed into their newly designed space. With wide eyes and with even bigger smiles, this project was a huge success for everyone involved.
ROOM FOR OLIVIER AND XAVIER BY HOLLY
It was such a pleasure to design Olivier and Xavier's room! Like their brothers Jameson and Jarrett, they are both kind, bright-eyed, and have a wide range of interests. While they share a love of music and geography, they are very much their own unique selves. Olivier is a fan of Edgar Allan Poe, Legos, the "2000 Black Ford Mustang", chemistry, and fishing. Xavier loves historical fiction, and is drawn towards all things Japanese, including writing in Kanji (Japanese characters) and "the bright lights of Tokyo." He also loves to participate in business skill development competitions which involve writing and presenting.
Despite their wonderful collection of interests, I knew that my primary goals for this space would focus on privacy, self-expression, ample storage, and a workspace. After thinking through the overall design, I came up with the idea of adding a wall just past the sloped portion of the ceiling, which would play a role in simultaneously achieving all of these goals. By providing each with their own "nook", he would have some degree of privacy, a space of his own to decorate however he liked, and additional under-bed storage. This then allowed for a custom desk area on the other half of the room, along with a larger shared dresser.
Once I sketched out some plans, I discussed it with Dan Ryan of Shawmut and Jerry Whalen of Starlite, who, with the positivity and enthusiasm they expressed from beginning to end, accepted this challenge. Feeling emboldened by their reactions, I requested a custom L-shaped desk as well, and lo and behold, after a few more drawings and conversations, it too magically appeared on install weekend.
The piece de resistance on the nooks were operable curtains that were flawlessly made and generously donated by Makkas Workroom in Framingham, providing a sense of privacy for each of the kids. We were also fortunate to have Landry and Arcari donate a beautiful, thick, neutral wool rug, which made the space feel open and bright. Sherwin Williams generously donated gallons of paint. The beautiful, well designed closet, generously donated by CA Closets and designed by Hailee Jacobsen, allowed for additional storage.
The overarching mid-century vibe created a sense of sophisticated simplicity that I felt was an ideal canvas for their age difference. The fabric selected for their bed curtains and window treatment trim had a retro feel, yet the pixelated nature of the lines in the fabric spoke to their love of gaming. The large walnut dresser and bed shelves provided the perfect amount of warmth and presence to balance the space, while additional wall shelving allowed for ample display space for their ever-evolving interests.
As the family walked through each room during "the big reveal,” we were all in awe of the positive comments and generous doses of appreciation from all the members of this very lovely and well deserving family. Caitlin, Dane, and I are so honored to have been a part of this incredible project.
