A Victorian Dining Room Renovation
Lauren Servati reached out to us this season to be her lighting partner for her One Room Challenge ™ dining room renovation. When we saw her mood board and design concept, we could not be more excited to work with her on her upcoming project. Lauren’s style is easy elegance. She loves mixing heirloom pieces with new finds to create a space that feels fresh, elegant, and timeless.
Lauren draws her inspiration from her travels, whether International or a day trip to neighboring towns, anything that gets her outside of her routine helps her see the world through fresh eyes. For her upcoming ORC Challenge, Laurens must-have items were a custom-built solid oak dining table, gorgeous lighting, and a french empire chest.
MEET Lauren Servati Frances
Interior Designer and Textile Designer
“I always knew that I wanted to be an interior designer, and I started working towards that goal from an early age. When I was seven, I told my Mom that I wanted to be “an interior designer of hotels, resorts, and spas.” I worked in hotel design for the first few years of my career before switching to designing homes. My Mom is a graphic designer, so art and design are in my blood, and I’ve always gravitated towards things related to beauty and creativity.”
Q. You left New York City to move to Atlanta and buy your dream home in Atlanta that you are currently renovating. Tell us about your house.
My husband and I had dreamed of owning a grand historic home with some land. We found a 150+-year-old Queen Anne Victorian in a lovely little town just south of Atlanta. We fell in love with the town and the house and settled here about a year and a half ago. Our home is situated on just under 3 acres of land that was an old pecan grove. We have 50 ancient pecan trees dotting the landscape, it's a gorgeous spot to be able to live, and I feel so grateful to have landed here.
Q. This is your 3rd One Room Challenge. Tell us about this project and why you chose to transform your dining room?
I chose the Dining Room for this round of the ORC because I thought it would be one of the more straightforward rooms to tackle. In all of the other rooms that we’ve worked on so far, we’ve refinished the hardwood floors ourselves. We chose not to re-do the Dining Room floors because they’re in pretty good condition. I ended up stripping all of our wood trim and our doors back to the original wood using a heat gun and a scraper. It took countless hours, so I think that more than compensated for the time saved on the floors!
BEFORE IMAGE OF LAUREN’S DINING ROOM
Q. What was your design inspiration for the dining room?
Our Dining Room's design concept was to create an elegant and understated space, marrying contemporary design elements with beautiful historical details. I wanted to use cool tones in this space, with a splash of navy blue. I've had a gray-lavender paint color in mind for some time now, and our Dining Room was the perfect space to try it. I knew that the wood elements, like our exposed wood doors and our original built-in cabinet, would ground the room. Finally, I wanted to bring a bit of elegance and drama with the introduction of silver, cut crystal design elements, and lush ivory velvet window treatments.
Jewelry to the ROom
The Broche 8 light chandelier is a lighting fixture that I’ve admired for several years. It’s one I’ve loved so much that I knew I’d find a place for it in my own home. The texture of the overlapping leaves and the antique silver finish is just gorgeous.
As Lauren continued to work on the design concept, she realized a pair of sconces would add a layer of light to the room. She selected a pair of the Quincy wall sconce’s to add that sparkle to the room she needed.
Q. How do you use lighting in your design projects? What makes selecting a light so important?
I use lighting as the centerpiece and the jewelry of any space that I design. Quality lighting fixtures are so important both in terms of the way that a room functions, as well as the aesthetics of the space. I might cut corners in other areas if the budget is tight…maybe I’ll choose a less expensive rug, or find a few pieces of vintage furniture at a bargain rate, but I always splurge on lighting.
Fabulous Fabrics
My textile collection began as a series of watercolor paintings and sketches. I started working with a historic flax mill in Belgium, importing all of my Belgian linen ground cloth to the United States. I have the fabrics printed with my watercolor-inspired designs. I’ve been working on a second textile collection for the past two years, which will finally launch in 2021.
THE FINAL REVEAL…
