Sometime during the five years it took Linda Schoener to get a permit to build her Edmonds home, formal living areas went out of style.
Before workers began building, the designer had time to erase 2,200 square feet from the plans, including a formal living room.
“What’s the point of having a formal area you look at and walk past?” she said.
As an interior designer and owner of Schoener’s Interiors in Lynnwood, she has noted more people now seem interested in compact, functional spaces. Rooms with utilitarian purposes, such as the study, seem to hold more importance in new homes.
In her own home, now completed, there’s still plenty of elbowroom: The house is 6,400 square feet, but she designed the home to feel cozier and more functional than the square footage suggests.
The floor plan is divided into a few rooms that get lots of use: an open family room and kitchen, master bedroom and bathroom, a dining room, another bathroom and a study. The Schoeners entertain frequently and it was important the home feel warm and welcoming, too.
In the family room, the hub of the home along with the nearby chef’s kitchen, Schoener opted for lots of color and a blend of contemporary and traditional styles.
Art deco touches abound, such as a the sculpture on the fireplace by French artist Demetre H. Chiparus.
“Everything has something that gives some sort of twist,” she said.
The room, with its cathedral ceilings and sky bridge, feels smaller partly because Schoener chose to increase the scale of the decor. Everything in the room is oversized, including the leather furniture and the 10-foot-long stainless steel entertainment center.
She uses color fearlessly in the family room. Six layers of yellow paint cover a purple base coat, so the finished walls give only a hint of purple. The same purple hue is repeated in the window treatments and rug.
“That beige neutral color is a sign of fear. Someone is afraid of making a mistake,” she said. “I am far beyond fear.”
As a designer used to accommodating clients, Schoener found it exciting to create something for herself. She is pleased enough with the results that she posts photos of her home on her business Web site, www.schoenersinteriors.com.
“I work hard, and when I go home at night, my home makes me smile,” she said. “I am just happy to be there.”
Reporter Debra Smith: 425-339-3197 or dsmith@ heraldnet.com.
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