Moroccan Rugs: Bringing The Movie Theater Home With Your Family In Mind (It’s A REVEAL Y’all!)

Y’all, this reveal feels like the most overdue project coming out of the hygge ranch, and it really has been a long time coming, especially from whence we came! In Fall 2020, for the first time ever, I was chosen to be a featured designer for the bi-annual One Room Challenge event. In this unprecedented edition of the event, I was charged with highlighting High Point Market vendors to create a one of a kind virtual design. I was absolutely GEEKED because (1) getting tapped to be a featured designer was a huge honor and (2) virtual designs are my whole jam! This was the best of all possible outcomes.

What most people didn’t know at the time, however, was that we were house hunting at the time. I decided to base the design of my “must be nice” rooms on one of the homes we were considering… spoiler: it’s the home we ended up buying! Using the home’s space plan, I concocted a design for a media room and study.

As part of the One Room Challenge, I worked with a 3-D Render Studio, Duke Renders, to bring my design to life… and after seeing their photorealistic renderings, I wanted to actually bring the project to life! These designs, being based on a real space & with my family in mind, were ideas that I felt like I could totally translate into something real. By the time we actually closed on the house, I was fully committed to making it happen, especially the Black Panther-inspired media room.

Sounds easy right? Wrong!

In case you’re not familiar with High Point Market, it is essentially the fashion week of the home industry, where vendors and retailers showcase new product lines, and designers and buyers come to take it all in. High Point Market vendors are, more often than not, inaccessible to the general public. Instead, you’d have to go through a designer and/or retailers to source their products. That said, sourcing High Point Market to create my virtual design meant sourcing trade only and/or custom items. How could I maintain the high-end, bespoke vibes of the space while being able to shop more accessible, go-to options?

Having something like a media room has always felt like it belonged on my dream home bucket list — nice to have but never really knowing if it would actually happen. When we chose this house, after the way 2020 kicked us around, I specifically had it in my mind to create a home I’d never want or need to leave… I.e. creating a dedicated space for games, movies, and fun.

Just like my living room design, I started with the largest piece in the room — the sofa — both for the virtual design and the real-life iteration. While I didn’t anticipate actually having this design in my home, I thought through the design with my family in mind, starting with their love of recliners & leather sofas.

On the heels of wrapping up my living room with Apt2B, I saw that they’d recently released a new power reclining sectional…in leather! YAHTZEE! This was one of the many design elements I was adamant about keeping in my real-life remake, including the lighting, my coming attractions wall, use of pattern, and balancing contrasting hues.

From here on out, there was no turning back…except every time we had to pivot.

By the way… I’m just gonna go ahead and let you guys know now that I am officially the queen of the pivot…and the iconic Ross, Rachel, and Chandler Friends scene is permanently embedded in my head. While making final decisions for the media room & study, we also decided to flip the two spaces — after opening up the wall to the laundry room. This meant, the media room would go from having no natural light to a ton of natural light coming in.

The vibe of the virtual design was very “dark and moody” because of the tone on tone but also infused with warm elements & textures so that the space could feel bold & dramatic while still being cozy & chill. The flip actually made this contrast even more impactful. A total design win!

Record Player | Swivel Chair (home goods) | Floor Lamp | Velvet Level Pillow

How did I create this swanky hygge vibe?…

Paint. Lighting. Texture.

I opted for Sherwin-Williams’ Cyberspace instead of the wallpaper from Fabricut & Sherwin-Williams’ Tricorn combination from the virtual design, which perfectly complemented the sectional’s Battleship leather upholstery.

P.S. I am very amused by the fact that the upholstery is called Battleship & the paint is called Cyberspace.

The blue undertones turned out better than I could’ve imagined in the space — thanks to the natural lighting — while the plug-in picture lighting paired with the acrylic framed coming attraction posters add a layer of drama that only lighting can create.

The balance of light and dark finishes make this space a total nighttime destination for movie nights, while also very comfortable for an afternoon game of monopoly. And no room at the hygge ranch is complete without a cozy corner!

I made deliberate layering choices to elevate the more subtle design elements.

One of my favorite moments from that design was the nod to Black Panther and so being able to honor this design element is one of my proudest moments of this transformation.

Play Kitchen | Curtains (home goods)

What started as a design that was totally inspired by my Pinterest boards and design daydreams, is now in my home in real life… from actually shoppable retailers… without sacrificing any of the bespoke vibes from the virtual reveal last year.

As a former e-designer, I am used to bringing digital designs to life, or guiding my clients on how to do so, but this one felt different… this one was different. I had to work around two renovations and unexpected delays, while trying to create something as close as possible to my Fall ORC design. I can’t promise that I’ve stopped messing around with this room — I already know I want to upgrade the projector and possibly add a mini-fridge… maybe even a popcorn maker. The ideas really never stop coming, lol. Nevertheless… I am happy with calling this complete for the moment, because this transformation is giving me exactly what I wanted…a real-life at-home destination customized for our family for fun & entertainment.

Oh and before I go here are a couple before and afters!