space: Thomas O'Brien's country living room

Designer Thomas O'Brien has a country home in Long Island, called The Academy, built in 1833 as a school for boys. In the 1920s it was extended and turned into a residence. O'Brien bought the house in 2000 and renovated it. The living room, also a dining area, is the school's original classroom, a space all mismatched and disconnected when O'Brien bought the house. He has turned it into a beautiful living room, using a central table to divide it, and opening it into the front hallway. The house is featured in a book written by the designer, American Modern (one of the favourites on my coffee table), which shows many angles of this space and various details. The styling of the space is what interests me the most; the mixing of vintage modern furniture and arrangement of decorative objects. I like how O'Brien uses trays for both books and decorative objects. It's a detail you will often come across in his work and something that I have borrowed from him. If you think about it, usually dining tables have a bowl or some other piece in the centre. By using trays instead you can add more life to a dining table and the trays are easily removable when you need the table for entertaining.

What I also like about the space is the fact that the television is not a central piece, but nests in a built-in bookcase in one corner. If there is anything that makes my design heart ache nowadays, it's how most people seem to push a sofa as close up against a wall as possible with a TV on an opposite wall, as if their entire world evolves around the telly. I don't mean to offend anyone but if the television is the first piece you notice when you walk into your living room then I suggest you either rearrange it or throw the TV out. I'm just saying.

Have a wonderful weekend!

photo credit:
Laura Resen for the book American Modern by Thomas O'Brien, published by Abrams

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