Living and Dining - Shway • One Brick At A Time

Welcome to the living and dining of ‘Shway’. Shway is an elegant home with an understated luxurious vibe, done almost entirely in white and gold… and I can’t wait to show you around!

Usually, when we’re discussing designs with four members of one family, my role is to bring together their different ideas to make a cohesive space. While working on this home, I was pleasantly surprised to see that all four of them were on the same page. Each of them picked whites, greys and beiges for their bathrooms and wanted white to dominate their bedrooms. They also all picked gold accents in big and small ways for their spaces… which is why we call this home Shway, which means gold in Burmese.

The Plan

We enter the home through a narrow passage, which opens out into a large hall. Since the kitchen is to the left of this hall and the windows to the right, the left naturally became the dining area with the living on the right.

We used a banquette style seating with the dining to push it closer to the wall. This way we have a wider, more open walkway leading to the living.

Comfortable seating consisting of sofas, chairs and a chaise form a cozy circle in the living area.

The Foyer

The elegance of white and gold can be seen in the foyer itself, as soon as you enter the home.

Since the foyer was narrow, we panelled the entire wall on one side in mirror. Brass inlay strips add a touch of gold to the main door.

We also used brass strips along with grey marble in the flooring inlay. The simple geometric pattern adds a luxurious vibe to the space without making it too heavy.

The slender bone inlay console against the mirror gives us the convenience of having a table at the entrance and gives the foyer a focal point. Brass wall sconces on the mirror again add to the understated gold glamour.

The Dining Area

From the foyer, you first step in to the dining area. The rectangular table has banquette seating along the wall with chairs on the opposite side.

This opens out the space between the dining table and the sideboard making it a wider walkway to the living area on the far end.

The large sideboard is custom designed to accommodate the bar, the crockery cabinet and also sound system for the living and dining of Shway.

The Living Area

At the far end of the hall we have the living area.

These two sofas placed next to each other take care of most of the seating.

Since the living area is a little narrow, we placed a chaise against the opposite wall. It is not as deep as the sofa and so works better in a narrower space.

On the far end we have two chairs to allow easy access to the window.

Living and Dining of Shway

My biggest concern with all white decor is always, that it should not be monotonous and fall flat. The solution to this is using lots of different textures and patterns, and beautiful wood tones for warmth.

You can see this warmth in the gorgeous veneer used right across the home and the wood used in all the furniture, especially the beautiful coffee table and dining table tops.

The upholstery is primarily white, but we have different textures and patterns on the various fabrics. This includes a light herringbone on the chaise, a small floral motif on the rocking chair, to the bolder stripes on the sofas.

The bone inlay end tables, he cushion covers across the room…

… and the beautiful rug, all add gentle patterns of their own.

The dining area has more colour with the stunning, ombre sideboard and the delicate alcohol ink art above it.

The gold chandeliers above the dining table are a show stopper and one of my favourite elements of this space.

Before and Afters

Here are some before and afters of the amazing transformation of the living and dining of Shway.

Here’s the foyer…

The mirror instantly makes the space look bigger, with the marble, brass and bone inlay adding a luxurious vibe.

The dining area…

The banquette seating makes the dining area look larger and also widens the passageway to the living area.

The living area…

Is now a cozy space to hang out with family and friends!

This home is all about soft colours, warmth and subtle, understated luxury. If you’ve liked the living and dining of Shway, I promise you will love the rest of the home too. All of this serene gorgeousness is coming to you over the next few weeks. Remember to sign up here so you that you can catch it as soon as it is rolled out.

Click here to see all of ‘Shway’.

Until next time,