DATED TO DREAMY

Gretchen Knoblock resets the style clock on the great room in a 1990s Long Lake home.

by ELIZABETH EDWARDS

Gretchen Knoblock

and her team at New Leaf Interiors worked with contractor Jeff Simonis to transform this dated home into a flowing space where rooms open into each other to easily accommodate plenty of people, but still provide cozy respites for quieter times of reflection and relaxation.

The great room reno included removing the walls on either side of the fireplace so it felt more connected to the kitchen. The wall with the bear on it (see before photo) was also taken out, a move that opened up the entire space to the rest of the house, flooding the entry and back hallways with natural light and allowing the magnificent lake view to be seen from the entire main floor. This airy feeling was accentuated by opening the staircase to

“float” to the lower level and switching out a spindle railing with a cable version.

“We rebuilt the whole exterior wall to accommodate larger, linear, more modern windows that expanded the view,” Knoblock explains. Likewise, out went the chunky stone fireplace and golden oak woodwork and in went rusticmodern interior finishings, including white oak flooring, a reclaimed barnwood ceiling and a Wellington porcelain-tile fireplace with an inset television screen. Sherwin-Williams’ Urban Putty (walls) and Backdrop (trim) pull the look together.

The soft, contemporary furnishings include swivel chairs from Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams, a Surya rug, and the T-Brace coffee table and Maxwell sofa from Restoration Hardware.