Domino x GE Erin Francoise

Smart lighting was the game-changer in our 200-square-foot family room remodel.

Photography by Josh Grubbs Words by Rachel del Valle Art Direction by Brit Ashcraft Styling by Barb Ries

In Renovator’s Notebook, homeowners open up about the nitty-gritty of their remodels: How long it really took; how much it actually cost; what went horribly wrong; and what went wonderfully, serendipitously, it’s-all-worth-it-in-the-end right. For more tips to nail your next project, follow @reno_notebook.

Location

Minneapolis

$4,300

Budget

1934

Year Built

Making space to lounge in under 200 square feet.

Top Priority

“This room is not big—it’s 12x16—but we have five lamps,” says Francois. Having options for lighting is key, she notes, especially in a family room, and especially in Minnesota, where it gets dark at 4:00 pm. She put a Full Color LED Smart light strip behind the TV (it’s a simple peel-and-stick installation) and placed a number of Full Color A19 Smart Bulbs throughout the room, all from C by GE. Francois loves the low-profile, high-impact technology, which she finds especially useful in her older home. “There’s only one light switch in this room, and C by GE makes wireless switches that stick right on the wall and connect to your phone or your voice.” she says. She likes the ability to control every light source remotely, using the C by GE Wire-Free Smart Switch, the C by GE app, or by speaking to her Google Home.

BEFORE

Click to see the after!

Francois knew early on that she wanted to do a round table with ottoman seating. “They’re the perfect height for my three and a half year old,” she says. “It’s low enough that it could almost just be a kid’s table, but it’s our coffee table!” While the house is a fairly traditional Tudor, Francois likes mixing in some more contemporary pieces to “balance out that formality.” The coffee table, with its cylindrical legs and low profile, deliberately has “a bit of an ‘80s modern vibe.” The legs are 6-inch PVC pipes, spray-painted black and the top is a piece of ebonized wood.

Save: DIY Your Own Coffee Table

While space to lounge was a priority for Francois, she was very strategic about how to achieve that. Instead of choosing small-scale furniture, she limited the number of pieces in the room and opted for a less is more approach to soft seating. A standout is the fairly large Saarinen Womb Chair and Ottoman from Kardiel Modern. “It’s like 38 x 38,” Francois says, “but it’s up on legs.” The floating, molded frame is light on its feet, low on visual bulk, and high on coziness. The stain-resistant velvet cover and roomy seat make it the perfect perch for her and her daughter to hang out and read. The C by GE bulb on the nearby reading lamp is particularly handy, Francois says—she loves the ability to settle in, kick back, and turn the light on by voice control, just in case that early sunset happens in the middle of Madeline.

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C by GE Full Color A19 Smart LED Bulb

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C by GE Full Color Smart LED Light Strip

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C by GE Wire-Free Smart Switch

A Light

In Partnership with

When Erin Francois and her husband bought their Minneapolis home five years ago, they took their time filling the space, literally and figuratively. The Tudor-style house was originally designed as a duplex—a good investment for the first-time homeowners. They rented out the upstairs unit to help offset the mortgage, and in the meantime started a family. When their longtime tenant moved out this past summer, Francois (who’s expecting her second child in mid-November) took the opportunity to expand their living space. When Francois, a DIY blogger and interior designer by trade, started thinking about what their family room should look like, she used her time at home during lockdown to revisit her collection of boards on Pinterest for images that still stuck with her. “There's a real connect-the-dots moment when you can go back in time and say, ‘Okay, that still resonates with me,’ or ‘Okay, that was more of a trend,’” Francois says. “You can start to define your style again that way.” One constant in her interiors, however, is thoughtful lighting that warms up neutral walls and highlights the carefully chosen objects within them.

Save: Smart Lighting Without an Electrician

Splurge: Cozy-but-Kid-Proof Furniture

C by GE Full Color A19 Smart Bulbs VIEW PRODUCT

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C by GE is a trademark of the General Electric Company. Used under trademark license.

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