Grab your tissues, folks. Today’s post is for us “long-form makeover lovers”… and I promise you won’t want to miss this YouTube video at the end. We finally get to reveal Beth’s cozy TV lounge, full of senior-friendly furniture, visually impaired-friendly design, dog-friendly textiles, and so much more natural light, thanks to my long-time partner, VELUX Skylights. Yes, sponsored makeovers can be this meaningful, fun, and rewarding (Industry! Take note!). I’m so SO excited.

In case you missed the intro post, Beth has macular degeneration and is slowly losing her eyesight. She lives alone and can still see peripherally and is doing all the things to slow the process. But more natural light is key to her enjoying her life in this home, and as you know, more natural light is one of my favorite design elements, so Beth and I are very aligned. And, y’all, we want Beth to enjoy this home because she is an angel on earth, a delight of a human who made this collaboration so incredibly fun and rewarding. I could cry just thinking about the day of the surprise reveal again. I really think that the universe/God paired us up because witnessing how she approaches life with such joy and a sense of humor was so inspiring (Gretch and her got really close, too). And since I’m smack dab in the middle of my life with allll the existential thoughts, being with her made one thing clear – I want to be like Beth. I hope people talk about me in 30 years the way that we talk about Beth. We feel so, so, so, so lucky to have been able to do this project. What a gift.

The “before” TV den didn’t work for Beth for the following reasons:

1. The huge sectional was really hard to get in and out of, and while she wants to watch TV, a sectional this big was just cumbersome, and she sank so low it felt like a chore every day just to stand.
2. Her TV was too small and too high, wired above the fireplace. And like most seniors (ahem, all of us), she really enjoys watching TV. With her eye condition, she needed it to be much bigger and at eye level to see it better (I support a big TV, BTW).
3. The room was gray on gray. I learned through this process that high-contrast design is best for diminishing eyesight (this drove the design and color palette). Plus, gray in Oregon is not the move.
4. The room was very, very dark, north-facing, with two windows that had an awning and a building right outside. Obviously, this was the reason for the season – this dark room needed some skylights.
5. Beth had dogs, so while we wanted high contrast, nothing could be too light (neither the sofas nor the rug). So put “dog-friendly” on the list of friendlies 🙂
6. She also asked for easy-to-keep-clean (not a lot of legs to vacuum under or bits and bobs).

Our job was to add natural light through skylights (without vaulting the ceiling this time) and decorate for Beth’s needs and wants. We prioritized tiling the fireplace and smoothing the ceiling (it is a skylight story after all), but the budget mostly covered decorating and styling (my favorite part), not adding wood flooring or paneling on the walls.

It’s quite the transformation, and her reaction was pure shock and happy tears. We wanted it to feel homey and warm, but most importantly functional and personal to her. We channeled a cozy Pottery Barn Vibe, with grounded furniture in updated traditional lines and lots and lots of texture and comfort.

It’s pretty dang satisfying to see that transformation, in all the ways. The natural light is abundant. The textures are so homey and warm. But let’s go back in time…

On Placing and Choosing the Skylights

Beth had a tricky roof shape that couldn’t house huge skylights, nor could we vault the ceiling (which is my preferred but expensive move). Like most house projects, where and how you do things is very specific to the house (and the people inside). Vaulting the ceilings in this case would have been even more awkward because the roofline was varying heights in the same room, not to mention all the HVAC and electrical housed up there that would have needed to move. So for this one, we cut into the roof and placed the skylights between the beams in the roofline without changing the roof structure at all. The size was dictated by the roofline, and we went as big as possible with 2×4 Skylight Systems (or more accurately, two units of the VSS C06 2004S along with corresponding EDL C06 flashing kits).

As you can see, the skylights are genius and can go from open (with a rain sensor, don’t worry!) to just glass (with shade closed) to room darkening. They are adjusted with a super user-friendly app OR physical remote. By opening them, you let hot air out in the summer and bring in cooler fresh air. And if Beth wants the room to be dark and cozy during the day and watch a movie, it’s super easy to close them.

The skylights added so much light in the middle of the room. It was absolutely transformative for her. It just lit it all up from above, in such a soft, pretty way. It went from pretty dank to totally flooded with natural light in a week.

Senior And Dog Friendly Sofas

I took Beth shopping to a local fantastic retailer, City Home, and we sat on furniture, a la Goldilocks, looking for the perfect one that met her needs. While I had a different Builtwell sofa in mind (a local customizable furniture maker), Beth LOVED this one, and I agreed that it was indeed extremely ergonomic and felt so grounded and supportive. It had the right seat height and depth, a really supportive back height, and we could even customize the density of the foam to be comfortable but not so squishy that it’s hard to get out of. We were also able to customize the lengths to have two matching but different sizes. We chose this super soft navy that we knew would pop off the rug (high contrast is better for impaired vision). They are extremely comfortable and solid, the types of sofas that you don’t need to adjust yourself or the back cushions because they are perfectly made for comfort and ease. The arm height is even perfect for resting.

Sofa (Fabric: Twist Blue – Grade D) | C Shaped Drink Table | Striped Pillow | Rust Lumbar Pillow | Yellow Stripe Pillow | Block Print Pillow | Blanket | Coffee Table | Rug | Vase | Tray | Plaid Box | Gold Candle | Mug | Mirror

How great is that coffee table? It’s from City Home and was the perfect scale for the space. We got her a C table for the sofa for easier access to her drink/food. The amorphic mirror is also from City Home, which we bought off the wall the week of the makeover. Now that I think of it, both sofas, coffee table, mirror, and a few pillows all came from the same place.

Rug

The rug was super soft (but low-profile and medium-toned – good for the pups). It didn’t contrast with the cement, instead working with it, but since it was really flat, there was no tripping hazard. The sofas were very easy to see. Trying to find an affordable 12×15 was a challenge, but I really love this one for the vibe and price. Shout out to Joon Loloi on this one.

Meeting Beth’s Needs: Two Focal Points + Bigger TV:

Beth lives by herself and has a lot of friends and family, but she, like most of us, enjoys watching TV. Her TV was too high and small to be able to see well from the sofa with her eye condition. So we reoriented the room with two sofas, one facing the fireplace, the other facing the new massive TV flanked by the media unit.

Speaking of…The Prettiest Recliner

Recliner | Throw Blanket (similar) | Round Pillow | Side Table

I was so excited for her to sit in that recliner and watch her shows. Hell, I want to sit in that recliner and watch MY shows.

The Difference A Skylight Makes:

It’s actually crazy how dark it was before. The brightness coming from the windows is less than it is here. If it were meant to be a dark, cozy TV room without her visual impairment, I would have flooded the room with a medium-tone color, but with her needing to see better, the brief was brighter, with more contrast and warmth – not a color-flooded room. But skylights can be cozy, too…

Yes, Skylights Can Be Blackout Even In The Middle Of The Day

Blush Floral Lumbar | Floral Bolster | Green Floral Lumbar | Rust Pillow | Media Unit (Glass Cabinets + Glass Hutch) | Candle Sconce | Twisted Candle | 75″ Ultra Slim TV | Black Bowl | Floor Lamp

I think a lot of people are nervous about skylights, thinking that they blast light all the time, regardless of your mood (I personally love an occasional “cave day” if I’m not feeling well or need to introvert hard). I’m here to tell you that during the day, the room-darkening shades work so well (with a quick button on your remote or app). We have them in our bedroom, and it’s so easy to open and close.

See? We had to take the photos with the lamps and candles on, or it would have been completely black, but as you can see, it’s extremely dark and cozy, even in the day. Want me to prove it one more time?

It’s such a cozy room, you guys. It went from dark and sad to so warm and layered. But I was so nervous for Beth to see. She had picked out the sofas, and I knew she liked the colors, but I really, really, really wanted her (and her daughter Colby) to be really happy.

A Few Skylight FAQs:

1. You don’t have to vault the ceilings to get the natural light. Sure, it will look different than it does in our kitchen, for instance, but the wells of light spread wide into the room, even if it’s a 3′ shaft like this was.
2. Your skylight placement is determined by the architecture of your room – more complicated roof lines (or a change in roof, mid-room) makes doing a shaft the better choice. A simple gabled roof is easier to vault the ceiling, and you have more skylight flexibility.
3. VELUX skylights are the best. I should know I’ve had like 15 of them, and I love them all day, every day.
4. Venting skylights can open (like a window) to let heat out and cool air in. It’s a great way to just circulate air.
5. All VELUX skylights come with room-darkening shades already installed and a remote control.
6. If they happen to be open and it starts raining, they automatically close (sensors). Genius. We live in Oregon and have never had a situation.
7. They are solar-powered. Opening and closing doesn’t require batteries or electricity (outside of the remote, and the battery lasts years).
8. You can use the app or, like us, the good old-fashioned remote. Like a lot of GOOD smart tech, VELUX knows that a lot of us, including Beth and Brian and me, don’t want another app on our phone. We want a handheld remote, so VELUX has both (which covers all our bases).

The Reveal!!!

I don’t know who was more nervous. I felt confident she would eventually love it, but I also know the shock of having your home look so different from what you had. That came up again and again on Secrets From a Stylist. Being “surprised” and then opening your eyes to a new room makes you kinda disassociate and wonder if you are even here. It’s super surreal. And with Beth’s vision, I was just extra nervous that she wouldn’t really see what we had done and would just feel disoriented.

She was sooooooo shocked, but she couldn’t have been more present, engaged, and happy. Never having had a designed room before, it was so wild for her to see a whole new version of her room, through the eyes of someone who cares about design and knows how to curate.

Lots Of Personal Moments

Left: Lamp Shade + Lamp Base + Console Table (Beth’s) + Bud Vase (similar) + Shell Bowl + Gold Rectangle Frame + Gold Wavy Frame + Wood Frame + Wood Bobble Frame + Thin Black Frame | Right: Lamp + Candle (unavailable) + Matchbox + Glossy Bobble Frame (similar) + Gold Frame

At the beginning, Beth said she had “stuff” but not a lot that she collected or kept that meant too much. So we leaned into family photos and inherited paintings that were awesome and needed framing. So we framed all that we could and peppered them throughout the room.

Lamp + Cabinet (Beth’s) + Gold Bobble Framed Art + Wood Frames (custom)

Dave, our local framer, framed them within a week (the top left is Target, FYI). Beth was so delighted to see them up there, above her newly framed family photos.

Spoiler: Beth Loves The Recliner

Recliner

She had sat on it at Joybird, but she was pleased that it was as good as she test-drove. She now has two comfy sofas and the recliner to enjoy. And she told me after the reveal that she was hosting her women’s club the following week (where they cook and bring food from a dedicated country and then talk about women’s rights, or lack thereof, and roles in said country). I was so excited for her to be able to show it all off to her friends.

Three Generations

That’s Colby on the left, then her daughter Ella, Beth, and me. Y’all. These ladies were so wonderful and lovely. I can really compartmentalize during work, but the second I came home that day, I was overcome with joy from this day. This lovely family and woman. This job. What an absolute gift.

One of the things that Beth and I talked about before I left was how odd and special it is for something like this to happen at 77. No one wins makeovers! It’s such a life-shifting delight, in her 3rd quarter. She couldn’t have been more perfect for this because she loved every second of the disruption (and it was). It was a welcomed excitement (or so she told me:)) that made me want to make even more room for these makeovers.

While I don’t know what it’s like to be 77, I do know what 47 feels like, and Beth is a new North Star for me. She is fun, leads with humor, has more stories, and is sharp as a tack (and has a suitcase of daily supplements that were VERY tempting). She is an incredible example of creating your own reality, and she is experiencing life as I hope to. Perfect vision or not.

Here is the amazing YouTube video Marlee edited together. If you haven’t needed a tissue yet, grab one (and then watch the quick ads before it starts).

Let’s do a few last before/after sliders for extreme satisfaction.

*A huge thanks to VELUX Skylights for sponsoring this makeover. I loved every second of it and feel so grateful for this job.
**A big thanks to Gretch, who led the design and production on this makeover, and Marlee, who produced the video and social content. You both killed it!!
***Thanks, Kaitlin Green, for the photos. Shooting rooms with all shades closed isn’t normal. You nailed it.