Wait Until You See the Two-Story Great Room Glow-up! (Parts 1 & 2)

Hi Everyone,

Today is the second part of this sad tale of a woman named Loretta who’s stuck with a two-story great room she’s not so fond of. So, after looking at many inspirational images, I decided to go in with a virtual renovation. Well, I must say that the difference is staggering.

But no fair scrolling ahead. And don’t even try because I can see you! ;]

Kidding.

Okay, if you’ve been here before and wish to skip to part 2, please click the link below. Otherwise, if you’re landing here for the first time, the post will make a lot more sense if you begin from the top.

 

Part 2 Begins Here

 

Part 1 is below.

Dear Laurel,

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a post about a two-story great room. If that’s true, I’m a bit surprised.

On the other hand, I’m not surprised because I know, after reading your blog for nearly five years, that you most likely disdain these two-story, soulless, cold, barren spaces that developers love to build.

 

However, the question is why? 

 

I mean, how on this good earth did we end up here?

Below is the house we’re about to close on.

 

 

 

I know. I know Laurel! But at least it’s from the real estate listing.

So, why did we buy this place with the awkward architecture?

Well, my husband just got a great new job, and this is the school district we wanted to live in. Plus, one of my closest friends from college lives only a half mile away. Plus, it was the ONLY house on the market that we could afford.

We’re not closing until June, and then we have some time to do some sprucing up before school starts in September.

 

But Laurel. Here’s the kicker. I googled, “Elegant decor for a two-story great room.”

 

LOLOLOLOLOL!!!

Good, I’m laughing, huh? I mean, that’s not exactly what I had in mind. I can’t stop laughing!

But seriously. Laurel, please, I hope you can help! We don’t have a huge budget, but is there any hope? If there is, please, pretty please, do a blog post. I’m quite sure we’re not alone.

Lorretta Tooferwun

***

Oh, Lorretta, you really gave me a good, hard belly laugh, which I sorely needed!

First of all. The good news. Yes! There’s hope. There’s a lot of hope, but let’s back up a sec, because you asked an extremely compelling question.

 

How did we end up here?

 

I think your Google image is sharing a strong clue.

It’s the American way. Bigger is better. The higher the ceiling, the more expensive it will look.

That’s how they do it in Europe, right?

No, not unless you happen to own a palace.

 

I mean, really, no. I looked high and low and saw no sign of this style of architecture. If you’re European and I’m wrong about that, please let us know.

 

The ubiquitous two-story great room is an offshoot of the postmodern style of architecture that had it’s heydey in the late 1970s and peaked in the early 1990s. Postmodernism was a rebellion meant to bring back classicism towards the strictly modern movement. But classicism with a twist.

In the hands of the grandfather of the post-modern era, architect Phillip Johnson, it could be elegant, but like a lot of other things, in the hands of others, it became a hodge-podge of design that wasn’t modern or classical.

 

Concurrently came the open-concept design and a glut of new architecture for the millions of baby boomers to raise their millennial children in.

 

So, if your home was built in the 80s and beyond, there’s a very good chance you have a two-story great room. 99% of the time, it will be open to the kitchen and other living areas.

Most two-story interiors fail for a simple reason:

 

They are designed for volume, not for human experience.

They are too:

Tall
Empty
Disjointed

And there’s no place for the eye to rest

The result is a space that feels cold, awkward, and oddly uncomfortable.

What we often get is a huge looming box with random elements that don’t relate to one another.

Or, as I sometimes call it:

barn living

 

A Simple Framework for Fixing a Bad Two-Story Space

 

1. Reduce the Height (Physically or Visually)

 

Sometimes the best solution is to admit that the space is simply too tall.

If a renovation is possible and you have a good ceiling height, it might be possible to add to the second floor, thus creating more living space overhead, and a human-scale family room, below.

 

Lowering part of the ceiling.

For example, you could add a catwalk.

Remember this Beacon Hill beauty with the stunning catwalk?

 

While this place has some issues, I love how they created drama with the catwalk, which makes for a very cool interior. If nothing else, it would make a fantastic indoor gym.

I adore catwalks and one day would love to do a post about them.

In your case, if there’s one thing you could change, I would love there to be a real guardrail. It can be the same style you already have on the stairwell.

 

Why isn’t there a proper guardrail now?

 

It’s a way for builders to “cheap out” and, unfortunately, it’s commonplace.

The other thing that’s helpful is to add a strong visual element where one would expect to find a ceiling. In fact, you can add a small crown that wraps around the room.

By doing so, you create a clear stopping point for the eye, thus breaking the sense of vertical space run amok.

One excellent example is below.

Yes, please ditch the dated wall-to-wall carpeting. I know people still have it; however, except in a bedroom, you will never see any top-tier interior designers install this in a living area.

Above is an AI ad used to advertise the cheap chandelier. So, there are some strange things if you look closely. However, the concept is very good.

It’s the same with the image below.

I think it would be fantastic to have some art in the two spaces high up, flanking the fireplace. That would be a better balance between the windows and railing.

 

Below is the same principle that James T. Farmer employed, where the vertical element is broken up to keep the design grounded and at a human scale.

 

Please note that I’m 99% certain he did not do the mouldings in this space. He worked with them. These are a great example of post-modern “classicism.”

Not. However, the rest of the space is glorious.

 

Let’s look at what doesn’t work regarding architectural elements in a two-story great room.

 

Above, you can see how, instead of the horizontal emphasized, they managed to put the focus on the vertical. No, more isn’t more. It’s a bad design.  Yet, the mantel is quite nice, and they did a great job on the wainscoting.

 

Painting the vertical stripe was the worst possible choice for this overly tall space. However,  the long soft drapes in the same color as the wall are a unifying element.

Let’s go over some other common issues with two-story great rooms and what to do about them.

 

One of the biggest problems in these rooms is a lack of visual grounding.

For example, you’ll often see:

 

• Small windows floating in a sea of drywall
• Disproportionate fireplace mantels.
• Random stone chimneys that don’t look like they belong there. (They can be covered or painted)

 

Remove what isn’t working, such as an overscale mantel, or replace a half wall with a proper railing.

 

Then, there are many awkward window situations.

 

Below is a great example.

 

I hereby give you permission to get rid of the odd window that never should’ve been there in the first place. You could also add a window, but that’s a lot more expensive than getting rid of one.

 

Laurel, you can’t get rid of a window! 

 

Well, yes, actually, you can. There’s a whole wall of windows we can’t see, and the one window looks dumb. We did that for two clients many years ago. Once, we needed the entire wall for a bookcase, and the other time, it was a leaky, filthy skylight. Neither was missed after they were gone.

 

What If You Can’t Renovate?

 

Not every home can accommodate major changes.
And not every homeowner has the budget, or the desire, to undertake them.
The good news is that many of these spaces can be improved, sometimes dramatically, without a full renovation.

 

What Actually Helps. And maybe more importantly, what doesn’t!

 

One of the biggest misconceptions is that large rooms require large furniture.

They don’t.

I’ll let that sink in.

 

In fact, filling a large room with oversized, bulky furniture often makes the problem worse.

 

What works instead is better scale and better composition.

 

The elements below anchor the space and give it structure.

 

• a large natural fiber rug to ground the space
• a substantial coffee table
• properly scaled art or a large mirror
• full-height drapery panels
• architectural mouldings
• a controlled, often more monochromatic palette
• beautiful, correctly scaled lighting

 

Below is what often makes the spaces look  worse:

 

• oversized sectionals
• bulky, heavy furniture
• multiple large pieces competing for attention

 

Design is always for the people living in the room, not for the room itself.
That principle matters even more in large spaces.

 

Final Thought

These rooms aren’t difficult because they’re big.
They’re difficult because they lack proportion, structure, and balance.
Once you address those things—even in small ways, the entire space begins to make sense.

 

I’d like to close with a glorious two-story space by Mark D. Sikes.

 

 

It feels grounded and intentional. The furnishings are the same ones he would use if the ceiling were ten feet high instead of 18 feet high.

 

As for Lorretta, I would recommend covering the stone with drywall and replacing the half wall with a proper railing.

 

She would need to get the ball rolling with that so she can have the proper permitting and time necessary. However, they could also block off that area while it’s being worked on.

There is a bit more I’d like to fix. So, for next time, I’ll do a virtual redesign that isn’t a huge deal, but will make this space so much better and will give it a much better envelope for her furnishings.

xo,

 

 

*********************************************************

Part 2 Begins Here

 

Sunday, May 3, 2026

Hi Everyone,

Thank you for all of your kind comments.

I decided to do a number on this place, and I can’t wait to show it to you.

 

However, before that, I need to go over a few things about the state of this two-story great room that isn’t so great.

 

I decided not to build a full floor over the great room, but instead to define it architecturally.

 

The next point was that I very badly wanted to eliminate the stone. First of all, there is no reason for it. The stone is rustic. It belongs in a converted barn. You know, the kind Ralph Lauren used to do.

You already know how I feel about the half wall instead of a railing.

 

But what on earth is that configuration of the three awkward doors?

 

Why is one of the doors at an angle? Now, since I have no idea what the deal is, I’m building the wall out. There will still be access to whatever lies behind those doors, but out of our immediate view.

This home has a serious identity crisis.

As it stands, it’s a crashing bore and seriously poor company. There is no sense of proportion, warmth, or style.

That’s because those things take effort, and too many builders either don’t want to take the time, or they don’t realize that what they’re doing is the fast food of the residential building industry. It gets the job done, but it isn’t doing much for the folks living there. They don’t care because they don’t know what it is they’re supposed to be caring about.

 

So, my first task was to fix the walls and give the space a more classical shape.

 

I added a long cabinet.

Haha.  Yes, it’s the long buffet from Sarreid we saw in this post with a large empty dining room wall.

Yes, I stretched it out, so it’s not really this cabinet, but it sufficed to get the image finished. Let’s assume it’s a custom-built-in piece.

We “furred out” the fireplace wall and covered the stone with drywall. Then, we added a new mantel, stone and hearth. Sorry, it’s a little rough here, but it’ll get better in a sec.

After that, I worked on the colors and refinished the hardwood floor.

It’s now a warm, rich cherry.

Okay, I need a bookcase.

Haley Yarbrough Interiors and James Farmer Bookshelf styling that we saw in this post earlier this year. 

 

Oh, I’d love to work with this beauty! I hope they don’t mind my borrowing it. :]

When I got to this point, I knew I could keep going with the right side catwalk and everything you’re about to see.

And here it is!

Thank you, James T. Farmer, for your lovely console tables and colorful lamps and shades.

The sofa and ottoman are thanks to Max Rollitt.

Of course, you can see that I provided the yellow chairs, garden stool, mirror and chandelier.

Laurel, what’s going on upstairs?

Oh, I just knew you were going to ask that. Well, for now, not much. And even after it’s figured out, I would keep it minimal.

Maybe a wall of green and white botanical prints would look good.

 

Okay, let’s compare the before and after of this two-story great room.

 

I know! It’s hard to believe it’s the same house.

Okay, there will be one more part to this trilogy about two-story great rooms, and I can’t wait for you to see it!

xo,

 

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Thank you so much!

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