5 In Interiors

Meet the Treehouse + Living Room Design Plan

Meet the Treehouse! Get to know my latest project updating my parent’s late 90’s lake home which we affectionately call, the Treehouse.

You may have seen glimpses of The Treehouse on Instagram, but I’ve mostly been mums-the-word because its a project I’ve been working on slowly and surely with my parents.

When Ken and I found out we were expecting, my parents starting looking to move from Northern Minnesota down just outside Minneapolis to be closer to their first grand-baby.

They settled on a lake 45 minutes north of Minneapolis in a home built in the late 90’s, that we affectionately call ‘The Treehouse’. It’s an incredible location, very wooded and private with 3 decks that overlook the lake and make you feel as though you’re way up in the trees. However, the home itself needs some TLC. The previous owner didn’t keep up on the maintenance over the last 20 years, so my parents have been busy taking care of not-so-glamourous, but oh-so-necessary upgrades (that you cringe to spend $$ on because you don’t actually see or feel them. They’re more behind the scenes.) like repaving the driveway, repairing a leaky roof, replacing rotten windows and doors, etc. ETC.

But along the way we’ve also been scheming on the their living room to make it their style and feel more like their place. Make sure to scroll to the bottom of this post to see our design direction! So without further ado, let’s dive into the living room BEFORE:

Hellll-loooo honey oak! A tell-tale sign the home was built back when boy bands ruled the world: the 90s! Wood purists out there: don’t worry. While some of the honey oak will be painted, two very key features like the fireplace mantel and stair railing will be stripped and refinished!

There are 4 different paint colors happening in this one area alone, each it’s own personal shade of khaki, grey or tan, and there’s SO much going on in this one room: angled walls, half walls, varying ceiling heights, glimpses into other rooms… So much so that the eye has nowhere to land or focus.

We’re going to unify the room with one paint color and move away from reds/browns towards lake-inspired blues/greens. We’ll rework the furniture layout to establish a clear focal point and encourage a ‘conversation area’. My mom loves Mid-Century furniture lines, so we’ll use that as a jumping off point with the larger pieces and work in modern, classic, and lake-cabin influences, as well.

The stair carpet will be replaced with something less shaggy, but the laminate flooring will stay for now. (Eventually replaced.)

Ah! I can’t wait! Here’s the mood board I worked closely with my parents to design. Kind of delicious, if I do say so!!!!