LI Makeover: Updating a living room

After living with an outdated living room and a dining room that was less than ideal for the couple's love of entertaining, Candace and Fred Schiffer of Lindenhurst decided it finally was time to make a change.

Instead of turning to a designer, they looked to a shopaholic friend.

Surprisingly, the first thing April Willi suggested was to remove the drop ceiling.

"I said, 'We can't do that,' " Candace Schiffer remembers.

Willi prevailed, giving the adjoining rooms a more open feeling. The second big transformation? Nixing the dark colors for updated gray walls and neutral furniture in the living room. A table in the dining room can accommodate a dinner party but still allows Candace and Fred, a chef, to share intimate dinners.

"I had always wanted a sectional," Candace Schiffer says, "but I didn't want a really big one."

She wanted one large enough to fit the two of them but that still feels cozy.

"I can sit there and read, and he can lay his head on my lap," says Schiffer, a nurse practitioner who is enjoying her empty-nest status. "We had a budget of $10,000, but the shelving in the dining room and the sectional kicked the budget up to $15,000."

The Schiffers again have Willi to thank. It was she who suggested adding the built-in bookcases to the dining room to add a touch of elegance and much-needed storage.

Here's how they transformed the entire space.

RECOVER READING CHAIR, $1

Discounted fabric ($1) is from Jo-Anne's Fabrics and Crafts, West Babylon; all sewing done by Candace Schiffer's sister

COVER EXISTING RADIATOR, $1,000

Designed and fabricated by Dave Myers Construction of upstate Utica

RADIATOR CUSHIONS, $100

Fabric from Jo-Anne's

PAINT, $1,650

Paint is Benjamin Moore Nimbus ($160 for four cans) in the living room and Pebble Beach for the dining room. Purchased from Bak & Vogel, Lindenhurst; labor by Sean Auer, Babylon

LIVING ROOM CURTAINS, $28 (four panels)

From Ikea, Hicksville

PLANT and HOLDER, $64

From Ikea

SECTIONAL, $3,200

From Hildreth Home Goods, Southampton

ACCENT PILLOWS, $100 (for five)

Fabric from Jo-Anne's

CIRCULAR COFFEE TABLE, a family heirloom

In a previous life, this was Schiffer's grandfather's dining room table. They cut the legs off and added the pedestal base. "I wanted a place for the grandchildren to be able to color and play that wasn't glass," Schiffer says.

GLASS NESTING TABLES, $69

From Ikea

LAMP, $29

From Marshall's, West Babylon

DINING TABLE and SIX CHAIRS, $900

The table wouldn't fit through the front door, so they had to remove the window in the dining room to get it into the house. Table ($500) from Zimmerman's Home, Lindenhurst; chairs ($400) from Massapequa Dinette

CURTAINS, $30 (for two)

From Ikea

SHELVES AND RADIATOR COVER, $3,000

Fabrication and construction by Dave Myers Construction

WINDOW SEAT CUSHION, $100

Fabric from Jo-Anne's

AREA RUG, $139

From West Elm outlet, Riverhead

Not shown

CHANDELIER, $500

From westelm.com

BOSE SPEAKERS, $400 (for two)

From Bose outlet, Riverhead

ACCESSORIES, $700

Includes blackboard ($24) from Marshalls; sea urchin wall art ($59) from HomeGoods, Bay Shore; twig coat rack ($104) from West Elm outlet; side table ($25) from HomeGoods; fork and spoon wall hangings, ($36) from HomeGoods; artwork, existing

SHEETROCK, $1,700

Materials and installation by Dave Myers Construction

ELECTRICAL, $1,575

Supplies and work by Steve Padurno, Hauppauge