I was asked by someone recently to show them what the room in the old background of my blog looked like before it was designed. After all, she surmised, it may well have been elegant (the look we were discussing and which I think this room has in a relaxed, up to date way) beforehand. She continued that the design magazines shoot their photographs in unfeasibly beautiful rooms that could even make a potato look chic.
So here is the room with the preceding owner's furniture and layout. In this brief I worked mostly with the new owner's existing furniture that came from their previous home which I had designed the interiors for. I hope that I have succeeded in making a transformation.
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| Before |
and
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| After |
The differences:
My brief for this room was to make an elegant, but relaxed, contemporary room that could deal with a relatively large family with numerous furry friends. The family invariably has lots of friends and guests in the house and they wanted to have a room that could cope with additional numbers whilst not resembling an airport lounge when it was just them at home.
The floor was stained a darker color which evened out the tone and got rid of the 'Zebra' affect, two medium sized carpets were laid down horizontally to give the room width and to divide up an essentially long and, proportionally, narrow room into two distinct seating areas, which can be brought together for larger groups. The Sitting Room can sit thirteen without the addition of additional furniture.
The installation of valances brings the eye down from the high ceiling to a lower level and the blinds can add to that affect depending on how low they are drawn. They are essential for light and heat control in a South facing room. The valances also get rid of the 'raised eyebrows' on the windows. Before installation the windows looked like eyes with raised eyebrows and the fireplace looked like a mouth going "oh!" in surprise! The cartoonish windows now exude relaxed elegance in a stripped silk that reflect the colors of the oversized (and not particularly loved) fireplace and therefore diminish it's presence in the room.
The paprika and pumpkin colored cushions bring a pop of color, stop the eye from traveling and foreshorten the room visually whilst referencing small items that the clients already owned.
The sofas are slip covered for easy washing and have mole grey colored velvet covers which are cosy and soft and bring an intimacy to this large space in the winter. In the summer the white covers are airy and fresh and appropriate for a home overlooking the ocean.
