decorating
Exciting New Projects
I have been working with several new clients since December and I am ready to start sharing them with you. They each present me with different challenges that I find are quite common. I have one couple that is a young family trying to create a multi-functional space for children and adults. I have another couple that have down-sized now that their second child has left for college. I another couple that bought new furniture when the down-sized and now they don’t know how to pull it all together in a fresh way. Then there is the family with a young teenage son and an enormous house. They up-sized and need help making their new spaces feel warm and inviting. Finally, I am working with a bachelor who bought his home a few years ago. He admits that he doesn’t have a clue how to make his space feel comfortable and functional. Lucky for him, he won a sweepstakes sponsored by the people who make STAINMASTER carpet.
I was chosen by the company to work with the winner to re-design his space using STAINMASTER carpet and a budget of $15,000. He has chosen his family room. He is an excellent candidate for this because when he bought his house, it came with wall-to-wall mauve carpeting (ver 1980’s) in every room except his kitchen. Seriously. The mauve is in the family room, living room and all 3 bedrooms. He is so grateful to know it will be gone from one level of his home.
I have been working with him to determine his wish-list and we have already started working with a local craftsman on a custom media cabinet. I don’t want to spoil the surprise but I will share with you one before picture and a few of my ideas for the space.
He has a great fireplace and natural light. This family room will focus on the custom media cabinet, flat panel tv, fireplace and personal art.
None of what you see here is staying except the sofa. The sofa won’t be in this location and you will be amazed at the transformation I have planned. Some of my concept includes:
This is a single man who likes to entertain in small groups. He likes clean lines and minimal accessories. He has a collection of pottery and art that he has accumulated over the years and this will be used on the mantle and walls to create a personal space that only contains objects with emotional significance. The wall color will likely be a warm taupe or khaki. It will be chosen after we choose the carpet which will be based on the wood tones in the custom cabinet.
I am very excited to be working with STAINMASTER Carpet and their sweepstakes winner. I look forward to updating you as we move this project forward.
’til next time,
Make yours a
Welcome Home
Newly completed design project for Baltimore area client
I have been working with R on her master bedroom suite since the end of October. She contacted me after she purchased new (massive) furniture for her room. She was a very good customer and the furniture salesperson must have been pleased. She bought the entire suite and even bought two of the tall chests and a third nightstand.
The master bedroom's massive bed
There was no overhead lighting and only 2 small bedside lamps. The ceiling fan had no light and was a very modern style. The bed visually merged into the floor. The space was all dark finishes and hard surfaces. R wanted a more feminine space where she could relax.
New furniture lined up against the wall
All of the furniture was lined up on the wall.The furniture feels like it is standing at attention. There was no sense of balance. Again, a very dark elevation.
There was also this space. It was probably supposed to be a sitting area but it had 2 single and one double door as well as a large window. This space did not offer an obvious solution for furniture placement.
An awkward space in the master bedroom
Her master suite is very large but it still felt overwhelmed. You never would have expected me to bring in even more furniture.Through careful furniture placement and editing (I removed the third nightstand) we were able to create the bedroom area, a dressing area and a sitting area in a space that was previously only comfortable when you were in bed.
These photos were taken today right after I hung all of the art. The room is not styled and the camera is not professional. I just couldn’t wait to share these images!
The master bedroom now has a sitting area at the foot of the bed.
The awkward space is now a dressing area. I moved both tall dressers into this space, added a rug, bench and mirror. This is now a convenient, comfortable and elegant space for R and her husband to begin and end each day.I chose a second, more traditional rug for the space in front of the bed.
Awkward space turned into a dressing area
The traditional rug incorporates the gray, yellow, and chocolate colors found in the art and the bedding. It also coordinated well with her existing custom curtain panels.
Ethnic art chosen by my client
The furniture is no longer lined up like soldiers
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