Client Consultation....Living Room Dilemma

Hey girls and guys!
Today I thought I'd do something a bit different and share an abridged version of one of my most recent e-decorating consults.

Christine, who mind you, is one of the most loveliest people ever, was having some trouble deciding what to do in her living room:

"Hi Kristine!

I’m in the process of decorating the 1927 Dutch Colonial that my husband and I moved into in January. It’s been great so far but I have to admit that the living room is quite daunting. It’s got sooooo much potential that I’m afraid of screwing it up; built in floor to ceiling bookcases, great big brick fireplace, large picture window, and everything is painted a cozy, cottagey white right now. I would love to know what you would do if this was your room.
Christine"

Well, she was certainly right about the room having a tonne of potential. I couldn't have been happier with my new little play space!

Here are some of the pics she sent me:

And the criteria:

- Retain existing colour palette of sage, chocolate and white.
- Retain paint scheme.
- Sofa and armchairs need to stay.
- TV to stay in current location.
- More purposeful bookcase display.
- Immediate budget of $500-$1000.
- Practical and attractive storage solution for TV components.
- Needs to be family and pet friendly.
- Inviting modern cottage theme in keeping with the style of the house.

I'll spare you the 33 page document Christine ended up with though will share some of the suggestions, hints and ideas I offered her.

FLOOR PLANS
Suggested Layout
(click to enlarge)

Alternate Layouts

It's easy to get stuck in a floor plan rut. How many of us have positioned furniture a certain way just because 'that's how the previous owners had it'. Although a particular layout will sometimes work best for a space, it pays to keep an open mind and consider other options.

As long as balance is retained a room may work well in any number of ways.

 Think outside the square and spend some time moving existing furniture around. Use cardboard or paper to mimic the scale of any pieces you don't currently own to help gauge the best possible layout for the room.

Alternate Layout 1

(click to enlarge)

Alternate Layout 2

(click to enlarge)

INSPIRATION BOARD

 Christine is about to replace her carpet with dark timber floorboards so I suggested using a large area rug to provide an anchor for her furniture. I recommended a woven natural material (like jute or seagrass) to add warmth and texture, or a subtle pattern (such as the ticking stripe above or a trellis or quatrefoil) to add some depth and interest. Because she's on a budget (and open to putting in a bit of elbow grease!), I also suggested the option of painting her own inexpensive sisal or jute rug (you can see some tutorials for that here, here and here).

I liked the softness and neutrality of Christine's current white curtains.

Though to showcase that gorgeous picture window they just needed a bit of tweaking. I recommended she place a thin black rod towards the top of her wall near the cornice, making sure it extended slightly either side of the window frame, then hang full drop curtains on the windows extremities only. If she requires privacy, bamboo blinds can be added too.

The Lettered Cottage

Young House Love

Christine was happy with the white brickwork around her fireplace though wasn't too keen on the brass surround. I suggested she just paint it herself (you can see some tutorials for that here, here and here).

To remedy the dilemma of housing for her television components, I suggested placing a little white console table or cabinet in the wall nook to the left of the fireplace and running any cables through the wall or hiding them with a cord concealer. To create the illusion of symmetry I also recommended hanging or resting a largish white-framed mirror above the console table to mimic the doorway on the right side of the fireplace.

 

Because the TV is staying in place above the mantel, I suggested a little decor tweaking to create more impact without detracting from TV viewing.

One of Christine's biggest annoyances was the bookcase wall.

She wasn't sure how to go about decorating the cases to look 'designery'. In my response to her this was covered extensively so rather than jam-pack this one post I've decided to do a whole 'Decorating With...' series focusing entirely on bookcases (so if you're after some advice keep an eye out!).
One suggestion I made which I will mention now however was the possibility of using a decal in the nook above the door frame rather than ornamentation, kinda like this:

Lone armchairs can sometimes look a little, well, lonely. To give Christine's single chairs a bit more definition and purpose in her room I suggested partnering them with a small side table and standard lamp or even a little cane basket or stack of vintage cases.

A great way to add instant charm and extra dimension to a living room is with a character-filled, personality-packed coffee table. For Christine's space I suggested a box-style piece, like a steamer trunk, old blanket box or textural cane chest, to fit in with the size of the room and scale of existing furniture. Because new reproductions of pieces like this can be just a tad (read; ridiculously!) expensive I suggested Christine check out Craig's List, eBay, thrift and charity stores, along with yard sales, for an original piece in need of a loving new home.

Pottery Barn

 

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Decorpad

Pottery Barn

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Pottery Barn

Christine's self-described 'blah' wall (with the bird silhouettes) needed a bit of a lift.

 Due to the amount of visual interest the nearby bookcase projects, I suggested avoiding anything too small, busy or asymmetrical. Instead I recommended placing one large object centrally on the wall, like a big starburst mirror or clock, or an ordered collection of three or four prints hung vertically, horizontally or in a block.

TEXTILES AND TEXTURES MOOD BOARD

Along with floor plan layouts and an inspiration board a textiles and textures mood board also helps keep you on track when deciding what to incorporate into a space.

I recommended keeping things natural, textural and neutral by sticking with flat colours (like plain linen, burlap and leather) and incorporating one stripe and one floral/feminine pattern in keeping with the existing sage, chocolate and white colour scheme.

So, whadda ya think?

Of course that's just the tip of the iceberg - Christine got a tonne of extra info, more in-depth explanations and additional pics - though I didn't wanna bore all you guys with too many project specific details.

And here's part of the sweet response I got from her:

"LOVE you. Seriously. I can't wait to get started! It all looks FAB-U-LOUS. I am so ready to take everything off of those bookshelves and re-do them. I'm going to be a very busy/happy girl."

 Christine is now slowly working on implementing changes to her room. She has been kind enough to allow me to blog about it along the way so as she shares her 'afters' with me I'll keep you all updated too.

If you're interested in a design consultation for your home, view this page for some further information and feel free to contact me at any time.