Project Highlight #1 - Living Room Design

We’ve been busy this year! That’s certainly not something to complain about, but it does leave friends and family often baffled when I discuss certain projects. I get a lot of blank looks, a lot of “Which project are we talking about again?” When my business first launched, I shared lots of fun details about each project. They were all given clever nicknames, and when I referred to one friends, for the most part, seemed to know what I was talking about. Fast forward almost 3 years and I can barely remember them all. Not really (I remember just about everything, good and bad :-)) but it gets confusing for others who aren’t familiar with each project. So, I thought, perhaps I’ll start posting the highlights of each project to share. Then when I get the deer in headlights look, I’ll gently urge them to read my blog more often. Voila! More blog readers AND the opportunity to share details on each project without having to go over it 10 times.  Gosh, I’m clever.

Living Room Design #1 - How We Met

This project, now forever known as Living Room Design #1 and also as Transitional Living Room Design under the design portfolio started with a lead from Thumbtack.com. Yep, this was my first income producing lead from Thumbtack. I was stoked! The homeowners were a super nice family in Hampstead. They had a beautiful, new home full of 3 rowdy boys and no time to decorate.

Living Room Design #1 - What We Did

After the pleasantries had dispensed, we got down to business. They wanted a designer look for their entire downstairs living space. Living room, dining room, eat-in and decor for the kitchen. We discussed styles and goals for the space, like how many people they wanted to entertain, how they used the rooms day to day and what colors they preferred. They were incredibly open to any suggestions and because their home was new, it was a total blank slate. They definitely had a good start with furniture. Already in attendance was a nice looking slipcovered sofa, some pinstripe accent chairs and Pottery Barn occasional furniture but they needed end tables, toy/book storage and  a dining table & chairs for the eat-in plus all the finishing touches that make a room feel polished. So I deemed their style “rustic Pottery Barn at the beach”. They liked the heavier, dark wood pieces from Pottery Barn and wanted to incorporate some coastal accents without it feeling too beachy.

Living Room Design #1 - The Design

I mocked up their first floor in my 3D modeling program and got to work. I sent them a couple preliminary living room layouts to review. They picked their favorite and we were off! Keeping the “rustic pottery barn at the beach” theme in my head, I put together 2 moodboards, one for the living room and one for the eat-in.  I chose smoky blues for the paint color, with a couple darker blue accent walls at the fireplace and what would be the collage wall. I chose accent tables and bookcases that complemented, but didn’t match exactly, the wood color from their existing furniture. I found a really cool dining table and recommended leather parson’s chairs (for easy cleaning) for the eat-in area. The decorative accents like pillows and knick knacks were smoky blue and dusty red. The feeling was rustic, but not overwhelmingly heavy and every now and then a starfish got thrown into the mix. The clients were immediately on board (go me!) and we implemented the design quickly. Once all the major furniture had been ordered and delivered, I scheduled a day for install. It ended up taking 2 days to hang artwork, curtains, and style the shelves, kitchen and dining table. The client came home with her mother as we were finishing up and she exclaimed ” Wow I feel like I’m on a design show on HGTV!” Far and away the best response ever made to an exhausted design team!