A Contemporary, Colorful Living Room

Hello my fabulous blog followers!

Below are pics of a living room I recently completed. It is in the same house as the kitchen from my last post. The final piece for this living room took awhile. It was finding just the right table for the corner in between the two purple sofas. With those high arms on the sofas, we knew the table had to be fairly high for function, but if it was the same height as the arms, it would look awkward...happy balance time! We also really wanted a pop of copper on top (say that 5 times fast :) to tie in the chairs and complement the purple sofas. I really like the Asian art and the Asian feel of the table lamp. Both of those features soften or take the edge off of the contemporary lines and add more visual depth. Enjoy!

 Keeping everything very geometric for a contemporary feel...also the nature of the architecture of the house.

 I love the windows in this house! Beautiful dichroic glass art on the coffee table by Designs by Shoshana. 

Looking into the dining room...tying the rooms together with red.

Off set wall hung shelves provide a nice place for art, family pics, and mementos.

Later, Susan

Eclectic Vintage Color, Part 1 -- the Kitchen

Hi All!

Time for after pics!! This post is focused on a kitchen from a multi-room first floor project.  I'm calling this project Eclectic Vintage Color because those are three adjectives the homeowner really wanted to incorporate into the finished designs.  The entire project included the kitchen, laundry room, powder room, family room, living room, and dining room.  I think I'll do different posts for each room.  How's that sound? First up -- is the kitchen -- which probably isn't as vintage, eclectic or colorful as the other rooms.  After all, we did need function here.  I posted before pics of the below kitchen here and did progress posts as we were selecting finishes, etc. here and here.  So now, drumroll please...check it out!

Eclectic Vintage Color

Maple cabinetry, granite countertops, mosaic style backsplash with glass, stone, and marble, stainless fixtures, stainless breakfast table, vinyl chairs

I absolutely adore the backsplash/granite combo.  The swirl of the granite combined with the structure of the tile is just divine!

I really like all of the coordinating textures in this image, particularly the charming basket shelf.

In addition to the island, there is a large peninsula -- see the three pendants -- with three stools for additional seating or to watch TV in the family room.

Didn't my client do a fabulous job finding baskets for the shelf with the perfect shade of grays and cream liner to tie in with all of the varying colors we brought into the kitchen?

A little personalization with knob icons for the four family members:  grapes, baseball, books, and butterfly

But wait, we can't forget about the adorable family dog, Milo!  He gets a personalized knob too...

I know, not the best pic, but it's a dog head knob identical to Milo's breed.  How fab!

And of course he also gets his own little eating/food storage station!

Stay tuned for Room #2!

Susan

Living Room in Full Color

I know, I know...I have been greatly delinquent on posting once a week.  I have been so busy with my many projects , and I say many with a smile on my face :) or when I sit down to write, I am just too tired to care.  I definitely don't want to be posting "careless" pieces!

I am working on a living room, dining room, foyer redesign and thought I would share with you it's progress.  A few years ago, 2007 to be exact, when the couple with small kids moved into the home, we worked on the exterior -- new siding, ext lighting, railings, landscaping, etc.  We then did some paint colors in the inside just to give the house a more personable feeling.  Now we are starting over, with whole room redo's in the above three rooms.  I'll write posts on the dining room and foyer in future posts. Sooo stay tuned!!

Above is the layout of the room.  I love using Post-It notes cut to size of my furniture selections so I can move the pieces around at will.  Yes, I have the ever popular magnetic set.  However, I can never seem to find the size/style I need.  So I made my own!  The Charles Ray sofa is in the bottom right corner with an existing cocktail table in front and an existing low buffet in back which will eventually get a couple of lamps.  A contemporary style Hickory wing chair is in the bottom left corner and a Hickory chaise in the upper left corner.  In the upper right corner is the husband's Ekornes brown leather chair/ottoman where he likes to work on his laptop from home -- so a must to incorporate!

Here's the sofa material -- kind of a reinterpreted "running dog/Asian" look with the softest of soft microfiber pillows and trim in a rich rust color with an accent trim.  The dark gold color is the Benjamin Moore wall paint while the light gold color will be the on the elevated, peaked ceiling.

The chaise lounge will be in this wonderful soft blue microfiber (more desaturated looking than in the pic) near the fireplace with an accent pillow in a Ralph Lauren green/blue/red to tie in with the sofa and wing chair.

Fabulous Schumacher printed linen for grommet drapery flanking the fireplace.

The Schumacher linen has super duper large paisleys on it and will be bordered by a Robert Allen rust linen at the top.  The green fabric is the Hickory contemporary wing chair.  It will also have bronze colored railheads to bring in a bit of masculinity to the room!

This is the coffee/cocktail table -- an inheritance from the husband's mother so it has sentimental value.  He is thrilled we can reuse it, and so am I!  Look at those big chunky legs -- aren't they cool?  And I love the acanthus leaf accents.  I am having a decorative paint artist add a bit of gold leaf and gold Rub n' Buff to the legs to give it more of a worn, yet elegant look.

And here it all is!!  What do you think?  (Again the blue is not that vibrant - jeepers!! :)

Cheers!  Susan

MH Living Room Progress

Hello!  I'm excited to share with you progress on a living room I'm working on.  It is in the same home as the kitchen we were working on back here.  We recently installed quite a bit of the new furnishings, pretty much everything you see in the below pics.  We still have a couple more custom pieces as well as accessories in the works.  Enjoy, and stay tuned for more!

Coming together nicely, if I must say so myself!

 The gold etagere is so scrumptious -- I'll have to take some close ups of the wonderfully, layered on gold finish!

 What?!  But Milo, how could something outside be more interesting than all of the gorgeous furnishings???

 I love the style of this chair!!

Aaahhh...bliss...

~~~Susan~~~

"Fetch Doggy!" magazine rack

I couldn't pass up sharing this adorable magazine rack called the Companion Rack!  If I were a doggy fan (we are cat people over here, although all animals are always welcome), I would scoop one up right away.  This would look fabulous in an office, media room, bedroom, bathroom, kids room, family room, or living room if its a casual or retro style.  Just about anywhere!  It's designed by Gavin Coyle from the UK.  On their website, it says "We aspire to create products which make strong emotional connections expressed through unpretentious forms providing a quiet, enduring presence in the home."  I love that!

Heel, Sit, Rollover...  Good Doggy!!

Susan

Glamour, Ethnicity, and a Retro Spirit!

Hello, hello, hello (ok at least it's not ho, ho, ho yet)!  I am busily working on a living room project which combines glamour, ethnicity, and a bit of retro spirit.  All three styles really spoke to me with this client.  I have known her, personally and professionally, for about 10 years.  I LOVE her sense of flair!  Very unique, and not on one level; hence, the combination of styles...and lucky for me...integrating styles is right up my alley!

Fabulous, huh?  Stay tuned...

Above is a layout sketch for the living room furniture:  funky sofa, two super cool accent chairs, awesome cocktail table, hand painted side table, gorgeous gold leaf etagere, high gloss lacquer ice blue/white desk...What?  A few too many superlatives??  OK, guess I am super duper, over the top excited about our selections!

 We already have our main conversation area in the center of the room, correct?  So, I didn't want to just add another couple of chairs and a table in the lower right corner of the plan for more seating; hence, I came up with the idea of a built in banquette above...ala Morocco...I'm so excited about this!  Not only that...but listen to this:  

We are sitting chatting, and the husband says "Wait...I need to get something."  Huh?  He comes out with two dark turquoise (darker than above) capiz shell pendant lights with dark antique brass metal solder joints, somewhat tulip shaped, that hung on either side of the piano as he was growing up.  How FUN is that!  A bit more tulip than the round shape above, but I wanted to give you some visuals.  These are going to look absolutely stunning hanging together at different heights over the center of the banquette.  It will really ground the corner, AND his mother will be tickled fuchsia (we hope anyway)!!

We are using this Norbar blue velvet tufted in the back, smooth on the seats, and gathered on the sides of the cushion and base.

Across the top we are doing a chunky cording with this fabulous Pierre Frey cut velvet stripe.

Remember, from a previous post, this is going in this room above.  It now has wonderful warm caramelized bamboo floors, with the existing grey/blue handmade paper wall covering.

We have a lot more selections decided, but I think I'll group them together for the next upcoming post!

~~ Ciao!!  Susan~~

Mendota Heights Project Progress

Hi all!  It seems like sooo very long since I've written a blog post, which it has been about a week and a half I guess.  Thinking about Steve Jobs today, and all of the many quotes and images of him everywhere.  My son Max sent me this website, www.appleofwisdom.com yesterday with oodles of Steve Jobs quotes.  He was a very realistic visionary.  I have fallen in love with this statement of his, as it rings true to my heart.

“Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.” – Steve Jobs

I am constantly telling this to my clients -- it doesn't matter how fabulous it looks, if it doesn't work for your needs, whatever they may be, it is not a successful design.

OK, on to the project at hand.  I have new updated photos of the progress in the kitchen and mud/living/dining/family rooms.  I can't do this project by my lonesome, so let me remind you, I have been working with Dean Sorem of Dean Sorem Tile, Scott Santanni of Santanni Custom Homes, and Steve Draeger of Imperial Custom Woodworking, and it has been rolling along smoothly!  Enjoy the new additions!

 New maple cabinetry with mosaic tile backsplash made up of stone and polished & honed glass with the new Black Storm granite countertops.  LOVE the granite and backsplash together!

 Peninsula, or buffet (its been given many names within this project!) with new granite and newly painted Sherwin Williams wall color Truly Taupe.

 Peninsula again, with floor opening for Milo's food dishes (family dog) and cabinet above for storage of and easy access of dog food.

Adorable Milo!

 Larger view of kitchen showing maple cabinetry, new tile mosaic backsplash being installed, blue/charcoal glazed island with new sleek cooktop hood.

 Another angle of the kitchen showing the pantry in the far back left corner and the oven (eventually) wall.

 Close up of the gorgeous granite called Black Storm.

 Fireplace tile front being installed.  The hearth on the fireplace sticks out some and curves in front.  We used the same granite as in the kitchen but with a honed finish for a softer, more inviting appearance.

 Fireplace wall showing new bookcase/shelves flanking it on either side.

 Family room window seat wall showing more of Sherwin Williams Truly Taupe.

 Showing the oven wall again.  The doors at the top will have "wave" glass installed, and the long horizontal cubby will have 3 or 4 baskets to hold whatever life throws at you!

 Can't wait to pull away all of that tan paper and reveal ALL of the granite with the backsplash!  Like unwrapping a present!

What do you think?  Any comments?  Does anyone read this?  Hello, hello, hello (echo, echo, echo...)

Toodles!  Susan