Living Room: Inviting Craftsman
This great couple needed to be able to host parties for dozens of people in their home, but they could’t figure out how to make the rooms look comfortable and inviting and also create plenty of seating. They had been stuck for years with furniture that was too small in scale and a lack of cohesiveness in the rooms.
We created a furniture plan for the rooms that would maximize the spaciousness of the rooms so they no longer felt small, and would also maximize the seating. The fireplace room alone can now seat 12 people! Once we determined the furniture layout we shopped for pieces that would fit the bill, and chose new colors and accessories to really show off the beautiful home.
We created a furniture plan for the rooms that would maximize the spaciousness of the rooms so they no longer felt small, and would also maximize the seating. The fireplace room alone can now seat 12 people! Once we determined the furniture layout we shopped for pieces that would fit the bill, and chose new colors and accessories to really show off the beautiful home.
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Living Room: Just Accessorizing
This family had a great house with great colors and accessories! All they needed was some help placing the items to create better focal points. When I arrived the pictures in the nooks were all the same height, and the two feature nooks on either side help items that weren’t tall enough to fill the space. The pillows on the couch were not the right style to go with the richness of the other items in the room, and the couch was set all the way back against the built ins.
We pulled the sofa forward to give everything a little breathing space, and swapped the pillows for some with more luxurious texture and color. We added height to one of their existing vases to fill one of the feature nooks (the flowers are orange to balance the triangle sculpture on the opposite side), and helped select a new, tall sculpture to fill the opposite nook. The we curated the shelves and moved around the items they already owned to show them off at their best.
Sometimes a room just needs a little adjusting.
We pulled the sofa forward to give everything a little breathing space, and swapped the pillows for some with more luxurious texture and color. We added height to one of their existing vases to fill one of the feature nooks (the flowers are orange to balance the triangle sculpture on the opposite side), and helped select a new, tall sculpture to fill the opposite nook. The we curated the shelves and moved around the items they already owned to show them off at their best.
Sometimes a room just needs a little adjusting.
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Living Room: Eliminate Builder's Beige
This single man wanted his living room to have more interest and asked Rivalee to come and do a color consultation. We choose deep, leathery grays that set off the great architecture of the space, tied together his dramatic draperies and mushroom colored sofas, and showed of the white trim and carpets. As an added bonus the color embraced the TV so that the room can be appreciated as a whole and made the fireplace even more of a feature in the room.
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Living Room: Urban Awesomeness
This home owner really wanted to feel at home in thier urban house, but rarely spent time in this room because at night it was a corner-lot fishbowl, on view to the world. The first decision we made, after determining that this would be the ‘living room’ area instead of dining, was to add floor to ceiling turquoise velvet drapes. In addition to giving privacy they added gorgeous color and, along with the white shag rug, eliminated the echo in the room. The fantastic sputnik lighting created a focal point and also illuminated the whole room where before it felt dark even with all the lights on. Now the owner has furnishings to match the great architecture of their home, it feels fun and personal, and the drapes can be closed with ease to create a snug urban cocoon.
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Living Room: Urban and Amazing
This woman was newly divorced and had just moved into her own condo. When she brought me in she was still figuring out her new life and said that the space felt empty and lonely. She wasn’t inclined to have people come over.
She said she wanted to feel excited, alive, and happy. Still, was she surprised when we ended up going for brilliant pumpkin-orange paint and a bold zebra print rug! Rivalee custom-painted art for the space and added a few accessories. The space almost instantly transformed from impersonal builder-boring to alive and incredibly personal!
The change in color and fantastic accessories add the drama to the room, but equally important was rearranging the furniture to create a more comfortable seating space and take the emphasis off the tv (which was also switched out for a slimmer wall-mounted flat screen, freeing up precious floor space).
Total cost for this room? Less than $1000, plus the cost of the new rug and tv.
She said she wanted to feel excited, alive, and happy. Still, was she surprised when we ended up going for brilliant pumpkin-orange paint and a bold zebra print rug! Rivalee custom-painted art for the space and added a few accessories. The space almost instantly transformed from impersonal builder-boring to alive and incredibly personal!
The change in color and fantastic accessories add the drama to the room, but equally important was rearranging the furniture to create a more comfortable seating space and take the emphasis off the tv (which was also switched out for a slimmer wall-mounted flat screen, freeing up precious floor space).
Total cost for this room? Less than $1000, plus the cost of the new rug and tv.
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Living Room: Lovely Rental
This single gal was renting this queen anne condo and couldn’t paint, but still wanted to really make it feel like home. She’d already been there a couple years, knew it would be at least another couple, and decided she no longer wanted to live like she was still in college.
She already had two beautifully reupholstered pieces, a chair and sofa handed down through family. Unfortunately the rest of the room was a mish-mash of unmatched wood pieces, all too small for the room, and a much-too-little area rug with no personality. She asked for a beautiful room where her friends would love to gather, and to make the view and her books the focus of the room instead of the tv.
By bringing in a soft, oversized rug and a contemporary entertainment unit that was more about books than media, adding more seating and fresh accessories, we created the room she wanted without changing the paint color at all.
She already had two beautifully reupholstered pieces, a chair and sofa handed down through family. Unfortunately the rest of the room was a mish-mash of unmatched wood pieces, all too small for the room, and a much-too-little area rug with no personality. She asked for a beautiful room where her friends would love to gather, and to make the view and her books the focus of the room instead of the tv.
By bringing in a soft, oversized rug and a contemporary entertainment unit that was more about books than media, adding more seating and fresh accessories, we created the room she wanted without changing the paint color at all.
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Living Room: Hiding a big TV
A recent and significant job loss helped this couple take a critical look at their life in general and acknowledge that they were feeling really unsatisfied, especially with the state of their home. It was so cluttered that they felt too embarrassed to have friends come over. It was time for a change. They wanted a room they could be proud to share with guests and that also felt great when it was just the two of them.
They actually had great furniture, but just too much of it for the space. The light yellow walls didn’t do anything but show off all the clutter, and their giant flat screen tv dwarfed everything else. We found new homes for much of the furniture, then painted the walls a medium, warm grey that would help both the furniture and the tv recede. Lastly we added soft, colorful accessories like the rug, drapes, art, and new lighting to create an inviting, cohesive space.
The homeowners now feel proud of the space and never hesitate to invite friends over for a movie or glass of wine.
They actually had great furniture, but just too much of it for the space. The light yellow walls didn’t do anything but show off all the clutter, and their giant flat screen tv dwarfed everything else. We found new homes for much of the furniture, then painted the walls a medium, warm grey that would help both the furniture and the tv recede. Lastly we added soft, colorful accessories like the rug, drapes, art, and new lighting to create an inviting, cohesive space.
The homeowners now feel proud of the space and never hesitate to invite friends over for a movie or glass of wine.
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Living Room: Craftsman Classic
Like many families these homeowners already owned a number of nice pieces of furniture, and also like many families who take on a big remodel, there wasn’t much money left in the budget afterwards to buy new furnishings, regardless.
We chose colors that would both compliment the new remodel and also perfectly incorporate all their old furnishings into their new home, creating a wonderful space to raise their kids for years to come. The deep pine-forest green on the far wall not only tied in their large area rug, it also grounded the large armoire and made it fit snugly into the room. The rich burgundy in the far room (dining) also tied into the rug in the living room, making the whole space feel thoughtfully planned, warm, and inviting.
We chose colors that would both compliment the new remodel and also perfectly incorporate all their old furnishings into their new home, creating a wonderful space to raise their kids for years to come. The deep pine-forest green on the far wall not only tied in their large area rug, it also grounded the large armoire and made it fit snugly into the room. The rich burgundy in the far room (dining) also tied into the rug in the living room, making the whole space feel thoughtfully planned, warm, and inviting.
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Living Room: Soft Sophistication
The rich burgundy wine colored accent wall was quite pretty, but this family wanted a change to something more updated and sophisticated. While they were not yet in a position to update the larger furniture pieces, we swapped out the old and too-small rug for a new, larger rug, and exchanged the very traditional coffee and end tables for a more contemporary look. We added a new floor lamp with more substance and a shade that was a better compliment to their existing table lamp, and refreshed the items on display on the mantle to showcase their treasures instead of being spaced evenly in a line-up. Of course, we also changed the burgundy paint to a soft, rich sparrow grey. The result is a room that is more sophisticated and yet less formal, a grown-up, elegantly relaxed room.
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Living room: Going Global
This client was a fabulous woman embracing her new single life. She decided to buy a wonderful house with box beam ceilings, warm wood floors and picture windows, but wasn’t quite sure how to make the most of it and make it really feel like her home. We painted the ceiling and walls in a warm Citrine yellow, enhancing the warmth of the room and showing off those fantastic ceilings! We worked together to select a new L-shaped sofa to create a cozy seating area, then filled the room with accessories she’d collected during her world travels. This project was a wonderful example of client and designer working hand in hand to transform a space and make it really personal!
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Living Room: From Suburban to Urban
This couple wanted to turn their bland, outdated family room into a cozy, interesting lounge for hanging out and watching tv. The challenge was making a long, shoe-box shaped room feel cozy and inviting while keeping it functional as the ‘hallway’ from the garage to the rest of the house. The additional challenge was to have a big bed for their great dane without a traditional, stuffed dog pillow. After the walls were freshly sheet-rocked and the carpet updated to a neutral and easy-to-clean frieze, we painted the walls a combination of dark charcoal and wasabi green. This made the room cozier and more textural, although it made the homeowners nervous to have such dark and ‘weird’ colors on the walls. Then we centered a large chocolate brown sofa in the room, put an oversize vintage chair in the corner for the great dane, anchored the sofa and the coffee table with a sisal rug, and accessorized using the treasures the homeowners had on hand. While the homeowners weren’t so sure about the colors when we first suggested them, or even once they were painted, they absolutely loved the results once the whole room came together!
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Living Room: A Sunny Personality
This delightful woman hired me to help make her place feel more personal and warm. She had a very good sense of what she liked and knew she wanted to paint the room yellow, but also knew that choosing the ‘right’ yellow could be an impossible challenge. It too often turns out too bright and garish or too sweet and pale.
Within an hour of starting our color consultation we had picked out new paint colors for each of here rooms and she was set to go. Now, what I love best about these before and after pictures is that there is almost nothing new - only paint and the dining light fixture. Just the change from pale beige walls to rich sunflower yellow gave every item in the room new life! It made the space feel happier and friendlier and, most importantly, it made the place feel more like the homeowner herself!
Within an hour of starting our color consultation we had picked out new paint colors for each of here rooms and she was set to go. Now, what I love best about these before and after pictures is that there is almost nothing new - only paint and the dining light fixture. Just the change from pale beige walls to rich sunflower yellow gave every item in the room new life! It made the space feel happier and friendlier and, most importantly, it made the place feel more like the homeowner herself!
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Media Room: Man Cave
This client hired me to makeover the tv room as a gift to her husband. They wanted the space to feel fun and easy-going, but updated and much cozier.
When we started this basement room was painted white. While white paint might feel like a ‘safe’ choice, it can’t create a cozy a room, combat the chill of a daylight basement, or help hide clutter and big tvs, all of which this man-room needed! We covered all that white paint with warm grey on the walls and ceilings and updated the room with golden oak flooring. It was important to showcase the sports collections and to keep the room masculine, so we tied all the colors together with a bold rug, suede pillows (just a few) and hefty wood lamps, and reorganized the collection of Seahawks and Mariners items to show them off more fully.
The result is a masculine, comfortable media room that pays homage to the homeowner’s favorite sports teams without resorting to cliche and expected sports-team colors for the walls and accessories.
When we started this basement room was painted white. While white paint might feel like a ‘safe’ choice, it can’t create a cozy a room, combat the chill of a daylight basement, or help hide clutter and big tvs, all of which this man-room needed! We covered all that white paint with warm grey on the walls and ceilings and updated the room with golden oak flooring. It was important to showcase the sports collections and to keep the room masculine, so we tied all the colors together with a bold rug, suede pillows (just a few) and hefty wood lamps, and reorganized the collection of Seahawks and Mariners items to show them off more fully.
The result is a masculine, comfortable media room that pays homage to the homeowner’s favorite sports teams without resorting to cliche and expected sports-team colors for the walls and accessories.
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Living Room: Rich and Inviting
The living room had looked like this for years as the homeowner focussed on being a single mom. Once her daughter was grown she wanted to create a living room that would make her excited, not embarrassed, to invite people over. She wasn’t sure where to start, but had found a painting that she loved, so we keyed the colors off that inspiration piece.
We started by removing the old mirror tiles from around the fireplace, then we faux painted the brick to make it a richer espresso color to match the hearth. We painted the walls olive green and then accessorized the room with deep chocolate and vivid red furnishings, giving the once-bare room bold, intriguing and rich flavor that made the homeowner feel eager to be at home and share the space with her friends and family.
We started by removing the old mirror tiles from around the fireplace, then we faux painted the brick to make it a richer espresso color to match the hearth. We painted the walls olive green and then accessorized the room with deep chocolate and vivid red furnishings, giving the once-bare room bold, intriguing and rich flavor that made the homeowner feel eager to be at home and share the space with her friends and family.
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Living Room: Southwest Modern
The owners of this home just purchased this beautiful contemporary sofa, but needed help complimenting it with the right accessories. We added a beautiful new area rug and laid it horizontally in the room to reduce the long skinny feeling of the space, then placed an accent chair, Naguchi-style table and colorful accessories to create a warm, cohesive, contemporary living room.
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Living room: Robin's Egg Redesign
This busy mother of two wanted a feeling of openness and calm in her living room. We added a soft, breezy blue to the walls to lighten and open the room and show off the color in the homeowner’s artwork, and rearranged the furniture and removed pieces that weren’t useful so that the room felt less cluttered and more welcoming. A fresh coat of paint and a little reorganizing can go a long way to making a room feel fresh and new again.
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