Highgate - Interior Design Closing Day! - Part One

Hi All!
I'm always asked what it's like to finish a room for a client and how we do it ... so, I decided to blog about it with visuals - it's not a glamorous day, but certainly rewarding in the end. There are a number of photos I want to share with you for this post, so I've decided to break it up into two entries. This one will feature the rooms before photos (provided by the client pre consultation) as well as the start of the closing day photos.

First off ... the before photos ...

Closing days are always bustling with activity - from installations, to deliveries, to set up, it's definitely hectic. It involves packing my truck and assistant's car with all the accessories and props. Draperies and hardware are also packed with us because drapery installation is usually one of the first things done on this day - and we don't want to be waiting for them to be delivered.

Props and accessories area ... yes, it's messy - always best to close when the client isn't home - this can be scary for some!

Drapery hardware goes up...

Drapes hung and rug in place...

Some furniture delivered and set up...

Starting to come together...

Now that all of the large pieces are delivered and in place, my assistant and I get to work on organizing all of the elements and placing accessories and props for the client's reveal.

Want to see the finished space? Check back soon for part two of this post which will feature all the afters and details.

Happy decorating!

Lenore

Highgate - Before and After

As part of some of the new things I have planned for the blog this year, I'll be taking you along on some of the room before and after journeys - we'll show you pics of where we started, the closing day steps and of course the final shots!

People are always asking me 'How do you do it?" ... Well, closing days are always hectic, full of surprises and long. But the end result is always worth it!

Tomorrow we'll take you on a visual tour of how this project went from "before" to 'after'!

Don't forget to subscribe (to the right) to get automatic updates and follow me on twitter where I take you through my days and current projects.

Happy Decorating!
Lenore 

A Pillow Story - Wellington Project

Designing pillows for a client project is one of my favourite things to do. I love gathering fabrics and tying an entire scheme together. These accent pieces are what usually brings a room to completion ... you know that room you've been fawning over in that magazine? Well, I'm willing to bet that it includes these accents as a wrap up to the whole room!

When I'm creating a pillow story, I take into account all of the upholstered components in a room - a bed, a sofa, a chair ... and add coloured and patterned fabrics that relate to and enhance them. These pieces usually add the punch of colour needed in a more neutral scheme. Most people tend to shy away from large elements of colour so it's a great way to add colour without a huge commitment.

Accent pillows often get forgotten in the designing process - it's crucial to any well designed scheme. Yes, these jewels may seem expensive - but, when designed by a professional, you'll get pillows that have longevity built in by creating two schemes - a front and a back colour/pattern. This way you can change up the look of your room just by flipping over your pillows. Want a glam look - add sparkly button accents to the front and go simpler on the back so that when your glam mood is over, you can go back to a classic look.

Here's where we started ...

Here's what it turned into!

And here's a sneak peek of how they looked in the finished space ... we'll be posting snaps from this project in the next couple of days!

Visit again soon to see more photos from this project!

Happy Decorating!

Lenore

Signs!

Hi everyone!
We just finished another fun project for a wonderful young family! We'll post pics very soon - it turned out so great - everyone is pleased! I think it's my new favourite room - I say that about all of my projects - I can't keep changing my own decor, but at least I get to live them vicariously through my clients.

In the coming weeks we'll post a bunch of before and after photos from a few jobs we've completed throughout the city - by the way, look for our new signs ... it's always so strange to pull up to a clients home and see me there.

Will post snaps soon - promise.

Happy Decorating!

Lenore

Sneek Peek - Colour Story

One of the things I love to do is create a colour story for clients with fabric and any other materials that may be used throughout a space like wallpaper and paint.

One of my current clients wants an elegant, but soft pallet - she's not afraid of light upholstered pieces (love that!) and wants pops of colour mainly in accents - I can see the final space!

Here's where we're at so far ... a bit more sourcing needed, but I think we're on the right track! Remember - always start with too much and pare back from there!

Happy Decorating!
Lenore

Lots on the go!

It's been quite the week so far. Lots on the go - including babysitting current jobs and creating schemes for new clients. We're also revamping our newsletter and hope to have that out to everyone by the end of the month.

We've got a few new concepts that we are putting together and we'll post scheme photos soon for you to see. As well, we just installed some draperies - which turned out beautifully and links everything in the room together.

In the meantime, I think I'd better get things cleaned up in the studio!

Happy Decorating!
Lenore

Behind the Scenes II - Powder Room Vanity

Powder rooms are a wonderful opportunity to go a bit higher end without really hurting your budget too much. We're going for a statement piece as the vanity (I've blogged about this piece before it - I love it!) and we're layering it with a custom marble top and stone sink with luxe faucet.

Because we actually don't need too many elements in this room, we can splurge a bit. The counter top is a beautiful calcutta marble - a bit like carrera marble, but with a warmer brown veining in it. This will work nicely with the existing limestone floor in a grey and beige colouration and keep things from feeling too cold.

With a counter like that, we couldn't go for any old sink - we went for stone. Again in a white but with a bit of grey to tie into the other elements.

Now that these elements have been selected, it's time to find just the right faucet - the right style and the right height!

Happy decorating!

Lenore

(Image: Sink, vanity)

Behind the Scenes II - A Powder Room Makeover!

I'm working on a tiny space in a clients home ... a powder room. Now most people think that there isn't much you can do with a small space like this which has only two main fixtures in it - but I'm here to prove you wrong!
I've got big plans for this tiny space - we're going to inject lots of drama  and bring it to life ... come along for the ride!

I'll reveal the plan for that pedestal sink in the follow up post.

Happy decorating!
Lenore

Behind the Scenes - The Big Reveal!

Our cosy family room design is finally complete and I can see lots of afternoon chats and evening movie watching happening in this space!

It was lots of fun working on this project - Joe and Lidia enjoy!

Happy Decorating!

Lenore

Behind the Scenes - Sneak Peek!

Hi everyone!

Its starting to come together ... here's a quick peek!
Happy decorating!
Lenore

Behind the Scenes - Coffee Table and Sides

Coffee tables are a piece of furniture that a lot of people struggle with. I can't tell you how many consultations I do where the coffee table is too small or simply the wrong shape for the room.  It's a piece that will get used a lot, so it needs to be functional as well as aesthetically pleasing.

In our scheme, given that the sofas have dark legs and are more square in its design with a bit of curve, and the room itself is more of a square shape it seems only fitting that the coffee table be round. 

When I design rooms, I always try and include a 'special' piece - something sculptural that will be a feature in the room. The space we are designing is small and doesn't leave a lot of room for this 'special' piece, so we are going to make it the coffee table. During one of my shopping adventures I came across the above glass top coffee table with this rounded, sculptural base - the moment I saw it I knew it was the piece for our room.

Having chosen the table, it's on to the side tables. Given that they are tucked away and not too visible in the space, a simple shape with a glass top for lightness does the trick. The wood tone works well with everything else in the room without being an exact match.

Time to pick up these special pieces and get the room styled!

Happy decorating!

Lenore

(Images: table)

Behind the Scenes - Sofa Delivery!

The two pieces we've patiently been waiting for have arrived! Our delivery service did a great job and carefully unwrapped the pieces, cover the stairs with drop cloths and finessed the sofas down the stairs and into the family room.
When having things delivered, choose your delivery service carefully. After all, they are the ones that will be handling the furniture that you just spent your hard earned money on - so it's not the area to cheapen out on. Also, a good service will remove the wrapping and take it off your hands.
Now it's time to bring in the other pieces and style and close this room!
Happy Decorating!
Lenore

Behind the Scenes - Paint Choices

Now that we have fabric has been chosen, as well as accent chairs and some accessories (we'll see those fully in the final reveal) we can look at putting together some paint colour options.
Overall, we're looking to create a calmer and warmer feel in the space compared to the brighter blue on the walls currently. With neutral tones in fabric and wood, we want to continue that onto the walls and inject colour through the accessories that will fill the room in the end.
The sofa is a grey/beige, the chairs a dark chocolate - a nice contrast to the sofa and loveseat. The flooring at the base of the stairs and into the hall is a terracotta tile with some grey/beige in it too. So to tie this colour into this room (it's very open to it) we will choose something with a grey/beige undertone and use some accessories to inject some of that terracotta colour into this room as seen in the accent fabrics above.

When choosing a neutral colour, it's important to access larger colour chips and layer them. By doing so, you will immediately recognize which colours are the right tone and which are not. In our example of colours we choose below, it becomes evident which are more yellow and which are more pink. Our goal is a neutral grey/beige ... and the winner is the top colour - Benjamin Moore HC 172 Revere Pewter. In the rooms lighting, it has jut enough grey to make it work with our sofa fabric without being too beige.
Off to get the painting started!
Happy decorating!
Lenore

Behind the Scenes - Seating Fabric

So let's talk seating fabric. There are a lot of things to consider when choosing a fabric for a sofa. The most important features are durability, wear and staining/cleaning.

Our clients plan to spend a lot of time in their room watching TV and entertaining. So a durable fabric is what we are looking for. While keeping durability in mind, we want to ensure that we are not sacrificing cozyness. In terms of colour, we have decided to go with a mid tone neutral to help minimize dirt being evident while still maintaining a lighter feel in the room. A neutral colour will always look classic and current and allow for flexibility with colour. 

After meeting with our client, reviewing options and discussing each in depth, our client has chosen a light to mid toned fabric that is water repellant and has a double rub of 234,000 - which is extremely durable while remaining comfortable to sit on. The fabric has a white backing, making it a bit stiffer which will help to keep the sofa clean a tailored looking use after use.

Now time to order that fabric and get that sofa and love seat into production.

Happy Decorating!

Lenore

Behind the Scenes - TV Unit

I'm still trying to find the perfect TV stand for the TV in our Family room redecorating project. We want something sturdy, low and long and that looks like a furniture piece rather than a typical TV stand. It needs to be on legs to remain looking light in the room and have some good storage for DVD's etc. So the above looks like a good option and gives us the opportunity to add some nice hardware to add some nice bling to our room.

Happy decorating!

Lenore

(Image Geovin)

Behind the Scenes - Carpet Delivery

It's here! The first part of our family room redecorating! The carpet arrived today and it looks great! We'll wait until we're closer to delivery on all the other pieces before we install it ... probably the day before. We'll book our installer when we have a better idea when our sofa and chairs will be ready!
Happy decorating!
Lenore

Behind the Scenes - Chairs

With the carpet approved and our sofas in production it's time to get thinking about the accent chairs for the room. Because of the intimate footprint we have to work with, we have to choose smaller scaled pieces. Though we debated accent chairs with a more formal look, in the end they were a bit too 'hard' for the comfy family room we're designing.
Accent chairs that have the feel of a sofa chair or tub chairs are more the look we're going for. So, here are a few options we're considering. Remember that it's far more dynamic to create a space with pieces that are all individual and unify them through fabrics and common shapes. Living rooms that are put together using full suites of furniture are something our parents did and not necessarily the look we are wanting in our spaces today.
Both options are the perfect size and scale for the room. Being armless, they offer a less heavy look and keep our plan open and light. The first chair offers the versatility of swinging to face different areas of the room - the TV for viewing or the sofa 'corner' for conversations. The second is more stationary and the wood legs tie into the sofa and love seat legs.
We'll present to the client and find out which they prefer.
Happy decorating!
Lenore

(Image Brentwood)

Behind the Scenes - Comfy Sofa!

Lucielle has made her debut into our design scheme for 'our' project! Lucielle is the name of this sofa - don't you just love the lines and retro appeal of this piece? So, we chose this style for our room because it has good proportions for our room - smaller scaled for our intimate family room. With show-wood legs, the piece is elevated off the floor allowing for a lighter feel in the room. The tufted back and sleek arms give it a classic tailored look that will give this piece staying power in our room for years to come.

Time to finalize fabrics ... off to source some more!

Happy decorating!

Lenore

(Image Brentwood)

Behind the Scenes - Carpet, Carpet, Carpet!

Carpet decision made! The client has selected the carpet to be used in the family room for 'our' project. A few options were presented. They were all berber styles with patterns created through twisted loops and cut pile. I love the wave pattern of this carpet. It's like walking on water!
Since the room is small it's important that every element be carefully considered to work well with all of the other pieces. A good under pad will be installed for added warmth and comfort and longevity!
Onto the next part ... the sofa and love seat.
Happy decorating!
Lenore

(Image Blueridge Home)

Behind the Scenes - Floor Plan

Our family room project is now well underway and we have an approved room plan! The original space contained a sofa bed and chair as seating and a coffee table and TV with stand. It was sparse and cold. The new plan allows for much more seating to create a nice conversational space while feeling much cosier.
So armed with this plan we can now begin to source! Here's our list of items needed;
Sofa bed - 77" wide, 34" deep
Love seat - 54" wide, 34" deep
Tub chairs (2) - 28' wide, 28" deep
Round coffee table - 38 x 38"
Side Table - 24" wide x 24" deep
Carpet
Two floor lamps
One or two table lamps
Throws
Pillows
Accessories
Now that we're equipped with a plan and list, we can start sourcing! I'll begin pulling fabrics to develop a scheme and begin sourcing furniture - starting with the largest piece - the sofa bed and love seat. Everything else will springboard from there.
Happy Decorating!
Lenore