We had so much fun with these wonderful clients! Danny and Maria Davis sold all their furniture, moved to Wichita and decided to build a house. Fortunately, they contacted us to help with this adventure and we immediately started working with the blueprints. We didn’t stop until the last accessory was placed. Maria has such fabulous taste it is no wonder that Danny just stepped back and watched it all come together.
Let’s look at the entry which is often overlooked but really sets the stage for a guest as they enter. It makes them feel comfortable immediately. Exact measurements of each wall are needed, including the height of the ceiling. Entries are a great place to add ambient lighting in lamps and of course a console or credenza is needed. Danny and Maria liked neutral tones, elegance and a bit of glam. We knew just how to deliver it!
The large sized credenza needed an oversized round mirror to balance it. The gold and glass lamps reflect in the mirror and the addition of the wavy edge bowl finishes the composition on that side. Clean, neat and perfectly scaled to the wall.
The opposite wall was perfect for an original piece of art picking up her colors again. It is always important to visualize what will be reflected both near and far in a mirror. Also, having the lamps set slightly in front of the mirror brings the items together.
As you enter the living room you see a large area of windows. Deciding on the window treatment was an important factor In designing this room. To allow for privacy, but also offer a view, we installed Hunter Douglas wooden shutters. Once they were installed we could concentrate on the furniture placement. Centering the sofa, adding the tables and bringing in matching marble lamps. Placing the right height lamps in the right areas makes the room cozier but also ensures that it will be really comfortable. I love the balance of identical lamps by sofas.
Once the TV was placed we knew that two very comfortable chairs needed to face it, with a gorgeous table between them and of course proper lighting. These were at a right angle to the sofa and then to counter balance the weight we placed a single swivel chair angled facing the sofa and chairs. Without the third chair the room would have been off balance. Check out the wonderful detail on the back of this chair! The detail of the welt is really eye catching.
The beautiful cocktail table brought the room together and accessorizing it with blown glass on a mirrored tray added more glamour to the room.
Next we moved on to the shelves on each side of the fireplace and found the perfect collection of larger single items for some shelves and multiple items for others. The gold, black and cream tones were continued throughout the accessories and worked well with the tones in the furniture and area rug.
This house had so many shelves on different walls that any accessories we used had to work well with the others. When you step into the living room there are built in shelves on each side of the fireplace and on the arched focal point wall as well.
Shelves can be overwhelming but if you vary the shapes and sizes of the accessories it becomes easier to figure out the pattern.
Here we started With the shelves on each side of the fireplace we knew we needed to carry the cream, black and gold but knew we could introduce other metals and mirrors without jarring the eye.
Make sure the items have enough height so you don’t have a small item in a cavernous space. I also like a single item on some shelves and multiples on others. Having a single right sized piece really helps keep the shelves from getting too busy.
When we use multiples we usually use three items but the right two pieces can work as well. The simplicity of the long tray under the painting also keeps it cleaner looking. Using different shapes such as round or rectangular makes it more interesting. Just don’t use too many rectangular shapes on rectangular shelves or it starts to look boring and boxy.
We then moved on to the large ached focal area and placed a large custom painting. The accessories are unique shapes and styles perfect for the individual spaces.
This room came together with comfortable, clean lined furniture in a beautiful color story. The addition of artwork and accessories finished the details. I really believe that planning a room from the largest upholstery items and working from there is the secret to creating the perfect space. If the sofa and chairs aren’t comfortable, it won’t matter what the room looks like, you won’t want to use it!
Maria and Danny sat on the sofas and chairs in our showroom and that helped us find the perfect depth and width for comfortable seating for both of them. Then it was just deciding on the colors, textures and final details such as the pillows, welting and accessories. This beautiful couple have their beautiful home.
Next week we will look at more rooms in this house to see how a color change added more interest while keeping it comfortable and glam.
