Brightening Things Up

One of my favorite projects this year was one where we redesigned nearly all of my client’s living room furniture. I love this client because she believes in sustainable interiors and appreciates the beauty within vintage furniture. She also was willing to take risks, mix patterns and have fun! Clients like these make me so happy!

We started with two caned chairs that were a dingy, mousey brown. The caning was torn and the upholstery was sad and uninviting.

BEFORE

We replaced the caning and stripped every nook and cranny on the intricate frame. For the upholstery we chose the signature print, Tibet, by Clarence House. I love the timeless and playfulness of this design. We kept the wood in its natural tone. There’s a lot of small corners so stripping these frames took a bit of time!

AFTER

Their ottoman was an oversized cumbersome square that sat directly on the floor and blocked the flow of the room. It was upholstered in an heirloom rug collected a trip to the Middle East. The rug had meaning and a history and we wanted to preserve those memories.

BEFORE

We carefully took the rug off of the existing ottoman and created a new round ottoman that opens for extra storage space. The ottoman now sits 4″ off the ground on wooden bun feet so it feels more airy and not so heavy to the ground. The top is upholstered in an indigo yarn dye while the rug pattern wraps around the entire contour of the piece.

AFTER

This is the family’s main sofa below. My goal was to brighten it up with a multicolor texture that were durable would hide any spills.

BEFORE

We chose a jacquard stripe from Pollack Textiles. I love the herringbone texture and the range of colors within this stripe and felt the colors layered well with all the other textiles we used in the room.

AFTER

We wanted to modernize and add interest to this vintage dresser featured below. This piece also holds a lot of meaning for my clients. It’s a simple silhouette with a top mirror. We wanted to make it stand out more.

BEFORE

We tweaked the color by combining a natural finish with a black stain. The look is chic and edgy.

AFTER

I wanted to brighten up the two kitchen armchairs. Their kitchen has a lot of natural light and these chairs were not singing with joy. I was looking to punch up the space with some crisp color and add some playfulness to the space. The kitchen can be a great spot to add a little bit of fun.

BEFORE

The backs are in a Lisa Corti block print and the fronts are in an Imogen Heath block print. The organic nature of both designs compliments one another and is quite cheerful.

AFTER