Monday, April 26, 2010

Design project 2009- 2010

This project began innocent enough. A friend of mine and former client ask me to help with the move of her parents household from a 5-bedroom house they had lived in for 50 years into a new appartement.

Facade of the old house


Help to prepare to downsize and make the new place comfortable and easy to live in.
This was in February 2009.
We began with a view of the existing house, then the new apartment - a two bedroom condo near their daughter and with a to-do list in order we could get started.

Images of the old home





I began by selecting pieces I thought suitable for the new home, we worked out a plan to sell, sort and discard. I went on a treasure hunt in their basement and found many thing worth taking to the new location. It took many hours of clearing and packing and finally they moved in June 2009. Before that we gutted the apartment, located in a well kept building from the sixties with walking distance to shops and train.
The project kept growing: After some consideration they added the complete renovation of the two existing bathrooms, painted the place, put in wall-to-wall carpet, by requirement of the management.

The future home...


While renovating...

Simultaneously we selected window decorations and track loads of new furniture, while keeping an eye on existing pieces, artwork and decorative items which had been collected by the client over a life time!
I wanted to give them an updated style, without estranging them from their pieces, they had loved for many years. Almost everything holds memories, a story or history!
They have a lovely collection of original artwork, many paintings we had to find wall space for without overwhelming the much smaller space.
There were some road blocks along the way. Fabrics we had ordered came back not available anymore, a sofa ordered in March was delivered with the wrong fabric in October and arrived finally in March 2010!
We had curtains made, inches shorter then needed...well, let's say the fair share of difficulty given the size of the project.
I love how we found our way to connect and to listen to each others ideas. How eventually the husband said, lets do as Victoria says... after viewing 100 coffee tables and not coming to a decision...Yeah! Victory with the coffee table. Compromises and adjustments along the way and here is the result!




Entering through a small entrance you reach the vestibule, a pleasant space to arrive at home. Chair, side table, bench and chest are new. Floor lamp existed as did all the art work. I found this gorgeous mirror in the basement! Ceiling fixture from the old house, a transformed gas light...


View from the entrance area into the living room. Master bedroom and bathroom to the left.






In the living room we brought the side tables, mirror, all table lamps, the wonderful wing chair, which got new lovely upholstery from the old house. The two peach colored armchairs came straight from their as well! No need to do anything, I had found the small lyra table in the basement, had it restored and voila, makes a lovely conversation area next to the new - new (!) sofa, separating the seating area from the door to the balcony and the writing desk at the window. The coffee table and side board are new.








The peach colored arm chairs were the beginning of the color scheme...we took our clues from there, matched the green velvet of the sofa, the cushions and the upholstery fabric on the wing chair. The curtains in living room and adjacent dining area are similar in color but different in pattern. The side chair as well a found one in the home, the desk came, lamp and all the accessoires.


View towards the den.


Looking into the dining area.






The dining set and side board are new, the chandelier came from one of the home owners former bedrooms, we found these lovely wall sconces and I thought they were a perfect fit next to the amazing oil painting from the 19th century.



The darkest room in the new appartement is the den, we made it cozy with blue gray walls and a fun floor covering. A lively pattern lifts up the space. The recliner, sofa bed and floor lamp are new, everything else came from the former den. This room perhaps is still the closest to my client's former house, almost similar in size and layout.


Glimps into her bathroom. Our strongest budget consideration went into these two bathrooms. We wanted clean fresh lines without breaking the bank.


We discussed lengthly the pros and cons of a second bathtub in his bathroom and in the end decided on a new walk in shower.

We have thought of every detail in the new space, we considered many options and the result is a warm, comfortable appartement, were my clients feel at home, surrounded by many of their lovely collections and some practical and new things, which they grew to love quickly!



Thank you for your patience dear reader, this project had me occupied for a long time and I loved working on every aspect! Now we all are very happy with the results.


XX
Victoria

21 comments:

  1. Victoria,
    You must be very proud, the space appears larger and has all the qualities that make a house a home, no I mean an apartment a home. I love that it is well lit, for aging eyes and all on one level. It must have not been easy to cull down everything and edit with all the right items collected. Love to see the image of the house, the before exterior of the house - do you have that?
    Your clients must never want to leave. I am flattered by your choice of coffee table!
    Patricia

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  2. Victoria - All of your hard work has handsomely paid off. The new nest is so very pretty. I love the mirror that you found - it's beautiful. Treasures can be found everywhere.

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  3. Patricia,
    this is the old house above. Therefore no after picture... They moved quite far to the new appartment.

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  4. So gorgeous! I wish we had thought of hiring a designer when my grandparents left their big house (of 50 years) for a smaller apartment. They just took their 'favorite' things and it's so disparate and NOT cozy like this. I love how you took THEIR favorite things and worked them into a cohesive environment - and updated it 100%. Really lovely and cozy -great job!

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  5. WOW!!!! So much work!!! And everything looks so cozy and elegant! Can´t wait to see another new project:)........ I´m sending a big hug and thank you so so much for the birthday wishes!!! Liebe Grüsse *Marie*

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  6. That's amazing! I never realize how much work and planning goes into these type of projects. I think you did a fantastic job and the end result is fantastic! Thank you for sharing and I hope you share more projects you're working on.

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  7. Victoria, I think I ought to fly you to Paris to re-decorate my house;-) You have done more than a marvellous job. The house appears brighter and less clustered. XX

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  8. Purple Flowers: Yes it was labour intensive job, but I am so happy now!
    Stefan, I am so glad you like it, it is alaways difficult to part with pieces one is so used to and yet it is so refreshing to get a new lease on life for some worn furniture and see ones possesions in a new light and configuration!
    Often this is almost impossible to do by oneself.
    *Marie*, thank you for the compliments, cozy elegance, that was exactly my idea for the space!
    Christine, Fashion ,Art... thank you so much, would love to go to Paris...:)

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  9. Wow, I wouldn't even know where to begin. The end result is amazing: bright, elegant but still like home. Incredible job, Victoria.

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  10. Amazing job, Victoria! Wow! I really loved how you mixed the old with the new, that is hard to pull off, and you accomplished it so beautifully! What a great add to your portfolio, I know this family is just delighted with their new space!

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  11. Dear Victoria, what a great job!It has your style signature all over, down to the little details. Congratulations! And congratulations on your blog you have done a beautiful job. I finally have time to enjoy it.
    Love - Paola

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  12. Victoria dear, first of all, thank you for coming to dreamland chez moi! I hope I didn't transport you to far out there! I LOVE THIS PROJECT AND HOW IT TURNED OUT! Tell me about it, my home for the last 13 years has been an uphill battle but worth it. Being on a budget is always a challenge, but makes the arrival from the journey that much sweeter. Excellent re-do and what a lovely and comfortable living space!!!!

    Anita

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  13. Wow! A lot of work and you did a beautiful job. Working on a project like this with all the history and sentiment can be very difficult. You should be very proud of the result.

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  14. Victoria, a gorgeous look! Your design is beautiful light and refreshing. Keeping many of the memorable pieces is perfect!

    Karena
    Art by Karena

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  15. Congratulations Victoria, it´s an excellent work.

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  16. My dear, thank you so much for all the lovely pictures of your project. It's so nice to see before and after results!! I just adore this advocado green colour chair by the lamp! It's so classy! BTW, many thanks for the link to the most interesting blog! I do miss your blogs! I have a lot of catching up to do xxx

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  17. I love looking at before and after photo's. Beautiful results. I can't imagine ever doing anything this large! You are very talented and your hard work has paid off! I love the colors (wall color reminds me of my living room) and layout of the furniture. Thank you for sharing Victoria!

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  18. That is amazing. I think you did a fantastic job and the end result is fantastic! Thank you for sharing and I hope you share more projects you're working on.los angeles fumigation

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  19. Hello this is great blog love to read it. amazing collection.
    thanks


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