Before & After Story : Townhome Living
Updated: Aug 20, 2020
Today, I'm sharing the before and after story of a living room makeover. My clients were a newly married couple, Nita and Sam (names altered for privacy reasons). Upon getting married, they excitedly began to redecorate their shared home. However, they became stumped half-way into the process not knowing how to pull the space together and, have it reflect who they were as a couple.
By the time I was hired to transform their living room, they had already purchased a new sofa set and re-painted their walls. It was my goal to use what was already purchased and buy items thoughtfully. Since my clients loved blue, they had chosen a navy blue couch and cool light-blue walls. However, they wanted their living room to feel warm, light and have a free-flowing energy to it. They missed having a living room that connected with them. It was a space where they loved to spend time catching up at the end of day.
Initial Consult
During my initial consultation, I began to learn more about Nita. She was an educator, part-time yoga teacher and a pianist. She loved art and nature. Internally, feeling grounded and centred was an important aspect in Nita's day-to-day life. Sam on the other hand, liked his spaces clean-looking and open. With a good understanding of my clients, I began planning a space that felt just right for this lovely couple.
The Before
The After
Finding the balance
I began collaborating with Nita, asking her about the items she most desired and other items she needed for functionality. While planning the furniture layout, I began switching things around. Having dark coloured sofas and a dark coloured piano was taking up too much visual weight in one area. I decided to spread it out and invite some openness, thereby satisfying Sam's requirements of having an open and clean-looking space. The way this level of the home was constructed, the living area ended up having an odd construction. It was up to me to define the living space. So, I decided to anchor the space with a coffee table.
It was important that this coffee table felt visually light, thereby, creating an uninterrupted view. I chose a round glass coffee table with an earthy wooden rim. Nita fell in love with it the moment I showed it to her. It beautifully reflected her needs of having a centred energy in the living room. In design language, this was a radially balanced layout. I then began to remove all the items that did not have a purpose in the space. After all, this space would see high traffic on a day to day basis. Things that didn't need to be there had to find a new resting spot.
The Before
The After
Sam and Nita loved to entertain their friends and family. Sam was an avid cook and Nita loved having her girl friends home for tea. Therefore, it became important to create a space that was conversational - a setup where people could freely gather around and chat for hours. Placing seating around the central coffee table made for a more intimate setting. The space encouraged interactions and, when guests leave, the comfortable three-seater couch encouraged some tv watching for the couple to wind down.
The Before
The After
My design solutions for Nita and Sam was about helping their home reach its fullest potential to perfectly complement their lives. One of the things Nita loved was how the beautiful morning light, now unobstructed with the new set up, floods their living area each morning. It is what they see first thing as they walk down the stairs. I had an amazing time designing their home, it felt so rewarding to know it is now a space that Nita and Sam love and thrive in.
Now, if you'd like to see how I made that vignette on their coffee table, check out the video below.
If you'd like to read Nita's testimonial about her experience in her new living room and also look at more pictures of this design project, check out Pickering Townhome in my interiors tab.
Thanks for reading. Let me know if you like posts like these so I can make more of them. Also, I love to say hello, you can reach me on instagram @shastudioinc, Pinterest and Facebook Have a great day ahead!