Monday, June 16, 2014

New Blue

A few weeks ago Mom and I had the pleasure of working with one of Mom's dearest long-term clients.  She and her husband are selling their beautiful Sologne home and moving to another fabulous place just blocks away.  Our client was gracious enough to allow us to illustrate how a little re-arranging, re-purposing and adding a few fresh elements including a relatively vibrant accent color (in our case blue) can truly transform the whole attitude and feel of a space! 

We began the process by photographing and measuring the spaces we wanted to update: the foyer, the dining room and the great room.  Because we wanted to adhere to a very strict budget we then went shopping in our client's home, pulling furniture, accessories, wall hangings, art and books that seemed to complement the predominate golden neutrals that Mom had used several years ago when the clients purchased this home.  Because we planned a relatively significant infusion of blue into all three areas, we also gathered the client's items in blue hues for possible inclusion in the updated scheme.  It is important to note here that this particular client has always purchased QUALITY furniture, accessories and art.  That made the "inside your house" shopping fun and easy!  I hope you love the before and after shots--and by all means, message me if your home needs a little freshening or a total makeover!  We would love to help you make your house beautiful!

BEFORE
This unbelievably beautiful antique chapel cabinet is in the foyer
AFTER
Easy peasy, we cleared out the clutter and let the true beauty of this piece--the ornate relief work on the doors--shine!
BEFORE
The other side of the foyer features a beautiful staircase and runner
AFTER
We removed the large bench, opting instead for two lovely armchairs.  We added strong navy trimmed accent pillows to establish the injection of blue in the foyer as well as blue ceramic pieces to the tabletop décor.  We put away the dried arrangement and chose to use fresh peonies from Whole Foods and greenery from our client's backyard to showcase the client's vintage vase.  Because the home is currently on the market we did not add art to the walls unless it could be hung on existing hooks (yes we are just that obsessive about our clients' homes!).  For that reason we added the client's bunny art on a stand on the table and a sculptural floor lamp to give the space added interest
BEFORE
Dining Room
AFTER
The dining room is a delicious and intense shade of red.  Again, we put away the dried arrangement and went instead with smaller hydrangea arrangements in blue and white transferware.  We switched out the dining chairs for some larger scale arm chairs to flank the buffet and added a beautiful piece of art to replace the smaller mirror.  This particular piece of art is not original, but it is without question one of the most beautiful pieces of off-the rack that I have ever seen!  I LOVE that it has shades of light blue and the finish is fantastic. 
BEFORE
AFTER
We removed the silver tea service and replaced it with a blue and white ceramic lamp and a piece of the client's vintage art.  The blue flowers  (which suddenly show up!) in the gorgeous tapestry give it new life!
 
BEFORE
AFTER
We added sumptuous accent pillows in various shades of blue along with matching porcelain lamps and ceramic garden stools for a strong injection of color in an otherwise neutral space.  We switched out the framed prints for two abstract canvases and brought the smaller side chairs from the dining room to use to flank the curio cabinet.  To stay within our strict budget, we did not switch out the rug, but I really feel like a good quality, authentic oriental rug sometimes has chameleon like properties and can work in any space:)


 AFTER
We used these side chairs pulled from the dining room to flank the curio cabinet/display case.  I love the simplicity of this picture.  The art here is enough.


 AFTER
The gold chair has some blue detailing that we accentuated with the lovely floral embroidered accent pillow
AFTER
Blue accent pillows, cut glass and a gorgeous lamp make this neutral vignette a little blue heaven!