Many of my clients want traditional high end furniture. Some of them want luxury, and almost all of them want comfort in their home furnishings. How do I help them achieve this in their new home?
What I like to do is to sit down with my clients and talk to them about what they want in their home. I ask them what styles of furniture they like and if they can show me pictures of styles they like, it makes it even easier. I also ask them what type of entertaining they do and how many people they would like to seat.. I ask them how they use their home and what type of use it gets, for example, normal use or hard use. I also ask them what type of comfort and luxury they want in their home
Here is an example of one of the design challenges I had. I needed to provide a practical and usable home for a busy professional couple who liked to entertain. They also wanted comfort in their home since they both worked long hours and wanted a comfortable place to relax. They also wanted drama and high end luxury furniture that would function well for entertaining friends, family and business people.
A new home is especially fun to work on because you have the privilege of helping clients from the ground up. I help them select plumbing and lighting fixtures, various finishes and many other materials, such as flooring and tile. After the new home selections are chosen, it makes it easier to help with the furnishings.
I helped them select deep furniture pieces with white goose down cushions that were suitable for curling up on for their sofa and chairs.This gave them a lot of comfort.
Rich tones in the fabrics and luxurious textures helped provide drama but still kept the room practical and durable. They wanted some eclectic pieces so I added an oversized chair and ottoman in the great room. This added an unexpected but also comfortable touch. The Balinese styled chair had a unique wood frame which has a graceful balance of curved and straight lines. The traffic flow in the floor plan was made to be conducive to traffic flow. This was necessary for entertaining large groups of people.
The gorgeous family room pictured below, is elegant, comfortable and cozy at the same time. The stacked stone creates a grand looking fireplace. The family room sofas have down cushions and lots of pretty pillows for both comfort and beauty. Notice the oversized chair in the corner. It has fabulous fabric that has interesting elephants that are also featured in other areas of the room.
My clients also wanted to have a specific identity in each room but also maintain a consistent flow throughout the entire house. I helped them achieve this by giving each space a similar color palette and giving close attention to the unique details in the furnishings, draperies and accessories in each area. This provides the individuality in each room.
The traditional kitchen cabinets have a warm finish that makes the entire kitchen look cozy. The counterstools are made to be comfortable and practical. Notice the interesting tile design in the backsplash at the far end of the kitchen. The trim on the window drapery matches the trim on the door which is in the eating area.
Deep dramatic and rich colors were used in their living room and dining room..The fabrics used in the draperies are especially beautiful. The accessories are all marvelous accents to make the room look even more luxurious.
Entertaining is a joy in this wonderful dining room. From the custom made rug, to the 10 beautifully upholstered chairs, everything adds a touch of luxury and class. The upholstered chairs are much more comfortable than is a typical wood seat dining chair.
As you can see, a lot of thought was put into making these rooms look fantastic. The colors blend, the accessories are perfect and even the flooring looks great! This house was a joy to work on .
