A Makeover - Working with just what you've got!

This is one of my very favorite types of projects:

A homeowner calls, 

usually after getting my name from a previous client.

She needs help!!!!!

In this recent case, it was Patti.

And her house was a mess.

After having a flood inside her home, 

she had to move everything out to redo the floors…..

Now that she's back in, 

there are a zillion boxes…

AND A ZILLION PLANTS 

that she has pulled in for the winter……..

She's overwhelmed!

I went over this week, 

and in just three hours, 

made a huge impact in getting 

the "living" back in her living room!

Take a look!!

 BEFORE:

Welcome to Patti's living room…

There she is on the sofa……..

(look through the plants.)

When you first enter the home, there's a foyer, 

and two steps down to this living room.

It's a huge room with vaulted ceiling...

 And a working fireplace.

 Right now, Patti has one sofa in front of the fireplace, 

and the other to the right close to the wall.

 A chair and ottoman over to the left of the room, and

plants everywhere.

 Everywhere…

Did I say EVERYWHERE?

(This is her dining room table.)

 Towards the back of the living room, 

are entrances to the kitchen and dining rooms.

 and above, stairs to her loft bedroom.

So the living room is really two stories high,

as you can see here.

Are you ready for the transformation?

AFTER:

Here's what I did:

I moved the two sofas into the center of the room,

flanking the fireplace.

And on the left side wall of the room,

I created a "jungle" with all the plants nestled together…..

Patti's best friend since childhood 

was an artist who passed away recently.

But she lives on in all this wonderful art 

that she left to Patti.

I used art everywhere!

The piece I placed above the mantle is the

perfect scale for the space.

On the mantle I placed these beautiful

bark sculptures lined in copper and gold.

 

Here's the view to the right of the room.

Moving the sofas inward really creates intimacy,

and there are opportunities

everywhere now to create little vignettes.

I placed a table behind the sofa for displaying pieces,

I moved this antique desk in the back corner,

and set it with all these wonderful ethnic artifacts.

I placed a lamp, and hung artwork.

 And just under the window,  

a table holds several colorful glass pieces that catch the light.

They sing!

 At the back of the room,

I placed the chair with a table and lamp.

(The ottoman is over on the back wall 

and can be moved over for use.)

 On that wall,

 another wonderfully colorful painting 

that fits the space perfectly.

 The china cabinet was placed over to the far wall 

where there is a walkway to the dining room.

It will be filled with all Patti's china, 

which is still in boxes.

For now, I placed these three vertical paintings atop, 

that mimic the slant of the wall.

 Finally, some lamps…..

This room has so much warmth and personality now.

I just love it.

More importantly, so does Patti!

More work to come, but

wow!

What a huge impact we made,

in just one afternoon!!

Thanks, Patti!