The Marc Residence: Furniture Shopping Part 2

Room & Board just opened a new store in Los Angeles which was perfect timing because my client was in town. I pre-planned and pre-visited the store prior to my client shopping trip so that we saw all of my pre-selected pieces rather than wandering aimlessly throughout the store. This helps the client to feel less overwhelmed by all of the options in front of them.

We also hit up Crate & Barrel and Restoration Hardware to check out some end table and lamp options.

I created several different variations of this visual following client feedback. Here are the final selections for the living room and dining area:




Next Up - designing a custom console

The Marc Residence: Furniture Shopping Part 1

The Shopping List:

Living Room:
- Sofa
- Lounge Chair x 2
- Coffee Table
- End Table
- Table Lamp
- Floor Lamp
- Possible extra seating (cube ottomans?)
- Palm Tree
- TV Console
- Area Rug

Dining Area:
- Dining Table
- Dining Chairs x 2
- Possible tie in to TV console with buffet/ wine storage

The living room has pretty decent wall to wall carpeting but I'd like to create visually separate living area to distiguish it from the dining area. I think an area rug will help with this. The challenge is finding a rug with a different enough texture and it must be thick enough so that it will be stable atop the carpeting.

There isn't enough room for a separate office area. Luckily my client has a laptop so the work location can be flexible. If like to custom design and build a unique console that will hold the TV as well as a file storage. This console will then tie into a taller piece that will have wine and glass storage above and printer/ office supplies below. This three in one piece (dining, office, tv) will have a streamlined look and keep clutter at bay.

The Plan:

I used a free online software called www.floorplanner.com to create a 2D and 3D plan to help my client visualize the space. There is a library of furniture to choose from that can be customized in dimension and color. I use AutoCAD to sketch out a plan and furniture dimensions for accuracy but the free software is easier for creating a quick visual.

The Marc Residence

I have a residential client that is downsizing from a large house in the DC suburbs to a one bedroom, highrise apartment in downtown Palo Alto. The challenge here is to create a high end feeling for this executive with a moderate budget in a small space.

This 12th floor apartment is small but has some nice features. 9.5' ceilings, a good sized kitchen with espresso cabinets and granite countertops and an incredible 6'x 26' terrace with an amazing westward facing view of downtown Palo Alto.

We are really starting with a blank slate here. My client arrived with some Restoration Hardware bedroom furniture and an outdoor dining set. Starting from scratch is ideal for a space like this because incorporating existing pieces that may be out of scale for a small space can be very difficult.

Part 1: Before


Facing the entry and kitchen


Kitchen


Living Room


Living Room


Balcony


Did I mention the view?


Bedroom


Bedroom

Next up - Furniture Shopping

Seasonal Centerpiece

I've been waiting all year to get some white pumpkins. They don't scream halloween to me so it makes them more seasonal and they can stretch through Thanksgiving. I recently brought home a yellow pitcher from my mom's McCoy Pottery collection and combined it with my purchases.

- 6 white pumpkins of various sizes from Whole Foods
- White Mums from Whole Foods
- Large Square Platter from CB2 (10 bucks!)

Ta-Da!

Starting Over

I installed google analyitics a few months ago and saw the traffic for this blog and it honestly creeped me out a little! I realized that I wanted to take a step back and make this a little less personal. So here we go - fresh start.