Danielle's Living Room-After

Remember Danielle's Living Room from Friday?  I'll be helping them out with a new floor plan because she's already done a great job decorating the space!

Here's their new floor plan:


Here's how I did it.  First off, make a floor plan of the space.  Just include walls, doors, and windows:

Then I like to make arrows showing directions of travel through the space.  This is helpful so you don't inadvertently place a huge piece of furniture directly in the path of travel.  In designer terms, this is the circulation path.  (Yes, if the space is empty you would walk diagonally through the space, but for the most efficient space to layout the furniture we'll walk around the edges.)

Then I like to do an inventory of items in the room and their sizes if available:

Then I'll layout the space with all my pieces.  (Keep in mind that 15"-18" is a good amount of space to put between coffee tables or ottomans that will be in front of sofas.)  I removed the black computer armoire and the small bench in front of the window.

The final layout is more cozy but still leaves room to move around the space.  By moving the smaller accent chair in front of the fireplace we've opened it up more to be seen!  The chairs are arranged to maximize seating area and provide a great space to be social.  Sometimes, when seating is placed too far apart it makes socializing harder so by pulling things in a little we've provided a better atmosphere for this.

Thanks Danielle for letting me help you with your design challenge!

Katie's Living Room-Before

Katie submitted her living room in her 1950's home for us to redesign.

Here are her answers to our design questions:

What are your favorite design store/home décor stores?

My husband likes to shop at Home Depot & Bed-Bath-and Beyond while I prefer antique stores, flea markets, Overstock.com, and Ikea.

What 3 words would you use to describe yourself and the feeling of the space you'd like?

Calming, earthy, unique

What is the most important thing you’d like done with the space?

Brighten it up!!  The ceilings are dark wood, the floors are brown tile, and the wainscoting is knotty pine.

What are two of your favorite and least favorite colors?

LINEN and earthy greens, reds, blues.  Least favs: any color that looks like it is straight from the primary colors-bold red, yellows, oranges...

What are the overall dimensions, including ceiling height (if applicable) of your space?

8-9ft ceilings (remember, there are beams) and the space is about 12 X 16

Is there anything else you’d like us to include or consider in designing your space?

My husband is a tattoo artist and has a lot of interest in decorating our house (more than most men), so our marriage is full of design debates and compromise!  Our biggest debate is what to do with the brick fireplace.  He doesn't want to paint the brick, but It just stands out too much.  Maybe the right color paint will compliment it?  Currently, we only have one cable output (which is why the tv is where it is).  I think it would look much nicer to the left of the fireplace.  Any suggestions are welcome!

Do you have any suggestions for Katie?  Leave them in the comments and check back Monday for the redesign!

Room Redesign Winner

Thank you everyone for such wonderful comments about our designs!  Deb and I are thrilled that you loved them as much as Marie did!  We have chosen one person from the comments who will get a spot in our Monday Redesign series!

According to Random.org:

Here are your random numbers:

132

Timestamp: 2009-05-18 20:21:23 UTC

Which means that comment #132 is the winner!

Denise, need help with designing your remodeled home?  Be thinking about which space you'd like us to design for you!  Congratulations Denise!

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