How To Make The Big Red Sofa Work

Happy Friday, (evening)

I wanted to share with you a glimpse of the new project that I'm getting started on. Sometimes I get a project that has a part of it that requires me to stretch my creative thinking so that I can make an existing piece of the puzzle fit seamlessly with the new puzzle pieces.

In this project my client became stumped with a rash decision to purchase a large red sectional sofa, which was about when she decided that she needed help. The rest of the house has a mix of chic modern and traditional elements and is in process of having an updated feel. With the "big red" being in the family room/ kitchen area it is a major focal point to the house so it needs a chance to shine.

Here's my plan to make the big red sectional sofa work:

Start with the big red sofa:

Layer a cream silk shag rug beneath the sofa and ottoman to tone it down and lighten the space up.

Add a beautiful console behind the sofa to fill the window nook and stage the console with silvery accents and objects du jour for a focal point beyond the sofa.

Add an end table in a beachy wicker to give it a bit of an organic touch.

Add a clear glass jug lamp in sea foam green tinted glass.

Layer pillows upon pillows and throws upon throws in layers of creams, whites, and lavender/ berry Ikat and Suzani prints.

Add a white tray on the ottoman and place a candle, a book, and a drink! 

Add a collage behind the sofa full of beautiful flowers in silver frames to bring all of the polished and pretty accents in this room together and give people something to look at (other than "big red" of coarse;)

What do you think of the room as a whole? You think we can make "big red" work?

I know we can, and I can't wait to show you more!

Project Sneak Peek, Curtain Call

Good morning,

Yesterday I finished installing the sheer curtains in my Modern Organic Project and the results are perfect! I chose to use sheer chiffon on a track system to unify the rooms in this Spanish style home that have multiple doors and windows on the same wall. The sheers diffuse the light and help with the heat, but still leave this space bright and airy without impeding the feeling if the sunny space.


Take a look.

 Family Room:

Dining Room:

I had to edit and crop the main TV media area in the family as it is still under construction and hopefully will be installed next week, but there are also small windows flanking that wall with sheers. The sheers extend across the walls and meet in the corners with a seamless effect.What these pictures also don't show is that behind the Barcelona Day Bed is the client's playroom which I deliberately blocked to diffuse the view into that room.

Sheer drapes on a track system are a great window treatment solution for a variety of reasons. They are a fantastic solution for modern spaces as opposed to traditional drapes. They are a great way to transform a room and give it a very "boutique hotel" feel, and can be hung across entire walls as well as windows. They work as a great solution to cover rooms such as the ones above with oddly spaced window and doors They can aid in covering unsightly windows and views beyond;) And lastly, are a relatively affordable option. For the dining room above they would be pulled closed during dinner parties and entertaining, and are left open otherwise for the outside access.

What do you think? Could you see yourself with sheers in your own house?

Project Sneak Peek, Staging The Modern Office

Good morning,

Yesterday I spent the day tying together lose ends at my Modern Organic office project staging and accessorizing the exam rooms and offices and making this cold modern space alive and warm. I love this part of any project when I make things come together and really shine.
Though I still have art to select in all the rooms as well as a few unfinished items, I am coming pretty close to the finish line which is fantastic. I want to share with you some sneak peek pictures to give you a glimpse at what's been happening, and to show you how the flower arrangements that I posted about here look once added to the office.

In this office we took an existing space down to the bare concrete floors, removed existing walls and put up new ones for an entirely different and more functional layout. We've done everything from adding floors and base boards to lighting, bathrooms, and cabinetry. Nothing in this space is as it was.

This space consists of:

- a patient waiting room

- 2 long hallways

- 3 exam rooms

- a lab

- 2 bathrooms

-an employee work room that fits 4 people

-an employee break room

- reception check out room that fits 2 employees

-a stock room

I made the most of this space for a growing medical office all while streamlining the style and feel that this company projects. My clients deal with prosthetics and orthotics and wanted something that would really stand out. They brought me in to give them a new space that was modern, clean and nothing they could do in their words on their own. They want a space that has the "WOW" factor, and this is shaping up to be just that! I can't wait to show you the rest.

What do you think so far? Have I sparked your interests?

Sneak Peek, I Really Never Have Liked Fake Flowers

In case you have already figured it out, I've been MIA! I started a new project, and the beginning stages are always some of the busiest. That and everything else that I'm working on.

Today I wanted to share with you a little DIY project that I took on for my Modern Organic office to bring a little bit of green into a very modern and seemingly cold office space.

My client doesn't want to have to maintain real flowers nor do they have the time and needed a solution.

I actually get those requests often from MANY of my clients. Typically I go around that and manage to get the "real deal" in their homes through easy plants and orchids. I'm all for living whenever possible. I've also found that the fake orchids in pots are either very pricey or are nothing like the real deal  so I typically avoid them. Long story short, one day this week I saw some orchid displays in a high end store, and they were breath taking. Upon further inspection I realized that they were fake flowers, but they looked so real and soooo amazing!

I found my modern flower solution for the office. I searched for things to make these artistic flower arrangements. Very authentic moss? Check! Really nice stems of silk orchids? Check! Extra plants, leaves and branches as fillers? Check! Drift wood and manzanita branches? Double check!

So I attached, cut, twisted and glued my way through 7 of the coolest faux orchid arrangements and I must say this fake situation that I just created is something that I could DEFINITELY do!

Take a peek.

Not too shabby, huh? Perhaps, just perhaps I will make these again, and possibly yes possibly I will use them in those spaces where people REALLY REALLY don't want the maintenance of real plants and flowers. What do you think? Are these displays something that you would want in your own home? Could you see yourself with a beautiful faux silk flower arrangement?

More to come~