Challenging sofa - new living room

My customers had purchased a lovely and light flat that needed total renovation. The main reason they contacted me was that the new flat had a big and long living and dining area and they were unsure how to place their existing furniture, that was relatively new, into the space. The main challenge was sofa  that had been purchased particularly into their old flat. They also hoped for my assistance with the coloring, light fixtures and textiles all around their new home. Also extra storage space was required.

I made three different layout plans for the sofa and all other furniture. In the selected one the sofa sits  nicely against the large window. In order to make it possible, it required that the wide opening from entry to living room was narrowed from 140cm to 100cm and a niche in the wall was partially closed with a hidden cupboard with a lid (behind the sofa) and then the upper part was used for decoration and storage. Now the sofa looks like the wall is made for it ;-)

Coloring was kept light but some soft color was added to both ends of the room. All the light fixtures were short listed by me and selected by the customer. Also the curtains were pre-selected and final decision was made in shop together.

The living/dining room is light and comfortable and both me and the family are happy with the result. Lovely!

Office relocation - Versatile and comfortable

It is a wonderful opportunity and challenge to help company relocate. This particular customer was relocating into an old townhouse to allow them to grow further. For me this project was particularly interesting as I got the opportunity to design all the office, kitchen and reception tables, storage units,  audio unit and set of coffee tables and they got made to measure. I also assisted in planning the general layout of the functions/space and placement of existing items and liaising with the renovation company. It was important to design the office tables so that they are easy to move from place to place and sit nicely either together or apart and thus allow flexible number of employees per space.

The house did not have a kitchen. I planned a kitchen unit  that is as basic as can be, but it serves well the purpose. The original built-in cupboard was renovated and now is an eye catching coffee center with color adjusted lighting. The kitchen tables are higher and can be used both for lunching and working. They can be joined together to make a big square table or put after one another to have a long buffet table.

Versatility was not the only quality requested for the new office but even more important was that the office should be relaxed and comfortable. I think that together we did a good job achieving just that.

Octaconal space for bathroom & sauna

Customer had downstairs a rather large empty room with no particular use. Family were dreaming of having a sauna in the house. They asked me to come up with an idea how to transfer this space into bathroom and sauna for a family of five. And it turned out quite nicely...

Storing, efficiently and beautifully

My customer had decided that now was the time to reorganize the storing system in several rooms. Multipurpose room, scullery, new dressing room and the lobby needed to have a face lift and more efficient storage space.

For the new dressing room we went through the storing requirements. How many drawers were needed, how many meters of clothes rail, how many shoes needed to have a new home and bags as well. Then taking into consideration the limiting factors in the room (e.g. doors, windows, heating element) I made a plan that maximized the storage space efficiently and meeting the requirements.

 Scullery needed to look nice and be efficient in storing and recycling and also have option for washing machine. The room has a challenging shape and all furniture needed to be carefully measured to fit in. But there as well, all requirements were met and it is a pleasant little room to use.

 The lobby is big but the only wall where entry furniture would sit naturally is quite limited in width. Once again, we discussed what are the requirement for this furniture in this particular entry and made a list. Based on that I made a plan for the furniture which was then ordered from furniture company. Now entry has a welcoming element that offers place to leave your keys, coat, bag and offers you a seat to take away your shoes.

Multipurpose room is just what the name suggests. There needs to be enough place to exercise whilst watching television, it is the utility room where laundry is handled from clothes basket to ironing  and it should offer enough storage space for different sized items. On top of everything it is a passage way from one part of the house to the other, so it should be easy to pass through. With thorough planning all requirements were met and the space serves well all its requirements.

All new, from top to bottom

My customer was considering turning her investment flat into her own home. It was looking really drab and uninviting and was in need of total surface renovation. My challenge was to find the materials and colors, furniture and lightning fixtures to make it inviting. The walls were repainted and new wallpapers installed. The flooring was changed in all rooms. Ceiling was repainted and all light fixtures changed. All fixed furniture as also all free standing ones were changed. All new!
The renovation took time but now, eventually, my customer is happily living in this beautiful flat.

Everything in living room changed. The atmosphere is calm and inviting. The wallpaper was found from Marimekko. In the living room there was a cupboard which was of little use. As television is rarely an improvement to your home decor so I decided to use the cupboard. A new television and electricity outlet was installed inside the cupboard and the surfaces were covered with the same
wallpaper as elsewhere in the living room but on negative colors. Now it functions perfectly. Television is hidden when not used and when used, it adds to home decor in positive way.








 

Bedroom changed drastically. It was dark and old fashioned. Now it is light and soft, place to relax after work. New sliding doors were installed under the window that now allow more efficient use of space.

Before:

After:

Bathroom was dark and had lived through its best days. Everything was renewed. New furniture was custom made to fit the space perfectly and new color scheme makes the bathroom look fresh.

Before:

After:

Kitchen was bleak. The form of the space did not allow for much change but still I made it more functional. I turned the wash basin to other side of the corner as well as the dishwasher. This allowed easier access to fridge and new apothecary cupboard whilst providing an even table top next to them. Also emptying dishwasher got easier as the cupboards for plates and glasses are just above the machine. And the tiling on the wall gives space character as it opens directly to living room.

Before:

After renovation

After renovation

Finally proper storage room(s)

When life is full and busy, storage space is eventually full and even fuller. Often it is not only due to busy life style but that the storing needs have changed over time but no action has been taken. The result is over flowing shelves and cabinets (and floors).

I got an assignment to think over two storage rooms. One is for all the general storing plus it should hold washing and drying machines etc, recycling and also work as entrance to yard. The other space is for parents' clothes etc and should be equally distributed.

The first space needed to be decluttered. The couple went through a considerable amount of files and boxes and recycled and binned a lot. According to their needs I planned a new order in the storage space which held enough space for everything they needed and even left space for walking through the space.

The second space had an additional challenge with steeply lowering ceiling. It was a dark space which also needed more light to be useful. The family also wanted to retain an existing cabinet in the space. Once again the first step was to look through all the boxes in the space and decide if their content was still needed. Then it was decided whether they should be stored here or in the other space. Once this process was ready I designed a shelving system on both sides for her and him which held enough and right type of storage space for both.

In the end the two storage spaces look much much better and more importantly are easy and efficient to use!

Upstairs:

         

              
Downstairs:

 Second Space