Recently I completed this interior for two newlyweds, a Doctor and a Lawyer. Janelle is just finishing her internship in medical school and next year she will be practicing medicine full time. She found my blog and hired me to help her choose colours and design her space and finish it! It’s the accessories that make or break a space in addition to giving it atmosphere and that’s what she was clear she couldn’t do herself.
One of the best features of this townhouse was the three tall windows (below) with all the amazing green trees right outside! She needed millwork on either side of the fireplace (the photo below is the only original ‘before’ photo I have, I think I deleted them accidentally).
The Main wall colour is BM HC-26 Monroe Bisque (above). See how green it looks on the screen in comparison to the living room? Sometimes this colour looks really green depending on the lighting and other times it’s the perfect yellow beige. Janelle said everyone wanted to know what the colour was for themselves. When you get the colours right, that’s usually what people say. The adjoining Kitchen and small great room we painted BM HC-147 Woodlawn Blue, as this colour was a great way to create flow from the living room.
I arrived with a few designer fabric books with samples so we could discuss possible colours for her sofa & upholstered chairs. Chocolate brown and blue are her favourite colour combination and Janelle immediately fell in love with the blue, yellow beige and brown plaid fabric (below) that I said could be two chairs, and we also found a velvet in gold for her sofa. Once I priced out what the custom sofa and chairs would be she said she would do a little shopping of her own first to see if she could find anything in the colours we had selected.
Janelle found a sofa in a colour at Pier 1 which was close to what I had selected and then called me to order the drapery and chairs. The drapery was also more reasonable because it was a solid fabric in 100% cotton. What makes designer fabric so expensive is that they make a much smaller amount but you get exactly the colours you need in the pattern you want (like the two chairs, above).
Then came installation day (above). The custom chairs and drapery arrived and we scheduled a shopping day. We needed coffee tables, a sofa table, area rug, a sideboard (not shown), lamps and accessories for the bookshelves and tables. We chose everything together in one day of shopping--the best way to have a designer look on a budget, you are there to say whether you like what we find and you can return the occasional accessory that doesn’t end up working out.
And if we are buying an inexpensive area rug (for example) you need to understand that the ‘perfect’ piece in just the right colours probably cannot be purchased off-the-shelf for a greatly reduced discount, so you have to be willing to take what will work in the space (because it fits your budget).
Here was what the space looked like when I arrived to arrange everything (above).
We couldn’t find toss cushions in the right colours on our shopping day so we ended up getting them custom made. Take a look at the after photo again (below) to see the difference the right toss cushions--designed for the furniture--look like. Even with the great new lighting and coffee tables, the pillows instantly give the living room a designer look. It’s why I don’t apologize for the cost ($800 for 6 cushions) anymore. They are like art that totally finish the room.
Sofa: $800.00 Pier 1
Sofa table: Homesense $169.00
Pedestal End Table: Martha Stewart $299.00
Coffee Table: Urban Barn $399.00
Area Rug: $299.00 Homesense
Sideboard (not shown): $500 Scan Designs
Custom chairs, Fabric from Robert Allen $1075.00 each Total $2150
Extra Long (101 Inches) Drapery for the Living room and Dining Room: $2440.00
Drapery Rods: $910.00
Toss Cushions: $800
5 Lamps: $720.00
Accessories were from all around the city, total approximately $450.00
Total cost for Accessories & Furniture (not including millwork): $9936.00 + taxes & Design Time
Dining room table and chairs (below) were existing.
My sweet friend Lauren from Pure Style Home (who is now famous by the way she is in Decembers Better Homes & Gardens with her house all decorated for Christmas, better get yourself a copy) recently wrote a fabulous post on clients and budgets called: Reality Check: What does it Cost to Furnish a Room?
It’s a post I wish I would have written, so I’m mentioning it here instead :) Lauren even priced out what a low, medium and med-high end living room would cost with the Low at $1,850 (pretty much IKEA) Medium: $11,490.00 (mine falls right into this range) to $25,150 and up. She also shows the difference between the look and feel of all three with some great images. I also love her explanation of how to create a budget as clients are often reluctant to say how much they want to spend (and sometimes just don’t know what it realistically costs to furnish a house).
Janelle had some fabulous wedding photos and we created an entire wall in her great room similar to this one in the Yaletown Loft I decorated last year. I should have taken an after picture of it because the wedding party in chocolate brown and blue matched the blue on the walls perfectly!
Interior Design by Maria Killam, Photography by Anna Beaudry
So if you add up the money you have spent on your own, the dreaming and scheming to get it exactly right. You might find that a designer look costs less than you think.
If you would like to create a living room that fills you with happiness when you walk in the door, contact me.
Related posts:
BC Home Article (Morgan Creek Home Decorated by Maria Killam) Before & After
Maria Killam on the Cover of BC Home (Yaletown Loft)
Is Hiring a Designer a Luxury or Necessity?
Atmosphere; The one thing you cannot Buy
Which Colour Sofa should you Buy?
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