design soup: family room design

also known as the design plan.

this is my favourite part. the designing. the coming up with ideas. the drawing. the sourcing. all of it. every. single. moment.

this project was a lot of fun to work. scary because it was like, for real. but totally, completely, fun. not only was it for people i knew, but it was also the first design that i was going to give to real people. i've only ever created spaces in my own home or for design school assignments. sure i've suggested paint colours to neighbours and family, but this was a full design. this was effing exciting. i did my first sketches the afternoon she texted me the pictures of her living room. within about an hour i had done my first sketches, sent them to her and the rest is well ... history.

we started discussing things over text message for a few days and decided that coffee and a site visit were going to be necessary. being in the space really changed how i thought about it. you can only tell so much from a photograph. we talked about what they wanted for the space, what they needed, their style, and what to do with the interesting rock wall they had going on in their room. i took a few measurements, wrote some things down and that was that. first client project was on it's way.

kira and dave weren't in any rush to get things started which was totally great for me. i slowly worked on drawing the space to scale, experimented paint chips, floor plan ideas and then life took over. funny how that happens. any way, fast forward a year and they were ready to start talking demolition, pot lights, and coffee tables. shit just got real.

here's the plan i came up with.

fabric // ceiling fixture // sofa table // couch // chair // side table

pillow (similar) // coffee table // rug

shoe console // entry rug // ceiling fixture

i also needed to find lighting for the space. one of the requests was for a ceiling fan because the room gets so hot in the summer time. there was also a need for more light and so three pot lights were added in above the fire place.

it only took a year of planning. but there was now a design in place and the demolition could begin. there were revisions and questions along the way, but for the most part kira and dave did the shopping and sourcing for some of the items. it was a great collaborative effort.

up next, part three: demo and progress

over a year and a half ago my friends, kira and dave, contacted me with some questions about renovating their family room. one thing lead to another and before i knew it i had drawn a rough sketch and she loved it. we got together a couple of times and discussed what her and her husband wanted for the space, colours, budget, etc. this was such a fun project, mostly because it was my first time working and designing for someone else. i learned so much through this process, like just because i like something doesn't mean a client will. and always remember to check the paint can lids when dropping it off at a clients house, my winter car mats were nice covered in benjamin moore misted fern.

because this project lasted almost a year, planning, waiting, budgeting, deciding, shopping, designing, etc, i thought i would break it into a few parts. so for part one i though i'd share what we were working with. their home is a bungalow and parts of it are still stuck in a 1970s/1980s renovation. and although there are plans for a more extensive renovation of their kitchen, like blowing out a wall, their family room was something that could be tackled and not break the bank. it did mean hiring a contractor and electrician, but the rest could be done by kira, dave and myself.

here's a break down of the space and what they wanted for it:

- the room to have a natural/nature feeling and zero feeling of a log cabin
- functional storage
- greens and browns, no grey
- get rid of the horrible fake stone on the east wall (fireplace wall)
- add more light and a ceiling fan, gets hot in the summer because of large south facing windows
- add gas fire place, get rid of wood burning stove insert
- new furniture that is more them

not such a huge list. the room is a good size and has an abundance of good light coming through the front south facing window. down side was the lack of lighting when the sun goes down, in that there is none. also, the giant "stone" wall.

have a look for yourself.