Wednesday, November 13

New living room: details and sources


It's such fun to share my new living room!  Today I'm delighted to share with you the room's details.  (See this post for more photos of the room.)



First, the floor plan.  This room had always been a puzzle to me regarding furniture placement, so I sought the help of a professional.  I almost always do my own interior designing and decorating, and I love doing it.  But when faced with the prospect of purchasing new furniture, I didn't want to make expensive mistakes.  I knew I needed some help, and Darlene Weir of Fieldstone Hill Designs was the answer to prayer.  Now, we had some money set aside for purchasing new furnishings, but we didn't have a lot to spend on design services.  Darlene's services were very reasonably priced, and I truly believe that her help ended up saving us money in the long run--not to mention sanity!

If you're not already familiar with Darlene's business, you should know that she offers online design consultation.  She works with clients to help them define their style and their needs, then gently guides them through choices to end up with a room they love.  Let me tell you, she's a master at this.

Here's the furniture placement plan Darlene created--the very thing that had always eluded me when trying to make this room work for our family.


And here's the design board she created.  Darlene produced this after weeks of working with me regarding every element of the room, always leaving the selection of pieces up to me.



You see those numbers?  Those are linked to a master list of products and sources, most of which Darlene had found online.  Here's what ended up in my room.



Walls: Fieldstone by Benjamin Moore. Bookcase backs: Twilight by Benjamin Moore.  Choosing paint colors was a hoot.  Darlene asked what I was wanting for the room, and I mused aloud to her I was thinking of something lighter than I'd had previously but still dark enough to contrast with the white woodwork, maybe something sort of grey-green-taupe-ish.  Her immediate reply was that she thought I'd like Fieldstone.  One sample pot later and I was hooked.  Then I emailed her and said I'd wondered if we should paint the backs of the bookcases, and she replied that she was just about to contact me to ask if I'd be open to that!  She suggested Twilight for that color, and I love it, even though it took four coats to get full coverage.

Sofas: 96" Kensington by Restoration Hardware.  Having two facing sofas was my dream; Darlene made that a reality.  After Darlene recommended a chesterfield sofa, we looked at a lot of them; these from Restoration Hardware were our choice.  And because Darlene so carefully worked out the details of the floor plan and we were confident in our choice, we were able to get them on an incredible clearance deal (so low that no returns were allowed--we had to be sure!).



Rug: The rug is bigger than most commercially available rugs, so at Darlene's suggestion I found a wool carpet I liked and had a 10' x 13 1/2' piece bound into a rug, which was a great way to get a custom-sized rug.  This pattern is "Bonaire II" in Prairie by Karastan.

Chest:  I've owned this for many years; it was one of the pieces I wanted to keep in the room.

Coffee table:  "Troy" by Williams-Sonoma.  Again, we shopped carefully and got this on sale with free shipping.

Wing back chairs: I already owned the two chairs.  They're Steelcase chairs I purchased back in 1997--very sturdy chairs that I knew were worth re-upholstering.  Darlene described the kind of upholstery she envisioned for the chairs, and I found a fabric I liked at Not Just Linens in Durham, North Carolina for $7.99 per yard!  Having these two chairs reupholstered was so much cheaper than buying two new chairs.

Small brass table:  Addison by Ballard Designs.  I used a great coupon that I found in Southern Living magazine for this purchase.


Ottomans:  Funny story. Darlene sent me the idea for two ottomans along with several suggestions for sources.  I walked into Target one day and found ottomans that seemed to me to be just what she was describing, so I sent her a photo of the Threshold X-Bench Ottoman.  Neither of us liked the brown leather upholstery, but I knew I could easily re-cover the tops.  The fabric now on the ottomans is from Online Fabric Store, which I recommend very highly.

Lamps: Walnut Turned Column Wood Floor Lamp from Lamps Plus.  Another funny story: The lamps on the back wall weren't quite as tall as we'd envisioned that they'd be, but I really liked them.  So I glued round wooden bowls to the bottom of each lamp to make them taller!  You can read more about that little decorating adventure here.

Urns: Aged French Urn by Wisteria.  Darlene suggested these, and I couldn't have been happier with the suggestion.  I used a coupon to purchase these and got great service from the folks at Wisteria.

Mirror: Scallop Edge Mirror by Wisteria.

Painting over fireplace: We've owned this for years. It's an oil painting (artist unknown) in the Flemish floral style.

Fabrics: Premier Prints Towers in Village Blue from Online Fabric Store (a fantastic resource for fabrics with great customer service at very reasonable prices) and Scoma 519 by Kravet from InsideFabric.com (a good resource for designer fabrics).  Again, Darlene and I collaborated on fabric choices.  She suggested a floral and a geometric and gave me lots of choices without trying to sway me one direction or another.  When I'd made preliminary choices, she urged me to order fabric samples, which was great advice.  I sewed the pillow covers myself using this technique and stuffed them with down inserts I'd collected over the years.  I think the pillows turned out great, and they ended up costing very little except for my time.



Small accessories: Darlene made suggestions and listed potential sources for accessories.  For the most part, I used her suggestions as guidelines and then made my own choices based on what I liked and what I could afford.

Large platters at top of bookcases: Pottery Barn
Laquer tray on chest: Pier One
Turquoise bowl of apples on coffee table: Pottery Barn
Vases on mantle: I spray-painted and glazed two vases I already owned
(I used Krylon Bahama Sea spray paint, Valspar mocha glaze)

One other funny story: Darlene suggested a very large wooden tray for the coffee table, but I couldn't afford the beautiful one she found.  However, I owned a large teak tray table that I used on the porch occasionally--I'd bought it years ago at HomeGoods, but it was beat-up and just sitting in my garage.  I simply stained it a rich mahogany color and finished it with a high-gloss polyurethane.  I'm tickled with the way it turned out!



Whew!  I think that's everything.  Let me know if you have any questions; I'll be glad to answer them if I can.

Note:  I am not affiliated in any way with the companies listed above, except as a satisfied customer, nor did I receive any kind of compensation for mentioning them.  Just wanted to share good sources with you.

Linking to Weekend Bloggy Reading at Serenity Now
The Scoop at Stone Gable

19 comments:

  1. Wow it's really spectacular Richella, what a wonderful space to live in and enjoy your family!
    xo
    Kate

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  2. Beautiful, Richella!! It sounds like you and Darlene made great partners and the room is perfect.
    Hugs,
    Sherry.

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  3. What a great combination you and Darlene made. I love the transformation. Thanks for inviting us into your lovely home.

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  4. Your'e not going to believe what I noticed...and it wasn't even in your new living room. I saw your trademark logo of your blog sitting in the dining room...isn't it a cathedral shaped window frame? I've not noticed it before :)

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  5. Beautiful Richella! I do believe design help is money well spent! You will enjoy your living room for years to come!

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  6. Your room is beautiful and those sofa's - I am in love! Great job on the room.

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  7. Hello Richella, I Just finished reading through the last two posts. I know you have really done an amazing job! Your two couches facing one another is just perfect. I am going to Pin a couple of pictures to my furniture boards. I have been so busy latlely. Happy Holidays full steam ahead friend!
    Blessings Always, Roxy

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  8. Just beautiful! I love the navy blue at the back of the bookcases with the turquoise accents in the room. Would you mind sharing the paint you used on your vases?

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  9. Wow I love it even more now that I see how you used some things you already had. Also getting something at Target....I've found some pretty amazing things there lately. Your room really is spectacular.

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  10. Richella, wow! Absolutely gorgeous! I love the sofas and the coffee table so much. And the wall colors. And the accent pieces. It all came together so beautifully. I'm sure you're enjoying it so much. Time to have a party! :)

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  11. Richella- IT LOOKS GORGEOUS!!!! You did a wonderful job pulling it all together. You will love that carpet. It wears like iron and cleans up beautifully! We dd the same thing because we wanted a large area rug. I love all the details of your room. It is just great!!!! xo Diana

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  12. Oh lovely Richella, you do impart beauty and grace for sure! Your new living room is stunning, you and Darlene did a fabulous job decorating it and I love the big windows and arched entrance to the dining area and flanked by the built in book shelves on each side, with gorgeous details. Amazing room, I'd love to go there and visit you! Congrats, I feel how happy you are with it, cause I'm like that too, lol!
    Thank you for featuring me next to some great others and I'm excited and poud to take my feature botton home right now; you are so generous, sweet lady!
    Hugs,
    FABBY

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  13. Such a stunning room...it looks like it's been gathered over time and is so cozy!

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  14. Love Darlene,...love you Richella,...and I also love the room!!!! Looks so inviting a comfortable and yet classy and elegant! I'd say you girls really did a great job! :)

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  15. beautiful room....we're making some changes, too, and just bought the leather chesterfield from PB.

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  16. beautiful room....we're making some changes, too, and just bought the leather chesterfield from PB.

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  17. Richella, Such a gorgeous space! You must be thrilled with how beautiful your room looks! The sofas make a big, warm, comfy statement. Thanks for sharing at THE SCOOP!

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  18. So lovely!! I used the same Greek Key fabric in my living room for pillows and on some stools I recovered from Wal Mart. I think we have similar taste- many elements in your room are like those we have in ours. :)

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  19. I especially love those sofas & the recovered chairs. And just about everything else!! Great set-up for your floor plan!

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