I have a client who calls me every six months or so to rearrange her furniture and “freshen things up a bit.”
The first time I met her, she and her husband had just moved here from Memphis. This is how her living room looked when I got there:
So Not Good
She wanted to see what I could do with her existing furnishings, since after building her dream house she wasn’t in a position to purchase new furniture. Moving around furniture throughout the house, this is how I left the living room that day:
First Redesign
The next time my client had me out to her place, she had just purchased a sectional. This is not something I would have suggested for this small square room with five openings, but what was done was done. So this is how I arranged the room that time:
Arrangement with New Sectional
This time she called, she just wanted to change things up. She had not purchased anything new, but that big sectional was starting to feel just a wee bit oppressive to her. The good news is that she purchased a sectional that could be taken apart and converted into a standard sofa. I took that baby apart, rotated the rug, and changed out some tables, chairs, and lamps.
Living Room This Time Around
The cream chair and ottoman came from her bedroom, and I replaced it with one of the sofa sections which is now a slipper chair. The big corner section is relegated to the attic. That is, until the next time she wants to move it . . .
love her living room rug….you did a great job.
hahahaha, she is interesting and full of energy….every 6 month 🙂 I love the last two most. For the first one, I prefer to arrange the two love seat face to face. fun post!
I agree with Joy…face to face love seats and then they could enjoy the view behind the glass doors.
Ooops..I see that darn TV set that seems to be calling all eyes! Maybe it could be placed at an angle somewhere?
You make it work every time! My favorite switch from the beginning is the area rug. What a difference it makes compared to the original neutral… And I love the way you have shifted the focus in the room each time. Redesign that rocks!
Sheila,
Everything was so neutral and blah – that rug from the adjoining breakfast room really warmed things up and gave the room some much-needed life!
What a fun post, Kristie! I love that you’ve shown how a room can work in different ways. Decorating a home is not about finding the one perfect layout …it’s more of an evolution. Looks great all ways. Thanks for sharing. (Love the green chair in the last shot!)
Wow! she sounds like me , I move things all the time !
Big(hubby) hates it , but too me its a way to make something
old look Brand New again plus I do it so I can clean things I
wouldn’t normally clean oh and Dust places that I usually DONT
dust lol , I get this problem from my father lol
Brooke, moving around furniture certainly does make you have to clean better! I was covered in cat hair when I left her house . . .
I am the same as Brooke! Moving things around seems to wake up my brain cells to a different way of “seeing”…..only Neil’s chair HAS to stay in the same place, LOL—but I’ve managed to work around It!
I would love to work with more people like this gal–refreshing.
Super job, Kristie!
Great Post kristie! Love that you changed it up with such different results each and every time..all fabulous! No wonder she keeps calling you back.
I love the first photo best…the re-do, of course. I love pieces away from the wall and everything looks light and bright. Now, Stacy, I hope you have some muscle to help you with all this. A girl needs more than those little furniture pads to get things done sometimes! I would love a client like this! Very fun!
You know, Barbara, I usually take an assistant with me to this client’s house for that reason. However, my normal helpers were on vacation with their families for Fall Break, so I had to go this one alone. Definitely exhausting with just me and my furniture sliders . . .
What a great job Kristie. I agree with Kelly- designing your home is done in steps over time. Beautiful job!
Sectionals are not so good? My dh loved a low low black leather sectional, think bachelor pad, that I got him to let go of and we've purchased 2 sofas since. I'm missing the comfy sectional, although that clients family room is very similar to mine.
I'm hating the sea green sofa we purchased last February! It's has hard wood arms unter the uphostery. Oy!
Any advice?