Week 2
Blog 3- Brainstorming ideas with my client
When discussing design proposals with my client, they wanted me to ensure I included some of the left behind furniture within the design. I wanted to flip this flat into a clean modern space, with a traditional side.
As the hallway has no natural light sources, I want to brighten the space up with crisp white walls. I will add deep coving to the ceilings to create more depth and more importantly bring back the character. Exposing the original floor boards will elongate the hallway. In the hallway, outside the bathroom, there is a small area which serves no purpose, it is wasted space and I feel as though a piece of furniture doesn’t sit right with in it. I suggested to my client that we could build a little hanging area, which again would add a bit of character to the hallway but also would serve as a stylish storage solution. Some black rot iron coat hooks against some white wood panelling make the space look more ‘homely’. It is actually a really big hallway for the size of the flat, so it makes sense for it to serve more of a purpose.
When designing the kitchen, my client made it clear that they wanted their kitchen kitted out, within a reasonable budget. The kitchen is an extremely awkward shape and it almost feels as though the current cabinets are really ‘messy’. Nothing looks flush with the walls and the messy order of the cabinets, results in the kitchen not using its full potential. The main issues are that there isn’t a lot of worktop space and the boiler and gas meter are on show.
As the kitchen is relatively small, I don’t want all the equipment to be over powering. I believe integrated equipment frees up a lot more space and is more satisfying to they eye. The continuance of the cabinets make the space look really expensive and classy, at an affordable price. The dark cabinets fill the space, which makes it more slick. I believe lighter cabinets follow the walls, meaning you are still left with the geometric shaped kitchen, even if the fittings are modern and up to date. The warm brown tones will warm the space up, particularly in the evening time with the warm LED strip lights.
To maintain the character in the flat, we wanted to invest some time and money into the existing cabinets. They will be the focal point of the living room, with spot lights enhancing them. The client loved the idea of having a space to showcase their belongings. To create some continuity throughout the flat, I will use black in the living room. The matte black cabinets soften the room and allow the contents on the shelves to stand out. The rest of the walls and furnishings are neutral meaning the black cabinets will create balance in the living room.
The current living room looks pretty bland, there is no character and as the ceiling isn’t as high in this room, it can feel a bit cramped. I will add panelling to the walls to bring different architectural features in. The panelling will work well with framing some abstract art work and lighting.
This whole room was inspired from the antique wardrobe that was left behind by the previous owner. The client wanted to make sure that this piece could be flipped- not only is it a beautiful piece of furniture but its also sturdy, solid wood, which you don’t get with wardrobes nowadays. We thought it would be good to sand the wardrobe back, prime it and paint it a creamy white colour, to create this traditional Parisian style wardrobe. I wanted to use soft tones in this room, to create a calming bedroom. The large wardrobe can be quite bulky, therefore I wanted fairly neutral colours and patterns.
Another important feature in this room was the bay window. It really adds luxury into this room and floods the room with light. I didn’t want to just add roller blinds into this room, I wanted to build on this private, peaceful boudoir, and use traditional shutter blinds. These do come at a greater expense but the client and I did agree that it creates another traditional element within the room. Again, deep coving will be added and the original floorboards restored to brighten and enlarge the room.
Although the bathroom is the smallest room in the home, there’s something about it that I love- from the large window to the original frosted glass door. The client wanted this room to be light as possible but still wanted some colour added. To avoid a lot of expenditure on the bathroom suite, the toilet and shower tray can still stay and more money can be invested into the tile work- which will bring more character to the bathroom. A crème vanity unit will go under the sink, again to create this kind of hotel, spa like luxuriousness. Bringing back the 1920’s colour scheme, the fixtures will be gold/brassy tones, to bring a bit of warmth into the room.
On the floor, we will use tiny hexagon tiles to advance the room and make it feel more spacious. At first I wanted to use black and white floor tiles to be in keeping with the 20’s décor, but in a small space this could be quite overbearing. We then decided that we could use a dark tile grout, which still creates a focal point within the room.
My favourite part of the bathroom refurbishment are the green tiles. I think these tiles look really unique and as though they have been reclaimed from an old 1920’s swimming pool. Again, the gold and green make this room look really luxurious.
Like the master bedroom, this room is also designed around a piece of furniture. In the bottom right of the mood board, you can see the stunning mahogany chest of drawers. The client agreed that we should not add anything to these drawers, as the natural colour and grain of the wood is so incredible. When you look at these drawers in different lighting, the turquoise shell pattern can be deceiving, they give off different shades of browns but also a slight green tinge. At that moment, I knew I wanted to introduce earthy tones into this room.
To heighten the ceiling in this room, I will use dado rail around the top of the room, with a heritage green shade below. To compliment the green, I will use materials in different shades of grey . Although the colours and furniture in this room will be quite basic, I will create depth through layering bedding and materials. To contrast to the warm wooden floorboards and green walls, I will add a red antique rug. This will again, deceive the eye into believing the room is much larger than what it is.
