Christie’s Condo

Christie had the exact opposite issue from Melinda, Aline, Amy and Jennifer: she didn’t have enough stuff! And some of what she had was not a good fit to create a serviceable and serene home for her and her son. So she asked me help evaluate, eliminate and integrate what she did  have. Then we actually supplemented as well.

In her undivided public living area she had a maple farm table and chairs, a nice navy blue leather sofa, an oversized TV cabinet that was custom made for a different residence, large bar stools for the breakfast counter, a trunk and a variety of lamps.

The first task was to create identifiable sections: entry, dining and living rooms.  For the entry we added a small side cabinet in white to match the next thing that would be seen when you entered: the farm table with white legs. We ditched the oversize bar stools and replaced them with three new ones with smaller profiles. Their rush seats and white legs matched the maple table with white legs. The dining section was now visually coherent.

To visually create a separate living room area we turned the sofa away from the table - and away from the TV in the far corner – and oriented it toward a large window. A long buffet table that matched the entry side table - but this one in black is more sophisticated for the living room – gave a focal point, and storage, to a long wall. The massive size of the TV cabinet prevented experimenting with placement so we left in a rather dead corner, away from visual focus of the room.

Christie needed additional comfortable seating for guests that faced the sofa but was light enough to move for television watching. A few days later I stumbled across the perfect solution at a re-sale shop in Capitola: antique Queen Anne chairs reupholstered in navy blue brocade. The chair profiles and brocade texture contrasted nicely with the leather sofa and the color matched it perfectly!

Now all the room needed was an area rug to anchor it and warm it up with. I spotted a gorgeous blue with red accents Persian-style rug on sale at Pottery Barn. It looks great on the hardwood floors and ties all the pieces together. The blue compliments her sofa and the red adds some punch to the room.

A gift of matching black floor and table lamps, IKEA drapes over the windows and some houseplants finished the room.