Carpet, Rugs & Flooring,Design Dilemma,Furniture | October 31, 20083 Comments

Design Dilemma: A Vibrant, Contemporary Living Room

I love it when clients pull together things that inspire them, like the board shown above. It gives me a starting point for design. And, anyone who loves a Charles Sofa is my kind of person. Those are two reasons why I was delighted to hear from Georgia B., who aspires to owning the real thing one day. In the meantime, she has settled for a less expensive “Charles” inspired by the original. It sits in her newly constructed Florida home. A sofa is always a good place to start designing a new home. Georgia asked me to take over and help with the rest. 

She loves strong colors like those shown on her inspiration board. The room needs some extra seating and a proper place for the television that might offer some storage. She’s replacing the white carpet with hardwood flooring and would like to advise everyone to stay away from white carpet in the living room!

Georgia sent me some wonderful images for inspiration. “I was really stunned by a trip I took to France,” Giorgia explains. “We saw the Ochres of Roussillon there. My husband is Jamaican and I’m Italian, so we love bright colors.”

Design Solution – Vibrant & Contemporary

Keeping in mind, that budget is an issue, I chose furnishings that would fit with the contemporary look Georgia is looking for that aren’t too expensive. As always, for these dilemmas, I try to use resources that are readily available nation-wide. I don’t always know which stores readers have access to.

I started in the middle, with a vibrant area rug that Georgia can easily clean – and take with her if she moves. Madeline Weinrib’s Otto Carpet is just the thing to set the scene. The warm orange will look great with the warm tones of the hardwood floor. This cotton carpet comes in a variety of sizes. I recommend an 8′x 10′. Check Madeline’s website for retail locations. All her carpets can be ordered through ABC Carpet & Home.

Furnishings

Next comes the seating. Georgia mentioned that she likes chair-and-a-halfs. They are fun to snuggle up in. However, the scale is too large to sit next to the sofa. Scale is really the most important thing to consider when choosing furniture. To figure this out, check out seat heights. They should match. Also, choose similar styles. I chose a love seat with the same contemporary look. CB2′s Annex Love Seat will add extra seating that looks sharp and comes in a gray neutral that will fit in nicely. It retails for $749.

I chose CB2′s Spool Coffee Table ($449) and a couple of their Xtra Square Side Tables ($179) to finish up the living area. I like how the round table off-sets all the strong squares. It reminds me of the classic Knoll table designed by Walter Platner, but if much more affordable. And the side tables are light and airy – just the thing for a small room. Georgia’s floor lamp is great. I’d add another and remove the little table lamp.

Now for the television wall. Georgia made my life very easy by selecting IKEA’s Besta wall system. It offers a style in keeping with the rest of the room, has great storage, and look great. Georgia even came up with some choices she liked. She’s got a great eye. Here’s the one I like. Switch it around so that the cabinet is on the left.

Accessories

I say keep it simple here. Remove all the clutter and the Mexican throw. Exchange it for a soft throw blanket. Add a collection of toss pillows, in solid colors (below), to the sofa. Leave the love seat bare naked. Artwork suggestions are Rothko prints, or paint your own. They’re pretty easy to duplicate (please no angry comments from art critics). You don’t even need to buy a frame if you buy a canvas that’s wrapped around the frame. Keep the look crisp and clean.

Paint & Palettes

Finally, let’s take a look at color. Georgia likes bold colors – but not lime green! I’d like her to consider a violet hue for all the walls, with a darker shade on the inner part of the tray ceiling. The rest of the ceiling should remain white. If this color seems too strong, play with it. Or consider leaving the inner walls of the house white. Be brave and go for the whole shebang.

Why violet? I chose a cool color to balance the warmth of the wood floor. The cool color will recede, making the room look larger. Using something like orange, which Georgia was considering would be blinding in a room with orange tones on the floor – meaning the hardwood.

I’ve stopped making exact suggestions because the colors differ widely from computer screen to computer screen. And you really have to test the samples in the space. I do recommend giving Benjamin Moore’s Aura paint a try. It’s a new resin-based paint with low VOCs that doesn’t need mixing. The color doesn’t differ from can to can. Best of all, it often covers in one coat. Make sure you test the colors first. Paint them on a sample board and view them at different time of the day and in different lights.

Final Thoughts

As Georgia mentioned, she’s Italian and her husband comes from Jamaica. They must make a lively and fun pair. I can’t wait to see the finished room. If I’m lucky, maybe one day they’ll invite me over for some Italian/Jamaican Meat Patties. Georgia, send me a photo and I’ll send you a Design Hole tee shirt. Okay?

Tags: aura paint, Benjamin Moore, color palettes, interior design, living room, space planning