My clients Beth and Blake are my dream clients. They love everything I love. Working with them is like being on a perfect date where the other person just "gets" you.
Let's start at the beginning... A while ago Beth and Blake moved to Los Angeles from Texas. They purchased a beautiful home , but it just didn't feel quite like them. As luck would have it, one of Beth's friends in Texas followed my blog and suggested to her that she contact me (yay!). That's when the fun started...
After the first few minutes into our initial meeting, it became clear that although Beth and Blake's home was beautiful, it lacked the warmth and personal touches that would turn their house into their home.
One of the first rooms we started with was their entry... At first their entry felt a bit chilly. I wanted to create a welcoming transition from their gorgeous front garden to the inside of their home.
The first thing we did was move the living room rug into the entry. At the very least, it gave Beth and I a comfortable place to flop down and look at inspiration on my computer LOL!
We added some old wood doors to warm up the space.
We placed an industrial table in front of the doors. Beth and Blake love neutral colors, so we added a bit of green as the only accent color.
Coral, an old Italian architectural element and a mossy cement container completed the table scape.
This is the "before" picture of the other side of the front door...
We created a cozy area for a guest to hang out or for one of the kids to put on their shoes before heading out the door.
Across from the stairway and the new chair nook there was a looooong wall. What to do?
I started searching the internet and stumbled upon this wonderful image on the Elegant Earth website. I loved their cement console that Bobby McAlpine used in one of his projects.
Here's my version. Beth found the mirror at Shabby Chic. We added Pottery Barn candle sconces on either side to fill up the loooong wall. An orchid plant added a hint of neutral color.
Baskets below add texture. Initially we used two baskets that were the same size, but I liked the unexpected mismatched sizes better.
300 year old Vietnamese bowls, Italian vellum books, and some bone beads had the perfect neutral patina for their home.
The next room we are transforming is their living room.
I showed Beth a few images of Barbara Wiseley's own home. I thought the neutral color scheme with pops of green would be the perfect inspiration for her living room.
The green pillows definitely added what was missing.
We plan to bring over more of our leather books to warm up the shelves.
We're starting to incorporate more smaller accessories....
but only a light iron table and chairs on the left.
We replaced the iron set with a more substantial Elegant Earth cement table and some larger wicker chairs with comfy thick linen cushions. We still have to wait for the draperies to be installed as well as the trees and pots, but we are definitely on our way!
We are also moving along with Beth and Blake's dining room.
Stay tuned!
On another subject....
Steve and I are off on a couple adventures in the next couple of weeks (the kids are still away at camp!). We'll be traveling up North until we hit San Francisco. We'd love to hear about your "can't miss" spots between LA and SF! Town, shops, flea markets, restaurants etc... I promise to post about our adventures!
xo
Brooke
If you would like help creating the home of your dreams, email me about our design services.
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