geraldine vanderveen design

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Project Two


A few months ago I dropped by my friend's house and she showed me her and her husband's new furniture.  I loved it all but then mentioned that their house didn't reflect them (cause I'm not so shy about those things...and I said it in love...honest!).  My friend has an amazing personality...she practically bubbles with it, and yet the house seemed a little blah.  So, some retail therapy was in order for me, and I got to drag her along. 

There was really nothing wrong with what was there.  The curtains were OK, although they were a bit too short, and there was some paint on one panel.  So, off to Fabricland I went where there are many choices and the price is so very right!  I came back with two options.  Both D and J love reds and yellows, and so I found one with some wildish circles on it and the striped one that you can tell they picked.  Instant lift, I tell you!  These curtains added some colour in the vertical sense, and helped to balance all the dark furniture.
In the second picture, the left hand wall was very bare.  It is the first thing you see when you walk in the room, so it needed a little something.  There was a single piece of art hanging in the middle, which we took down (much to the oldest child's dismay...so cute) and moved it to lean against the wall on top of the "dresser".  We added a few other accessories and a couple of wall shelves with some treasured memory pieces to make a bit more of a statement.  In the future, that wall "should" get a new, slightly darker colour to really set it apart. 
Finally, a few cushions, some large greenery (yes...live), a new family portrait above the piano and a funky mirror in the hallway, and voila, character that reflects the family that lives here!
Before
After
Before
After
So, just to recap, in this house the bones were all there.  We just added a few things to make it their home, and not just their house. It is also a lesson that you don't have to max out your line of credit, and that really a couple hundred dollars can go a long way!