room design

Several months ago I was talking with another blogger about partnering to do room designs for people. I never really blogged about it here because it didn't work out, but I thought I'd share two rooms that I designed as part of the process.

The designs were for a client who wanted to freshen up their living room and connected dining room. They gave us a budget for furniture AND contracting work out. I, of course, suggested lots of architectural modifications that would use up a lot of the contractor expenses like removing a section of a wall, updating a fireplace, refinishing floors, and adding a couple lights in the ceilings.

Then I had two distinct looks for the furnishings. Which do you like best?

Option 1:
Living Room
This one has an 'ethnic vibe' that the client wanted and is very textural. I really like the yellow pops of color against the dark gray walls. The total for the entire space (living room and dining room) with everything you see pictured is $5902 (and 9 cents to be precise).

Dining Room
This one carries the yellow through to the dining room and kept the client's existing dining table and some artwork that they already had. Their art had lots of color in it so I went with lighter gray walls here.

Option 2:
Living Room
This option is chic, funky, and comfortable by mixing smooth modern pieces with rustic and textured pieces. I used a bright green as the accent in this option. The total cost for Option 2 is $5845.23.

Dining Room
I kept the dark gray wall color in this one (and note that the orange color you see below is just from the picture of the chandelier, NOT a paint color) and used the client's existing table again. I am IN LOVE with that hutch and wish I had a need for one in my own house! It's metal and gorgeous!

There are several designers/bloggers online that offer services like this. They look at your room and measurements and then design a new space for you. I always thought the prices they ask are crazy...like $300 for a room design! BUT...after pulling this together for someone I found out firsthand how time consuming it can be. I had to do lots of 'shopping' online and provide the sources for each piece, along with layouts and contractor instructions. It's especially hard when you're working within 'real life' constraints like what stores are available in the client's area so they can actually get the pieces you find, and real budgets. Fun and interesting, but time consuming.

So which option is your favorite?