The challenge of living in a small space can also work to your advantage! To make the most of condo living, I always turn to creative storage solutions and dual-purpose furnishings.
For this project, we also had to contend with a poorly lit, bland space with no cohesion. Now that the project in partnership with ALLMODERN is completed, I can show you how the planning, sourcing, and implementation went. I am calling this style easy, organic boho with a dash of modern.
Post Sponsored by AllModern
Executed by Sea Interior Design
HOW DID I COME UP WITH THIS STORY?
- Assessing existing elements that such as the sofa, adjacent office pieces, single overhead light, and lack of much-needed natural light.
- Sourcing for a rug that would anchor the space, define it and work with other design elements in adjacent areas. Most of the condo has white walls and ceilings and warm gray doors and trim.
- Sourcing the art that speaks to me right now in my current existential & personal style.
- Brainstorming how to incorporate to achieve the feeling: minimal, organic ease, bordering on modern.
THE CHALLENGES
- The tiny budget is always a challenge, but it also increases creativity and resourcefulness! For this project, I invested in a few pieces to complete the look. My purchases included two side tables, one pull-up table, four new decorative pillows, stuffing for the sofa cushions, a picture ledge, and other accessories.
- The space was also a challenge. It was small, poorly lit, bland, and had no cohesion. The room consisted of a one-wall living room sandwiched between two home offices. There was little wiggle room for repositioning the sofa so that it was centered in front of the TV wall.
ADDITIONAL ELEMENTS TO COMPLETE THE LOOK
PICTURE LEDGE
A picture ledge also provides an opportunity to layer artwork in front of other artwork to create a layered look.
REINVENTED PIECE
Have you tried adding baking soda to paint? You will obtain a rustic, organic finish. From afar it appears like stoneware, closer up you see the organic nature of the texture and how the baking soda added to the paint gives a perfect matte, earthy finish. (like a coat of colored texture). I have tried this method on serval pieces, and different colors, I have used it on several lamp bases, vases, and vessels the results are marvelous. I cannot wait to try a black finish with more texture.
The shade I covered with peel and stick wallpaper. This particular one is a grasscloth, textured paper with an off-white background and variations of gray and taupe faux grass weave. It just adds so much to the overall look of the lamp. This is one of those organic textured look elements that I love. I was fortunate enough to find bud vases in black in a similar finish to complement and style the Audiovisual shelf below the TV.
Once I had a clear picture of what story I wanted to tell with the refresh project, then it was all hands on deck to pull it all together. My carpenter helped with the picture ledge and my husband painted it an off-white since for now, I decided not to add a color halfway down on the wall for more depth. But I may yet.
The artistic director who is a genius at guiding the money shots, could not make the photo shoot. But my wonderful photographer Deborah Shields (@d.shields.photography) did her very best to capture the sponsored items and the vignette we set out to create.
Remember from the previous post?
Where I explained how this living room is sandwiched between two hardworking home offices for two different businesses. Two very different working styles and at times the work spills into the “living areas” such as the living room & dining area. As you can see, we have to pack a lot in this small space and make it seem like, it is not as overstuffed as it really is. By defining this one wall living room, we have now defined the spaces in this room, with clear separation of each area, without using dividers or oversized pieces.
Most of the pieces in our condo serve dual-purpose or multi-purpose. For example, the two square ottomans, or cubes below the tv shelf open up and inside are all the sofa blankets/throws that we have. We keep one or two out neatly folded as you see on the photos of the sofa, but mostly they are out of sight to make sure things don’t look cluttered.
Now without further ado, here is the reveal of my one wall living room, in a small condo sandwiched between two offices. Thank you @ALLMODERN for sponsoring this project and the opportunity to work together.
ONE WALL LIVING ROOM
THE RUG
ACCESSORIES
When it comes to accessories I also keep those to a minimum as I don’t want things to look cluttered. The shelf under the tv has some cute bud vases in a finish similar to the table lamps, a Buddha, and a couple of candles. This shelf is going to get a makeover too and that is why it is not photographed. But always, when I accessorize, I edit, and then rearrange, then edit again. In looking at these photos I wish I would have edited that black pillow out of the mix. The two sorbet-colored pillows and the gray ones behind it, with the off-white throw blanket, were plenty. But during photoshoots of our own spaces, there is always uncertainty and hesitation unlike when we are shooting a client’s home.
I hope you have liked this small but impactful transformation.
Ta Ta! for now.
SHOP THE LOOK
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