Last month, we met with Kim, the winner of our first ever Living Room Makeover. The at-home consult is the first step for every project we take on. It’s an opportunity for us to chat with our clients about the style direction & the functional needs for the space and take photos and measurements to get started on space planning. With this project, gathering info up front was especially crucial, as this is carte blanche project. We are surprising this family with our final design and they will have no input beyond pointing us in the right direction. No pressure!!!
Kim was nominated by her husband Darren, and their three daughters, because she is a super busy working mom (with a side hustle that’s taking off) who truly deserves a serene space where she can relax and connect with her family. Kim and Darren’s eldest daughter, Emma, is a bright, spunky 13 year old who loves Youtube and writing. She is also diagnosed with autism, which the whole family fully embraces in a beautiful way but also acknowledges comes with unique challenges. They are all looking forward to having a beautiful space to share, and we all feel so honoured to be a part of creating something special for this family.
Style Direction
Before meeting, we always ask that clients send us inspiration photos of designs they like to make sure we’re all on the same page. While Kim’s personal style is more transitional, Darren prefers a modern contemporary look. Luckily we’re used to striking a balancing act between spouses differing visions. One thing they could both agree on is that they loved the look of our Cedarbreeze living room and the high contrast shelves next to the marble fireplace surround.
Functional Needs
One of the main issues in terms of functionality is that this family room is currently serving double duty: it’s the main hangout spot for their three pre-teens, but it’s also Kim’s home office for her custom doormat business.
While Kim liked that she could hang out with her family while fulfilling orders, having her office in this space was making it difficult to disconnect and unwind at the end of the day. Imagine trying to find peace in the evenings at your work desk… Yeah. Luckily, they’re fully on board with moving her home office to their spacious basement to let us turn this space into a proper family room where they can all just hang out and be a family at the end of the day.
Space Planning
The good news is that the space, even if it needs a little TLC, has great bones. It has a gorgeous vaulted ceiling, a large bay window and a working fireplace. While the room is spacious enough, it’s long and narrow which presents challenges with space planning.
Since this project is a carte blanche surprise (eek!), we’re keeping the design details under wraps until the big reveal. Stay tuned for photos & video from the big day - slated for Valentine’s Day. We are SO excited to transform this space for this deserving family, and to share the process and final product with you. Until then here is a very very VERY simple sneak peek moodboard to give you the slightest idea of direction.
We’re curious — what would you do in this space? Let us know in the comments below!