Of all the rooms I've done, this living room seems to have the widest appeal. After analyzing it, I suspect that people find it casual and approachable, yet definitely "put together". Because this room was designed for an active family, with young children and pets, we selected sturdy fabrics, tables with rounded shapes, and lots of comfy pillows. The soothing cocoa brown and aqua blue color scheme, on carpet, walls, and fabrics, unifies the living and dining areas. (Note that the same drapes are used in the living room with its light brown walls, and in the dining room adjacent, against lighter blue walls.) Finally, the furnishings are very transitional, neither too staid and traditional nor too modern so that people with a wide variety of tastes all feel comfortable here.
Simple, understated elegance is what makes this room timeless. The intimate seating group includes sofas and several special chairs. The backs of the wood framed chairs add interest as you enter the room, while the small "perching chair" serves as either a small seat or as an ottoman. The beautiful fireplace is left unadorned, because it needs nothing but its own well proportioned lines, while the sweep of long draperies provides an elegant backdrop to the space. This classic, restrained design remains just as appealing today as it did when we first installed it 8 years ago.
Our clients, newly married young professionals, had just purchased their first home in the Lang Ranch neighbourhood of Thousand Oaks with only a piano in their living-dining room. Our goal was to give them a space for conversational seating and a functional dining spot with good traffic flow between each area. We sought stylish good looks within a moderate budget.
With hardwood floors throughout, we decided to anchor the seating group on a plush patterned rug. Here, a sophisticated mix of Traditional and Modern elements offers decor meant to last. The upholstery and side tables are Transitional, while rug, lamps and floral pillows are Traditional. Then, dead center, we spice things up with a Contemporary cocktail table, painting and table top art. The uncluttered blend of Traditional, Modern, and Transitional styles typifies the best of 21st century design!
A warm fireside grouping is the focus of this Mediterranean home's living room. Deep caramel walls and carpets provide a dramatic background for the cream colored drapes, sofa, fireplace and painted moldings. Traditional furnishings co-exist happily with contemporary art and contribute to the unique personality of this Westlake Village space.
This striking great room is in the home of a young professional athlete. As the central focus of the entire house, this room called for drama. The black granite fireplace and long raised hearth needed special pieces, so we built the grouping around two imposing sculptural lights, each close to seven feet tall! Balancing them are two original oil paintings and two extra tall vases. A large area rug, an original design of ours, adds another distinctive note to this comfortable and dramatic space.
When you have a grand home with more than 10,000 feet of living space, it is really important that it be made livable and inviting. This cozy conversational seating group does just that--with its collection of deep seating, chenille-covered sofas and chairs that say "welcome" instead of "I'm too fancy to touch." Our clients appreciated and wanted dramatic flourishes, but first and foremost they sought spaces where everyone could enjoy carefree comfort. This outlook really captures my idea of what a successful room should be -- attractive enough to elicit "wows", and inviting enough to make you come right in and stay awhile!
This 20 year old Calabasas home got a new lease on life with our fresh new decor. The intimate seating group is a great spot for relaxed conversation. It's clean lined furnishings and espresso stained woods provide comfort and charm. Rich wine red drapes, pillows, and art accents lend drama, while the unique steel and gold side table adds a touch of the unexpected.
Elegance without pretension was our design goal for this spectacular living room. We emphasized its inherent drama by painting both walls and ceiling cocoa brown in contrast to the ivory ceiling moldings, window casings, and fireplace. Soaring drapery panels frame but do not obscure the graceful arched windows, and comfortable seating is divided into a lounge area on the right, and a generous 72" round game table and chairs on the left.
An eclectic mix of tropically inspired furnishings create an interesting ambience in this Camarillo living room. The dramatic rattan chairs in the foreground anchor the space. Warm background neutrals host a light and dark green color scheme, which is spiced with wonderful touches of red/orange.
An inviting atmosphere is created in this formal living space, through a cozy conversational grouping of furnishings, and warm coppery colors. Unusual chairs and tables in dark tones lend drama; as does the striking hand carved mirror.
The living area of this family room is one of the narrowest we have ever dealt with. Its special challenge was accommodating roomy seating for its very tall occupants, keeping open the traffic path to the kitchen, and making sure it didn't feel crowded. We made all the backgrounds, floors, walls, and window coverings, understated and warm, and kept furnishings in deeper tones of the same palette. For a bit of coziness underfoot, we designed a very high pile, thick custom rug in rich brown colors. The final touch was the addition of a wonderful painting we commissioned by Emmanuel Mattini.
This vignette shows some details of a Contemporary family room. Its fireplace is one we designed with multicolored petite glass tiles, whose hues complement the room's palette without echoing it exactly. Current design thinking reflects the outlook that relaxed mixing is preferred over slavish matching of every color. The angular shapes of the fireplace and shelves are juxtaposed with the curves in the rug design, furniture shapes, and chair fabric. This pleasing interplay of angles and curves is an important aspect of this room's design.
This vertical view highlights the tall wooden shelves we created to house both display and audio components. Straight lined shelves contrast with curved windows for an interesting balance. The pair of cozy swivel chairs can either turn towards the TV or towards each other for friendly conversation.
The architecture of this room epitomizes the traditional English style beloved by so many. It boasts lots of wood paneling and an impressive wood coffered ceiling. But our clients were not very traditional, and wanted us to decorate in a manner more comfortable to them. Their choice was to echo the koi ponds in the gardens just outside the room, by choosing art and accent pieces reflecting this theme. So the left side of the room has 4 koi paintings and a lily pad lamp as its focal points with other art choices in the rest of the room. Because of the room's size, seating is divided into several groupings. In the foreground, the green sectional, and its quartet of brown leather ottomans, is the place to watch TV. At the opposite end is a chair grouping for cozy fireside conversation, while still others can sit at the bar or at the game table. A great entertaining space with something for everyone.
A 54" square glass sits atop two antique Asian chests to make a coffee table of generous proportions. Favorite books are interspersed with ceramics and table-top sculpture in the cozy family retreat.
Clean contemporary setting in Calabasas features bold art and color accents in an otherwise serene cream colored grouping.
Bold, brilliant blue and turquoise tones infuse this space with arresting drama. We used iridescent cobalt blue glass tiles on our newly designed fireplace surround, forming the anchor to our scheme. We then created three separate showcase boxes, each with its own blue frame and interior display lighting. The whole fireside grouping was designed as an interplay between angular and curved objects, with even one square and one round ottoman. The Ivan Reyes painting above the fireplace sums it all up--A square blue and turquoise piece, with a circle at its center, and just enough other colors and patterns to keep it interesting, artistic and original.
This view from above shows the unusual furniture arrangement I did for my own living room 11 years ago. It was a concept I formulated years earlier for a client and I loved it enough to do it for myself. Basically, the circle of chairs, each with its own small table, replaces the standard sofa groupings in the living area. Its a most comfortable way to sit and to interact with others. It is welcoming as well as practical since each occupant has a large supportive chair, nearby place to put a drink, and sits amid beautiful art. The 3 tiered coffee table and chairs are my original designs.
We designed this townhome living room for a local attorney. His space needed to be attractive enough for his bachelor style entertaining, and practical enough to need minimal maintenance. For endurance and soil hiding, we chose a sturdy brown chenille fabric for the sofas. Because the space is small, we used an ottoman and a small perching chair, rather than full size chairs, for additional seating. Dramatic five foot tall red paintings give the room some "wow" and are complemented by several sculptures we installed. One of the best parts of working with this client was introducing him to living with and appreciating art. Some two years later, he told me of how much art had come to mean to him, and returned to us to purchase more great art!
We designed this family room for a client we had worked for 15 years ago, in another home. Unlike their prior home, they wanted a Contemporary feeling here, with new colors. Their existing painting (seen over the sofa) formed the basis of our color palette of blue, green and soft gold. The soft gold appears on the berber carpet, wall paint, and accent pillows. The blue and green combo take center stage on the abstract swirls of the drapery pattern. And, because the drapery pattern is active, we used neutral brown tones for the sofas. A pair of swivel chairs (not seen in this photo) complete this cozy ensemble.
This Camarillo family wanted a living space filled with vibrant color, and a big sectional where family members (including dog) could all cuddle up and watch TV or just hang out together. So we used liberal doses of their favorite red colors, which appears in the shaggy rug, draperies, artwork and accent pillows. Then to calm down all this brilliant red, we upholstered the sectional in a pale latte colored chenille, and kept walls in a similar light hue. We added black and deep browns in the rug, furnishings and accessories with some turquoise accents for added interest. Artistic tables, lamps, and accessories all contribute to this interesting and warm gathering place.
