A little while ago I took a notion that our living area needed a change. It just wasn’t working the way it needed to, the storage was abysmal and it looked …tired. So I sat the hubby down and broke the news to him as gently as I could – we were going to have to do some work on the house. He was of course devastated because he is the DIY expert and any work on the house, even if I take SOLE responsibility for it…seems to heavily involve him. Of course, he agreed with my bullet-proof argument eventually and we started planning our re-vamp.
Our living area is an open-plan space – we lounge, we watch TV, we eat dinner, we play, we draw, do homework and read all in the one space, so that space really needs to work. We needed more storage, so I set to work on finding the type of storage that would work best in our space. I also was determined to inject the space with some dreamy colours.
And this was my colour inspiration – delicious right?! I never tire of pink and despite the fact that we already have a lot of pink in our house, I thought it would be FAB in our living space. I also adored the idea of contrasting the pink with another hue and for those colours to then dictate/ emote what those spaces are for. I started chatting to Farrow and Ball about the project and eventually landed on Lichen Green for the Dining room + Setting Plaster for the Living room. Not pink pink but a close relative let’s say.
When it came to storage, I thought the best option was to integrate some custom-built arched shelving + cupboards into the room. This would give us space to display our favourite pieces eg records for the hubby, interior/fashion books for me and ample space for hiding away all those things we DON’T want to see but need daily access to (princess dresses/ shoes etc). We decided to build the shelving with MDF – it’s an adaptable material and using it keep our costs relatively low and it meant I could paint the shelves the same colour as the rest of the room which was integral to achieving the ‘colour drench’ aesthetic I was aiming for.
Curves are beautiful, and when you introduce them to a house/room that is made of straight lines and squares – it instantly softens the space and adds a sense of flow. And hence why I really wanted these shelves to be arched, this rounded shape also ties in with other elements in the room – the wall lamps within the shelves are spherical as is the large round mirror over the fireplace so it was an important design element. Of course it was also incredibly difficult to execute, the hubby was not keen – but he persevered and after a few experiments with a pencil tied to string, multiple offcuts, Flexiply and his trusted jigsaw – he created the dreamiest arches a gal could ask for.
All in all, this little make-over took us a few months to complete. We did the work ourselves, so it took much longer than if you got the professionals in, but I’m delighted with what we achieved.
Not long after, Image Magazine featured our home in their 50th anniversary issue which was so lovely to be a part of and to see our hard work in print, made it all worthwhile.
Ruth Calder Potts took the snaps, she’s good right?
Arum Lamp at April and the Bear
Retro Sofa + Cushions + HKliving Retro Fauteuil Boucle Cream Lounge Chair + It’ll be Grand Art Print from April and the Bear
HKliving Framed White Sands Abstract Painting + Pink Chairs + Vino Cabinet from April and the Bear
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