One of my customers is a recently divorced mother of two young kids. She dwelt in a high-end neighborhood, in a massive house filled with nice, large furnishings. Then her world changed. The house was sold, along with all its materials; the proceeds were split; debts were paid.
Fast forward to today: She and the children have moved into a very adorable two-bedroom bungalow in a very different part of town. Since she was faced with the change and turmoil related to ending a connection, decorating the new location was the very last thing on her head. After taking several months to cure, she decided that the only way for her to move forward would be to create a new house that reflected her confidence and hope for the long term. She wanted the bungalow to feel safe and stable and loving for her kids, and thus began our process together.
Erica George Dines Photography
Having spent her prior life in an enormous house, my customer had developed a design that seemed to fit that space: opulent, outsized, expensive, everything in pairs. Finding herself in a drastically different distance, she realized she didn’t really understand what her fashion was. Her prior decor was more about the lifestyle the family was living, rather than that the family was. Walking through the door of the previous residence, you would have understood it was done and the people were doing well, but you’d have gotten no sense of what they were about.
Starting over with almost nothing can be frightening, but it also leaves the door open to building something completely new that serves as a launch pad for each day’s dreams. As an example of how powerful our physical surroundings can be, think about what it would be like to wake up every morning in a dark and musty room with only a mattress on the ground. Now imagine waking up in the cozy, light-filled room shown here. Of course that is an extreme example, but starting each day in a place that feels safe and good makes a big difference in how you approach the planet.
Jenn Hannotte / Hannotte Interiors
Identify Your Style
When relationships end, it is natural to wish to take your personality in the complete opposite direction of where you were formerly in a bid to start fresh. While this makes perfect sense, it is probably not the best answer.
Surrounding yourself with midcentury modern when you’re French country is counterproductive to creating a space you will like to maintain. Wiping the slate clean in the design standpoint doesn’t mean you should no more like what you like. Opening yourself up to fresh choices in the fashion you are feeling best defines you can be a terrific alternative.
The interesting thing about my client’s drastic downsizing is that she says the more compact house feels more demanding and less sterile. She wished to create an environment which felt safe, bright and inviting. Whereas she used to have furnishings no one ever sat on, all of the pieces in the new space would be used daily. Art in her old house was expensive and priceless, and I have to confess, more suited to your gallery than a real home. The walls in the bungalow are a mixture of things with whimsy that evoked a smile or reminded you that what was going to be OK.
Identifying exactly what she wanted the space to feel like for herself and her kids was the perfect starting point. All other things radiated off the central desire to create a warm and comforting space. Her love of antiques, well-made furniture and richly textured fabrics came. Pinpointing what things she was attracted to and what things said “family house” to her made it very clear that her style was heavily weighted toward warm contemporary. She knew that primitive white rooms were not likely to work for both kids, but a mix-and-match approach that combined tailored furnishings with organic pieces such as reclaimed wood tables and bright patterned cushions would do the job beautifully.
The area shown here’s a fantastic example of a warm, contemporary space filled with light. I imagine that the citizens to be enjoyable and laid back, with an eclectic but sophisticated style. I want to understand them hang out with them. Their distance seems welcoming to me.
sarah & bendrix
Make a Plan
After pinpointing exactly what the bungalow should feel like, what style the distance ought to be and what components are the icing on the cake, we needed to take stock of exactly what my customer possessed and what things were the greatest priority at that time. She was coming to the house with nearly nothing but her clothes and her children’s things, so we pretty much wanted to obtain a whole house together. On the other hand, the shift in circumstances meant a huge shift in finances as well, so we cautioned which rooms had things the most.
We painted every room. Hardware stores often have a choice of paints in all sorts of finishes which were blended for other customers and for whatever reason weren’t picked up. We discovered a gallon of dove grey for her room, a gentle green to the kids’ room and a creamy taupe for its living spaces — all at half of what regular blended paint would have cost.
Since she and the children would spend a lot of time in the living area, it was important to find that area as finished as possible. By trying to find the big-ticket items in consignment stores and flooring sample earnings, frequenting antique shops and estate sales, and combing listings online, we were able to stretch the budget and create a comfortable space that felt unnaturally curated and not patched together.
The kitchen followed, and regular trips to the local salvage yards yielded reclaimed wood to the shelving, a top notch sink, awesome classic cabinet pulls and assorted other vital objects. It took several months and loads of creativity and repainting, repairing and reupholstering, but in the end, my client and her kids had a glowing and fresh space in which to start their life.
The appearance and feel of this kitchen shown here embodies an enjoyable, eclectic, gathered look. It is a fantastic mix which makes the most of the space, which seems like the ideal spot for cooking with the children or gossiping with a friend over wine and cheese. I love that it looks so approachable. I don’t know about you, but I’ve had some of the best conversations of my life while sitting on my kitchen counter or floor tops.
Lisa Petrole Photography
How to Start
No matter if you have settled into a small apartment or have stayed in the house once the connection ends, there is a period of adjustment during which you want to take stock of what will happen next. It may feel overwhelming if your own life is in flux, but giving yourself a distance that feels warm, safe, stable and finish will go a long way toward creating daily easier. The area shown here is so serene and bright that looking at it makes me feel like I would always be at peace in it. That’s the type of mood I would want to capture. Employing the following suggestions, you are able to map out a strategy for defining or chasing your personality and developing a house that best reflects another chapter of your life.
Define how you need your space to sense. I am not speaking about flaws or temperature; I am discussing emotions and adjectives, such as “joyful,” “hot,” “enjoyable,” “bright” and “interesting.” Once you’ve locked that down, you are able to make decisions which best reflect the mood you want to create.
Take stock of what you have and how it might fit in the strategy. Would a piece work better if it were another color or in a different area, or is it best to market it and get something else which better matches the brand new space? Prioritize. Everything doesn’t have to be performed at once, but you also need to feel great about where you’re as quickly as you can. Ascertain which spaces you are utilizing the most and concentrate on these rooms first. If walking through the front door into a dark and gloomy entry is the very first thing you are faced with every day, change that! Repaint, put a wall covering or a fantastic piece of artwork, get a foyer table which does double duty as storage, purchase a lamp and put it to use. Change the areas that impact you and you’ll see your mood shift. Get creative. Splitting a household often signifies a change in financial status. Not always, but if it does, think outside the box on how to best furnish, change or reimagine your space. Visit consignment stores often. Their stock changes daily, and if you’re searching for something particular — such as a sofa or a bookcase — leave word with the supervisor to call you if these things come in. Managers are usually happy to email you a photo of fresh products. Have a visit to the salvage yards. Builder’s distribution salvage is among the best-kept secrets around. Contractors who have leftover materials from jobs donate or sell their product to the salvage yards, who then promote it to the public for mad low rates. It is not unusual to discover an ultraluxe faucet from a specialty store for a quarter of the price. Look online and sign up for real estate sale alarms. They are like garage sales occasions 10. You need to dig and also have a little creativity and vision, but you are able to score some wonderful things. Enlist Assist. Request people whose opinions you value that will assist you fix up your distance. Know somebody who sews? Have new curtains and cushions made. Have a buddy? Hang fresh light fixtures. Know a great photographer? Frame some of his or her photos as new artwork in your space. Having people you trust and love contribute to a new residence immediately fills it with love and purpose.