If you are just tuning in check out the intro to this series here.
Thank you all so much for reading my series this week. I have had a great response and I feel like it’s been good for readers to know that most design stories aren’t just a before and an after. There is so much more that goes into each project. And I want to thank my amazing client for letting me share this story and her home with all of you.
Let’s review what we started with:
And here is what we ended up with!
At that first initial consult I think her and I were both looking for something bold and maybe more modern feeling but in the end we came up with this beautiful, breezy and easy feeling space.
Bird figure and pinecone from Alice Lane Home Collection.
Trophies and vases from Alice Lane Home Collection. Basket and Books owned by client.
Small houses and Orbs from Alice Lane Home Collection.
Pillow sewn by Plush Studio in Schumacher Bleeker. Lamp from Visual Comfort.
Leather sofa is from Alice Lane Home Collection.
The floral pillows are done in Schumacher Hot House in Spark.
The wood side table is antique from Great Exchange in Laguna Beach.
Matches and candle snuffer are from Alice Lane Home Collection.
Coffee table bench was custom made by the client’s husband. White shams from Debbie’s Porch.
The set of mirrors are from Ballard Designs, no longer available.
One thing that we really struggled with was where to put the piano. Pianos can be tricky to decorate around.
We tried to break up the brown by having a custom slipcover made for the bench.
Turtle Shell from Alice Lane Home Collection.
While I was helping her with her Living Room she also enlisted my help with her Foyer.
Mirror is from Star Mill in American Fork, Utah.
The bench was a great consignment find by my client and she painted it white. It’s an amazing piece.
All photos by the amazing Jessica Kettle
This will probably be one of my most memorable design experiences. It took almost a year to complete from start to finish so I felt like I evolved a lot as a designer through the process. My client was wonderful to work with and she really has great taste. I think she and I both taught each other a lot. She needed reassurance and a second opinion along the way and I needed someone to help me look outside my own “style”. I pushed her to look outside of her box and she pushed me to look outside of mine. Designers can be pushy and sometimes they need to be. But this project was about letting the client’s voice and personality come through in this space. Not mine.
I wanted to share this experience with you on my blog so you could see how the process of a room comes together. Of course every room and every client evolve differently but this helps you see how much thought and effort goes into each room. With every project I encounter obstacles and it makes it that much more exciting to see the finished project come together.
Just like a person, every room has a story. There is a history and an evolution to the spaces that we live. I love it when I get to be a part of that!
Wow, this series has been wonderful. I kept checking every morning to see the next day's post. The room looks amazing! Thank you for sharing the process with us.
It was worth the wait….a beautiful warm room. I loved watching the process…….
One of my favorite rooms you've done! Love it, Kirsten.
Wow!!!! I love every single aspect! Makes me want to buy a similar rug for our living room! Great job ladies!
Wow Kirsten! Everything is so wonderful. They must be thrilled. My favorite parts are the built-in, the bench and the round mirrors.. actually I love it all!
It looks amazing! Thanks for sharing this.
It looks so great! Good job.
Wowza Kirsten! It's even more fantastic than I was prepared for – every last detail. I'm sure you'll get lots of questions (and I have a few too). At what point did you decide to do the built-ins underneath the three windows? Those I think make the space. And what is the navy fabric used on the pillows in the living room next to the Hot House pillow? She got her Hot House in a perfect dose! That piano could have looked fuddy duddy, but with the addition of the sconce and the cute slipcover it looks incredibly inviting. REally great job and thank you so much for sharing this with us.
Oh, my gosh! I love how welcoming and comfortable, yet completely stylish, this looks! I just want to jump right in and live there! Such a great job!
Great series! I do agree that the design work is not always cut and dry and a quick project. It can be tough to let your guard down a bit, but in the end, you both grow! I recently had a similar design experience with a client, and I'm so glad I did! I think you do learn and grow the most with those type of projects. 🙂 Have a great weekend and thanks to you stylish ladies for sharing your story!
Oh, I meant to say that the finished product is absolutely gorgeous! The room and foyer both look stunning! great job! 🙂
Holy cow! I had to scroll up at first to make sure it was the same room – those built ins make such a difference! I'm completely smitten with this room, and loved seeing the process. Thanks for sharing it with all of us 🙂
I loved this series. It's always so enlightening to see how a room evolves. I love your style and this room shows it! Beautiful, just beautiful!
I really love the room. I love the built ins and how you fit the piano in. Great, great job. What a great series!!
Kirsten, the transformation is amazing. I loved seeing the progression of the room through this series. As an aspiring interior designer, it's good to see in depth more about how working with clients works. Thank you!
Tiffany
thedesignerlifestyle.blogspot.com
I'm so happy to have you tell the story of how it really goes sometimes, and you don't see many great ways to work pianos (especially uprights) into rooms. I know how hard that is, so while the whole room is awesome, I think it made me happiest to see a cute piano that really seems to fit! Good job :).
I love how this room turned out!
Kirsten, I read your blog all the time and find so much inspiration, but this series has inspired me so much that I am commenting for the first time! 🙂 My biggest learning lesson from your experience is that I don't need to go out and buy every single piece for a room and expect it to work all at once. It's about taking the time to live in the space and feel what more it needs or what needs removed and changed. The room is beautiful and I look forward to more series posts like this one! Thank you!
Love the built in bookcases behind the chairs! What a fantastic addition. I love how pulled together yet comfortable and livable the room is. Great collaboration!
The room looks amazing, what a transformation! I loved this series and seeing the behind the scenes of what goes into making a room a room you love.
Thank you for this series! As a beginning designer I get caught up on wanting to see the finished rooms right now. It's great to see the full process and know that all these amazing "after" pictures I see weren't created over a weekend.
As a fledgling designer, this series was SO inspiring! Thank you! Thank you!
I loved seeing the entire design process. The room looks GREAT! I love how you mix patterns and textrues
Loved this series this week! The room turned out great!
What a great feature!!! I love seeing the evolution, it's do insightful. Thank you for sharing all the details!!
Oh, I absolutely LOVE this room! I love the arrangement of furniture and colors used. Unexpected and brilliant to see the bookcases installed on the back wall…love it! Such an amazing before & after, and I loved hearing the story of the progress how it got there.
I've loved every room you've done…I somehow have to convince my hubby to let me hire you to design ours! 🙂
This is my favorite series you've done! I absolutely love how this room turned out, and the foyer too. This reminded me that it's okay to change your mind about a piece you've purchased for your home, and not to be afraid to speak out and get what you really want!
M loves D
the sitting area and ottoman are perfect. love that green color.
I loved reading this feature all week, you should do more of them. And I love how the room turned out! It's such a beautiful space.
Kirsten,
It looks amazing, absolutely one of my favorite living rooms! thanks for sharing the process and reassuring us that good design doesn't happen overnight.
I love it so much! So much- The pattern mix is perfect, as your's always are. The coffee table was a perfect idea and the scale is spot on! (I'm surprised there arent any drapes, guessing that was the clinets choice. I find the hardest part of this job is when you know what the room needs v. what they know they want. In the end it always works out but I have a hard time walking away when I feel it's not "finished" in my mind.)
The room turned out magnificently and the lessons learned are invaluable! Congrats on a job well done and thanks for sharing.
Cathy
Definitely one of my favorite rooms! It's so livable yet so stylish.
I LOVE how both of these spaces turned out – so so beautiful and unique! All the colors work so well together – great job!
LOVE LOVE LOVE the finished result! Stunning! Her husband did an awesome job on the DIY coffee table – love it!
Another great room. Nice work! I loved seeing the process. I think you should share the process more often. It's fun to see it evolve.
This was a really wonderful series, I learned so much! And the room turned out wonderfully!! I hope there is more of this series to come!! 🙂
Such a beautiful, beautiful room! As a designer too, I think it is so great that you're sharing the realities of how projects change and evolve and also gave some insight into what it's really like working with a designer – especially how long things can really take to complete! 🙂
Wonderful job!
This turned out absolutely fabulous! I think this is one of my favorite of your designs. Everything seems so personal and just perfect. I really love the added trim and bookcase, it really finishes the room off! Congrats and thanks for sharing!
Annie
House on Rene
I love the breezy warmth that the room conveys. The addition of the bookcases is such a lovely detail. I think that this room is incredibly inviting. Great job! Wouldn't it be fun to be able to shop at Alice Lane liberally like that?
What a great result! I love how you've been able to combine everything to have a retro, slightly earth slightly industrial feel to the room.
the finished room is beautiful! light and bright and comfortable. And I LOVE the coffee table that was made by client's husband. Would you mind sharing how it was made?
awesome work.
Wow, love it! What a transformation. And that entry is amazing too.
I've been thinking about this beautiful room ALL DAY! I LOVE it! This is by far my favorite design of yours! Great Job!
I just sat and read through this series and LOVED it!! It was so fun to feel like I got to "get inside your head" during the design process and see what it's really like. I love the final outcome of the room! It's neat to see how beautiful it turned out even when along the way I was thinking things like "Oh no! Don't change it- I like the first sofa so much better!" but then in the final reveal, the room looks perfect. You and your client have amazing taste; thank you for sharing this room's story in so much detail!
I'm featuring this series on my blog tomorrow! Writing a summary and linking back to you. Thanks again!
Love this!!! It turned out so well! Gorgeous 🙂
I love the turquoise orbs and how they pick up the color in the ocean painting! Beautiful room. Inspiring 🙂
I LOVE the sofa, the rug, and the slipcovered piano bench! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
I loved this series! The room is just beautiful!
What a gorgeous room! And I'm loving your solution for a piano light. I never would have thought of a wall-mounted light. Will show this to a client of mine as a possibility for her piano…Thanks!
Very beautiful and cozy. Love the colors.
LOVE!
Oh wow! The finished room is stunning, I love your styling! I loved the series, thanks for sharing your process!!
Kirsten, where did you find that great sconce above the piano?
Thank you for sharing so candidly how much goes into the process of a room design! I have been working on a den for over a year and people certainly underestimate the job of a designer with all the HGTV shows doing it in a day! I love the outcome and am always inspired by your work!
Joanne @ Homestyling101
Just wanted to drop a note to let you know how much I enjoyed seeing the entire process from start to finish. Loved the final result- love the brightness and lightness of it. Looks like a very happy place to curl up and read or listen to the piano!
The room looks great! Glad to know it's not just us non-professionals who have to try and try to get just the right look. I love how the room looks sophisticated, yet cozy. Has a bit of a beachy vibe.
Kirsten, I know this is an old post, but this room is gorg! Do you remember your source for the slipcovered piano bench?