March 27, 2011

All From Ikea

I was asked to out together a living room design in a modern aesthetic for a friend of mine. She was starting from zero, as in from scratch. We were working on, my favorite, a BUDGET!

I like working on a budget. It gives a project parameters. It helps you to define where the bulk of your money should go. I am always bargain shopping, whether out of necessity or not. It's kind of like a game and I am the winner when I find a good deal on exactly what I want. Meaning, I don't like to settle with an inferior style or quality just to save money. It still needs to look good, last a long time, and be something you love. Do not bring things into your home you don't love. That's always a waste of money.

Okay, I apologize for the tangent. Back to the design.

To decorate this living room I knew I was going to do mainly from Ikea for two reasons. One: my friend is a big fan of their clean lines and likes the more modern the better. Two: she is not a shopper like I am. I was going to need to find almost everything there for here because going from place to place looking for just the right accessory is not her idea of fun. (Although why not, I don't know?)

My parameters included a $1000 budget, a color scheme of black and red, the necessity for a sofa bed and storage. 

The starting point was supposed to be a very modern, black sofa. But sitting on it just wasn't that comfortable. They look so sleek and stream lined, but when the arms and back of the couch are low and the same height there's no where to rest your head. So comfort won out and I needed to incorporate the tan/beige sofa into my color scheme. This primarily changed the curtains and the pillows, but the walls are already a lighter tan than the couch so it should look great.

At $699 the couch is really fantastic. There is storage underneath the chaise and under the love seat portion there's a pullout that pops up and turns the couch into a double bed. It is also very comfortable and easy on the eyes. We got the curtains to bring more black around the room. It is actually wavy stripes of black gray and tan. The same colors as in two of the pillows.

I choose this bookshelf for her storage problems and the red boxes fit on the shelves perfectly. The bookshelf will actually be on its side and multitask as a room divider. We went cheap on the TV stand- cheap on price but not on style. There's nothing offensive to the senses here.

For side tables I convinced her to go rogue and we left Ikea to get some square storage ottomans. They're black and we got two to act as two side tables for now, but  on a whim they could work as a coffee table or even a bench if she wanted them to. The top can be flipped over and works as a hard surface for drinks or whatever.

That pretty much killed the budget. But think about it, the couch was 700 bucks so we got her a whole living room for 300 additional buckaroos.
We chose a club chair to bring a pop of red to the other side of the room. It was a great price and is actually comfortable. Love. Ikea.
I choose some accessories for her to keep her eye on. We picked out a trendy sunburst mirror and some red lamps. Also her contribution was a vase and sticks that mimicked the wavy lines in the curtains.


I would love to do more in the way of accessories but it's just not her style, she's actually had blank walls for the last 6 years. So I guess it's baby steps and I'll take what I  can get. If it were up to me I would suggest she do one of those amazing vinyl graphics, something like a gray silhouette of an organic shape. Also, some black floating shelves with tan and gray vases or glassware. Then a photo wall with black frames and black and white prints.

This was a really fun project. Personal shoppers and decorators are so lucky. They get to shop all the time and don't have to spend their own dinero. The only challenge is moving away from your own style towards one that will please your client/friend.

Hopefully I can get some after shots to show off my labors!