Redecorating for a New Client

This week I had the pleasure of heading to Seattle to help Jamie, a new client, with her family room. Jamie and her family live in a fun, older home that has lots of charm. She was overwhelmed with the placement of her furniture and the look of her shelves, so she invited me to help her out. Nothing new was purchased for the transformation. I just rearranged existing furniture and frames and created a shopping list for Jamie for filler items (such as end tables, a throw, and pillows to add some color to the couches...). So the room isn't complete yet.....but we sure made some progress. Now let's look at some pictures. Lots of frames were displayed on the shelves...

And the narrow room made furniture placement a challenge. The couches were facing each other, perpendicular to the fireplace and tv.

Before we started, I had Jamie walk me through her house so I could see if there was any home decor that we could 'borrow' from other rooms to decorate her shelves. After I spotted some potential items, I cleared off all of the shelves, creating a blank slate for decorating.

When the shelves were cleared, I was able to easily assess the different sized pictures that I had to work with. I created a gallery wall on the floor by arranging and rearranging the frames until I came up with a display that filled the wall space best.

By selecting which pictures would be hung on the walls, I then knew which ones were left to accessorize the shelves. After raiding the kitchen for a few vases and cutting some fresh flowers from the front yard, I created simple vignette's of frames, books and vases.

Here are the new shelves...

The couches and lamps were moved too, giving the room better flow. The love seat now faces the fireplace and tv....

And the longer couch is perpendicular to the fireplace, in front of the widows.

By moving the couches away from the shelves, it opened the corner up for another chair and side table. For the time being (until a new chair and table are purchased), I put an extra dining room chair there as a place holder.

Jamie hopes to paint the room soon with a more basic color, like a light gray. And she will add in accent colors with pillows and throws to brighten up the brown leather furniture.

I feel like the walls and shelves clearly display what is important to them....family. The room has a new, refreshing look - without having purchased a single thing! Doesn't it look great?!

Let's take one last look at the before and after...