Vancouver, BC, Canada
Residential - small-apt
Briefing
HI there,
First of all, thank you very much for reading this brief. We look forward to seeing your designs!
About us: We are 26 female & 35 year old male couple, living with a small dog. No children. I am an IT business manager and my boyfriend is a movie (documentary & music video) director.
This is us: https://scontent-a-sea.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/10538458_10101055419817231_7953133759718398002_n.jpg?oh=0bb54f4577316ff66588716931c4f45b&oe=550B0961
His hobbies are photography, videography, painting, cooking and video games.
My hobbies are dancing, yoga and knitting.
We live in a penthouse, corner 2 bedroom apartment with beautiful views of the mountains and ocean from all rooms. We love how open, white and modern the apartment is, but we'd like it to have more personality and color. Please help us decorate it, and organize our work & play spaces. No changing of wall partitions, etc. needed. Just decor & organizing furniture.
We would like the place to feel modern, open, and have splashes of color everywhere. Sometimes it feels too cramped.
We'd like all the walls to be painted, and would like suggestions for art & decor. My boyfriend paints very well so he will make all of our paintings, but needs help with choosing the colors, sizes & placement of the paintings.
I will describe room by room what we need.
ENTRANCE
We currently have a small table there, but we would like to change it. We need a place to put some shoes, hang scarves, hats, the dog leash, and put the mail, wallets & keys. See inspiration photos. We also would like to have a large mirror to make the space feel less cramped when entering. Please show us suggestions for this.
For art, my boyfriend suggested we make a collage of our family & ancestor's photos, maybe black and white, or a specific hue of color? Although the hallway is quite narrow and this might make the space feel cramped, so we may want to do this in the living / dining room area.
I think it would be very nice if we could also paint the door an interesting color so the entrance is not plain. And maybe add a long, thin carpet? Please show us suggestions for this.
GUEST BATHROOM
This is to the right of the entrance. This is also my boyfriend's bathroom. We need wallpaper or paint and art to make it look bigger, wider and elegant. We were thinking the color scheme to be grey / charcoal with splashes of green (green plant, green art, etc.)
Art: maybe a set of 3 small paintings on the wall in front of the sink & toilet? Colorful carpet?
Please show us suggestions for all of this.
MASTER BEDROOM
This is to the left of the entrance. We would like it to feel relaxing but also invigorating. We currently have a hard time getting up in the morning because it is so dark outside when we wake up.
We would like to have large mirrors (like in the reference photos) and a padded headboard. We would like to keep the bed we have. (we can make the headboard ourselves from the current bed frame we just bought, shown in the photos).
Please show us suggestions for where & how to put the TV. We think we may have to mount on the wall because there isn't much space between the bed and the wall.
We'd like two nightstands, shelves, etc. There are electricity plugs on either side of the bed that we would need access to.
We will also need lighting so that we can read & work in bed. We like the overhead the pillows pot lights idea. Please include these in your design.
Our dog likes to sleep beside us, so it would be nice if we could have a small step stool to the bed for her & a doggie bed somewhere in here that would fit with the room's decor. Maybe between the window and the bed, we could have steps for her to climb into bed, and an area at the top of the steps where we could put her doggie bed?
On the wall in front of the bedroom door, beside the master bathroom, we were thinking to either put some pretty mirrors, with small art or decor. Please show us suggestions for this.
We have lots of space on the wall that is facing the window. Perhaps we could put some art there? We'd also like the windows to be decorated (curtains. etc.). Or some part of my closet, in a nicely designed way (my jewelry? my scarves? my lipsticks or nail polish?)
We can't change the flooring, but maybe we can add another carpet, on top of this carpet, to cover it, or add more color?
I also need a small makeup table with a large mirror & lots of lights. Either in the bedroom, or in the bathroom? A table that comes up from the wall, over the toilet maybe?
Color scheme: we used to think beige / cream / brown with red splashes of color, but now think that it may not be invigorating enough to help us wake up in the morning. Maybe have it charcoal grey with splashes of orange? Like in this photo: https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-KF5ii-h4ZUs/VHFH4-rT_HI/AAAAAAAAO7w/o2LRbw73ugE/w753-h565-no/20141116_144645.jpg
MASTER WALK-IN CLOSET
It is currently very full and not well utilized. Please help me organize it, and make it feel less cramped.
I need a well organized area to put my jewelry, perfume, etc., and a large mirror to see my outfits. Depending on the design, this could be in the closet, on the large wall in the master bedroom, or in the bathroom?
I am open to suggestions.
I also feel like I don't have enough easily-accessible space for shoes in this walk-in closet, so if we were to put the jewelry, perfume in the bathroom, then I could put shoes on the right wall in this closet?
Currently it feels very cramped, so we were thinking of adding mirrors behind the clothes, a large mirror on the right wall, and maybe some spot lights inside?
This room definitely needs your help!
MASTER BATHROOM
This is my bathroom. As you can see from the counter space, it is not very well organized. I need help organizing this. I have a lot of makeup. I was thinking of maybe adding shelves or a cupboard to the right of the toilet, to store my make up, perfume, and maybe jewelry there? But nicely designed, maybe even painted an interesting color.
I would also like a place to put and easily access my hairdryer. Maybe a shelf with a hole to hang the hair dryer, to the left of the sink?
Color scheme: I would like it to be cool-white & little bit of silver primarily with splashes of fuchsia & pink.
There is a small ledge by the window, I was thinking to add fake pink flowers like these: http://www.houzz.com/photos/4418209/Pink-Peony-Rose-Cabbage-Oriental-Faux-Arrangement-and-Centerpiece-for-Home-Decor-contemporary-artificial-flower-arrangements-seattle
Or one or two small paintings of flowers in this color scheme on the wall.
Also, please add a window cover / design to make the window look nicer.
I also have a lot (40+ each) of lipstick & nail polish that we could perhaps put on small shelves, to store but also display to be part of the decor. Like this: http://www.karifbeauty.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/DIY-Nail-Polish-Shelf-Alderberry-Hill-1-1000x717.jpg
KITCHEN
We'd like the color scheme to be white / yellow / orange. Maybe we can have some of the walls (above the cupboards?) painted to make it more lively? Please show us your suggestions.
DINING ROOM
We really like the dining booth concept. (See inspiration photo of purple dining room). We have bought two white benches that have storage space underneath, and a white modern table that we like, shown in the photos. Please design this room with this furniture in mind. We want to keep it.
We would like the color scheme to be yellow & charcoal. We really like this fabric to be used for the back of the dining booth seats : https://www.fabric.com/buy/0309457/minky-cuddle-zig-zag-lemon-silver. We were thinking the bottom of the dining booth seats to be dark grey? But are open to suggestions.
We think a large mirror, and a large painting on the walls would look cool. But are open to suggestions. We could also paint the walls an interesting color? Or we could do the family photo collage in here? Please show us your suggestions.
We need suggestions for light / a lamp in here. We were thinking of having a lamp between the two benches, hanging over the dining room table but haven't found the right one. Please, if you can, show us a modern but stylish one.
Between the dining room and the kitchen is where we put our dog's food & water bowls. It would be great if that small area could also be designed in some way. Maybe some decals or painting a design directly on the wall where the bowls are?
LIVING ROOM
Our couch (please keep it in your design) currently looks out to the ocean and the mountains, which is very nice. We would like the room to feel like we are even closer to the ocean, therefore are thinking of having a blue & grey color scheme.
We don't like the TV stand or it's placement. We would really appreciate some suggestions on how to improve this.
We would like to buy a completely different TV stand. We like the shiny, thin type of TV stands. However, we have a few large boxes for our sound, cable box, etc. We'd really like a place to put our white Wii Fit board nicely. It currently doesn't fit anywhere and sits on the floor.
To the right of the couch, we have a small white table to put glasses, and some decorations if necessary.
We also need a suggestion for a nice carpet. And a coffee table that doesn't make the space look small. We want the apartment to feel spacious and airy. We have & would like to keep the two side wood & glass tables. But want to also have another glass coffee table in front of the couch.
Behind the couch, we were thinking of putting a large mirror or a large painting, or a large mirror and paint the whole wall a cool design around the mirror to add more personality to the room.
LIVING ROOM NOOK
Currently, we have in the corner a bike and an artist table (http://www.michaels.com/artists-loft-art-and-craft-creative-center/10299013.html)
Both of these items need to have a space somewhere.
We had two options in mind for this space:
OPTION 1: a space for me to work out. Put a large mirror on one of the walls for me to practice my dance, a yoga mat so that I can do my stretches, and a space for my weights, jump-rope, and the bike.
OPTION 2: an artist center for my boyfriend.
For either options we were thinking that on one of the walls, we would have cool irregular shelves / boxes that make an interesting shape, to store stuff / decorate.
And whichever option we choose, we still need to find space for the other items: (if we make it into a work out space, please show us where to put his artist table. Or if we put the artist center in the nook, please show us where to put the bike & work out space).
SECOND BEDROOM aka THE OFFICE
This room needs a lot of help!
All the current furniture can be replaced, we don't like it.
We have a lot of papers and things we need to store here, plus we have both of our desks.
We have 2 filing cabinets (under the desk).
HIS DESK: He needs desk space for 3 monitors (one is large, which means he needs an L-shaped desk, so the large monitor can be farther away from his face, and the two others can be on each side), 2 large speakers, and his keyboard.
We were thinking of doing something like this for him, but shorter: https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-3m1ZONPnVRw/VHtql_DRNSI/AAAAAAAAPJ0/rqLqXuqHg5Q/w753-h565-no/20141129_180323.jpg , without the left-most piece and drawers, and in glass. Like this one: https://images.wfb.ca/live/products/large/190921/w-f-b/1299025553/alexa-silver-l-shaped-glass-computer-desk.png
MY DESK: I only need space for my 27" monitor, my laptop, and a lamp so my desk can be smaller.
We also need space for a scanner that is easy to access in this room.
Ideally, we would both be able to look out one of the 2 windows, and not face a boring wall for our desks. If necessary, he is ok being away from the window.
I need to see out a window.
We don't like black furniture because it makes the room look smaller.
He would to hang his large movie posters, and display his awards nicely on one of the walls.
I would like it if our spaces were differently designed, so that they look separate, without being sectioned off. It currently looks really cramped and because he needs more space, I would really like it if my desk area was different and separate (i.e. different colors, different wall, art etc.) So I feel like I have an area of the office that is just mine.
If we could fit his artist painting table in this room somehow, that would be great? And then the living room nook can be my workout space?
BALCONY / PATIO
We have built custom planters for our balcony, because we like to garden. In the last few weeks we have had heavy storms & rain, so our balcony doesn't look as nice as it could in the photos.
All the seats can be separated, but we have found that arrangement to be the most comfortable, since it allows us both to work on our computers in the summer there.
I would like it if we could decorate it so that the seatings makes it feel like we're in a wood cabin (brown), in the forest (green, as per the first reference photo I uploaded).
We also need to figure out a nice place to put the BBQ. We will buy a stand for it.
We were also thinking about adding some lights to make it into a romantic place to sit at night. Sonething like this: https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSCHQbOEQVBNRwuh3rzfAZSou9DhJ2VVCPtSFCOUwubwiWli18B perhaps?
Thank you so much for reading all of this! We can't wait to see your designs! Please let us know if you have any questions or need any help or clarification.
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