turning our 1st home into our nest!

Briefing

INTRODUCTION:
Hello we are a couple who bought our first home in Long Beach, California. We are excited to make it our nest. This design contest is to update the spaces in our home to provide more room and function. We will be happy to write a great testimonial for your design skills and to send you the photos of the completed Living Room once it is decorated/remodeled. This CoContest is also launched as my birthday present to my wife. Her birthday is in February, at the end of this contest and I want to show her the creativity we can have with this space with your help.

The winning design would address all the following in order of priority:
● Expanding Kitchen to provide more function and open space between living room and kitchen with seating counter/ island between kitchen and living room
● Expanding bedroom 1 with a patio and enlarging closet, also a bedroom veil covering treatment as in uploaded pic (bedroom veil.jpg). My wife would love to have something like this over the bed.
● Reworking existing Bath #1
● Providing kitchenette in Bedroom #3
● Bedroom #2 will be used as a home office
● Providing storage solution in Laundry room
● Providing flexible expandable furniture in Living Room area

UPLOADED FILES:
I have provided the following files for your reference:
● Nest Design Notes Minor.pdf: 11-page PDF showing the intent of our demolition and remodel plan along with inspirational images of the spaces.
● Nest Existing.pdf: 10-page PDF with images of existing home and photo key map.

I can provide any additional photos/ info if needed, just ask.

ABOUT:
The home was built in 1920's so the spaces are small, but we like the Spanish character and charm of the home. The home also has a great yard with planters and we look forward to making the most of the yard space to entertain family & friends.

COLOR SCHEME & WALLS
We like bright neutral colors (beige, tan, white, grey) to maximize day-lighting, any color accents introduced would be appreciated to reference beach theme, Spanish or Moroccan theme. We also enjoy letting the natural color of materials speak for themselves, and distressed colors. I also provided a color sample image (nest colors. png) for reference of accent colors.

FURNITURE:
We look for multi-functional furniture, especially since the spaces are small.
Specific notes are on the PDF, a lot of ideas come from: https://expandfurniture.com/

LIGHTS
Please propose a solution for direct and ambient lighting. Living room lighting is nice. These need to be replaced with more beautiful lighting, i.e. chandeliers or exotic fixtures, however the ceiling is not too tall. Additionally, we would like to have a lot of indirect sources of light.

PLANTS
We plan to have some indoor plants; please propose an effective way to display them.

WALL ART
We plan to have a beach themed splashes of art hang on the walls.

KITCHEN
We love to cook and host friends over. We want to setup the kitchen as place to entertain friends while making meals. Similar to cooking class setup. This space should open directly to the Living Room

BEDRROOM#1 PATIO
This place will should be a quite space surrounded by planters for tranquility and meditation, and even to do morning Yoga. The fire pit can function as gather space on the yard side for when guest are over.

STYLE
Styles we like: contemporary, mid-century modern, coastal, Spanish, craftsman, minimalistic, industrial, vintage, rustic. Some reference to travel would be great (rugs, souvenirs, etc) as we look to travel and let the decor of the home remind us of each memorable trip.
Styles we don’t like: scandi, eclectic, retro, classic, shabby chic, boho, ethnic-specific (japanese/ european/ african, etc.)
We’d like for the spaces to be visually calming, where guests would feel comfortable to nap as if they felt at home.

SUMMARY
We really value your help and your creativity. This is our first home and we are eager to make it as beautiful and functional as possible. In summary, we are looking for a house that is expansive, keeps the old-world charm and welcomes guests to ciesta, even if we are having a get-together :).

Thank you!

Resources