| Wednesday, June 19, 2013 | SUBSCRIBE | COMMUNITY LINKS | ADVERTISING INFO | TO REACH US |
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There are reasons people buy brand new items. New items can be returned, are easy to find and can be perceived as better than "old" items. I Spy Decor's latest mission was to transform a living room in a northern California apartment from a place of residence to a lovely and inviting home. Our client had already acquired fabulous furniture items and decor for the place. However, the living room is very large with high ceilings, so even with her beautiful pieces, the place looked thrown together and boring. The room needed a soul injection that reflected her personality and taste. One way I could see to warm up the place was to introduce vintage pieces. My client's taste is contemporary with her favorite stores being Crate & Barrel and West Elm. So, I knew the vintage items introduced had to reflect or enhance the current trends in home furnishings. We had a few work-arounds to consider. She rents the apartment, so we could not undergo big construction projects. Painting the walls or changing the flooring in any way was out of the question. She also wanted to be able to take whatever pieces were purchased with her to another place when she moved. Plus, her home office had to be in the living room. There was a small budget, so I decided we would use most of what she already had in the apartment as a springboard to sophistication and comfort. I ended up finding a five-foot 1970's Mastercraft brass console table, three wicker suitcases from the early 1900's, two matching 1970's leather stools and a torch cut metal coffee table in the style of Silas Seandel, all in great condition. After lining the suitcases with an orange shiny silk-like fabric and purchasing new glass tops for the tables, we were good to go. All of these pieces evoked the messages I wanted to convey through the living room; worldliness, sophistication, style, warmth and fun. Introducing vintage was taking a big risk, considering the client never thought of using it before. However, in this particular instance the room would look sterile without the soul those vintage items shot into the room. The once unorganized and uninspired living room is now a vibrant place to entertain guests, do some work and lounge with a good book. Lynnore Goldfarb, owner/operator of I Spy Decor currently designs interiors, stages houses for sale and writes for magazines and websites. Find out more at www.ispydecor.com |
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