Decorating Journey: Space Plans

Okay, so I have been working away at my space plan and have also started selecting some of the furniture pieces for the new space.  Here is the layout for the living room:

The space is too large to have only one seating area, so I have broken it into two- one will be for watching tv and the other will be used more for reading/conversation, etc.  Each area is defined by an area rug to serve as an anchor for all the furniture pieces and to add some warmth.  The reading/convo area is situated across from the open kitchen, so it will easily become a gathering place when we are entertaining.  There isn't an overhead light in the main section of the living room, where the tv and sofas will be, so I had to incorporate plenty of task lighting (floor and table lamps) to illuminate the space for the evenings.  The window treatments, and most of the items in the reading area will wait until phase 2, but most everything else will be implemented during phase 1 of this project.

The other room I have focused on is our dining area.  Here is my plan for that space:

This space is fairly simple.  I did the plan to help determine what size rug we will need and to get a feel for the best placement of our larger supplemental pieces (sideboard & china cabinet).  I can't say enough about how much a rug can help define a space!  In this instance, it will help to soften all the hard surfaces in the room (the floor, furniture, and architectural features such as doors,etc).  The rug also serves as a way to incorporate more color into the room, along with a window covering.  I will be using a simple cornice board over, yet another sliding glass door, in this room to bring in additional movement and color.  Since personally, I am not a fan of using OR cleaning table cloths- the window treatment and rug provide an alternative way to make the space more interesting.

As you can imagine (and as many of you have experienced), I ALWAYS use a space plan for my client's projects. Nothing is worse than buying furniture that is too large or too small for a room.  With a space plan, I know exactly what pieces we will need and what size they should be.  A plan isn't set in stone,  it can always be modified if necessary- it just serves as an important starting place for a re-design.

I am working on pulling together all of my textiles for the space and once I finalize those, I will share the color scheme and patterns I am using with you.  Until then, happy space planning...