Where to start... first and foremost I will share that our renovation is slowly drawing to a close. As I write I am sitting in our new family room, mind you from traditional "Archie Bunker" chairs (yard sale finds and they are not recovered yet)... classic! We are pending our kitchen faucet, hood vent and some other minor details but other than that we are hoping to be "home alone" this upcoming week. I promise to post a full fleet of "before" and "after" pictures once everything is done.
"Done" - what an interesting word choice since a house,a home, is never really "done". I confess that the renovation is only part one of this project. Shhhhhhh... don't tell Chris that! Although, he is starting to realize that the house now needs to keep this open, light and airy feel and our furniture just doesn't feel right anymore. Hence, we are on the quest for not one, but TWO couches. Ohhh, I feel the sweat beads coming and my wallet shrinking. So lets take the edge off and share some fun inspirational pieces instead...
The picture above is the showroom of a little shop on Huff Road called Stanton Home Furnishings. They have tons of soft Belgian linen fabrics on their chairs, worm wood and iron/steel pieces mixed in with weaved baskets turned into fantastically romantic chandeliers. I love this place! Especially their hip young designer, Alex. He was super fun to talk to. He suggested I consider the couch below. Super comfy! Too bad it was about $3,000! Slightly over my budget. :(
Oddly enough, Chris's favorite sofa (because it hits at his legs and back perfectly) was at Restoration Hardware (see below). Can we say HURRAY for all the Belgian inspired pieces at RH? I love it. The linens feel so wonderful and they are mainly slip covered so you can just throw them in the wash and POOF! it is new again. Brilliant. However, I read horrible reviews online about RH's delivery process. Something to consider.
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Our family room is small, only 10x13, so the sofa has to be just right. We are considering using a custom upholsterer/furniture maker for the space using RH as our inspiration. When I was visiting Stanton I stumbled upon m2mdesigns. Wayne was in the back working on some pieces and while the shop was actually closed he spent some time with me showing me their work. AMAZING attention to detail. This is how I imagine the master craftsman worked...still work. I didn't realize they still existed. Wayne and Gail stopped by the house today to feel out the space and take measurements. I loved them! I didn't want them to leave. Wayne is about 70 years old and had more life, energy and inner heart than anyone I know. Loved him instantly!! I hope we can work together to create something perfect for our space. I know whatever he puts his hands on will have HEART. That means so much....
After previewing so many couches, in one day we seriously sat on about 20, I needed a brain brake. So I headed to the 14th Street Antique Market to just get lost in their vigents. Like the one above. Doesn't this look inviting?? Look at the vigents below with all those great vintage map prints (obsessed with maps), perfectly round organic tin (?) mirror and those corbels! Super fun. I have so much work to do!! But the inspiration abounds. :)
