Once I finished my certification curriculum in
design school, I had a short sigh of relief and huge separation anxiety
from my passion. I started to look for volunteers brave enough to let a
newbie experiment with their space and money.
My biggest challenge was to convince people that it does not have to
cost big to have a beautiful home which suits your style and comfort.
So, although many people promised to seek my help, many did shy away
assuming it might cost them a lot. Finally, I found
my first (and most skeptical) client who happened to be my friend and a
colleague (and now, the other half of better half !). So, if I didn’t get it right, not only will I have to listen
to it for the rest of my life, but my reputation at work was at stake
as well (You can’t imagine the speed of news
travel in a professional corporate environment). Of course, I had to cut him a
very good bargain and just settle for a dinner as my fee!
When I first went to his apartment, I could
understand why he did not like staying at home that much. He lived in a
decent sized studio in Manhattan. The apartment looked dark and
depressing, not to forget, injurious to the knees (Yes,
I did bump mine at least once per minute!) His space had everything
that suits his comfort and it all looked expensive, but just very chaotic and misfit to the size of his room. He liked watching TV
while lying down comfortably, so he had 6ft log sofa in front of his
TV. He liked a separate place to eat so he had
a dining table. He did not like to place his laptop on his laps
(irony?!), so he has a computer desk and chair. Of course, he had a
sleigh bed, which he barely used. He slept on his sofa most nights
watching TV. He liked to empty his pockets as soon as he
entered home. So, half of his dining table was used to display
everything from wallet to belt to tic-tac. After having enough bruises, I
offered him to help redesign. He said NO.
I did design my apartment with a lot of passion.
And, so when I invited my friends for a house party, they could see some
credibility to my skills. After 2 months of dating and a fabulous house
party, my friend agreed to letting me redesign
his place. We set a budget and the goal was to stay within. His
furniture was too much and too bulky for the space. When we look at
anything in front of us, we consider it as congested or open, big or
small or bright or dull, in relation to a benchmark. In
spaces, that benchmark is the stuff you put in it, like furniture and
accessories. His place was small to begin with, and his big bulky
furniture did not help. So we decided to sell it all away and start fresh with
a clean slate.
We now had to work very closely with the
measurements allocating appropriate space for movement (for knee safety)
and furniture. Moreover, the furniture needs to be optimized by serving
multiple purposes. So, we began our hunt for new furniture
and accessories. It is very common for people to buy each piece
separately without coordinating the shapes, styles and schemes. A
collection of furniture put together keeping these is mind looks very
coherent and can lend a strong sense of style to your place.
We bought an ottoman which also served as a coffee table. A low height
bed was placed facing TV. Low height creates an illusion of high
ceiling, so does half-way pulled window shades. Breakfast table for two
was big enough to serve as a dining table and a
computer table. Beautiful jute baskets were placed to conceal his
pocket treasures. Room was flooded with light to create an illusion of
openness. Combination of deeper colors was used with bright colored
accessories to create drama and excitement. Area rug
and very different colored accessories were used to define spaces as
sleeping area vs. a living area.
