Basement bathroom After ...
Ocean Bottega Interiors
Layered interiors, colourful style, relaxed living, fun attitude, timeless life
Anne came to me when she bought her new house. It looked great but didn't mesh with her belongings or reflect her personal style. Could I help her out?
When I invited Anne to share her thoughts and ideas with me about what she wanted and where she thought she'd like to take things I was interested to hear she wanted a more minimalist lifestyle. This meant really taking a hard look at everything Anne owned and making sure it both served her well and was well loved.
Anne comes from a farming background and now the parental home has been sold, weaving together old and new while paring down was both challenge and goal. I can tell you this, Anne's house contains beautiful treasures from her travels and amazing experiences. We became fast friends during this process as I listened to and thoroughly enjoyed many fascinating stories and delightful tales.
Exterior After ...
Dining After ...
Upstairs master bed room After ...
Upstairs bath and guest rooms After ...
Basement After ...
Kitchen After ...
Living room After ...
Farmhouse fresh Before ...
While for the most part my job was to help with colour selection, editing and some furniture arranging it became obvious the Kitchen was going to need more attention. We had hoped to work with what was already there but soon came to the conclusion the backsplash and counters had to go to acheive some brightness and cheer. We take a builder's tile and use a random pattern to keep it simple. Both bathrooms in the house get new vanities. This does wonders for lightening up both spaces. The rest was acheived with a lick of paint and some playful accessories. I love Anne's sense of fun.
The downstairs was a blank canvas. One of our major efforts was around the fireplace. With so many finishes in one place how do we get it to fit in without it acting the fool? We have wood, we have metal, we have the black finish as well as a bossy granite. That's a lot going on. We'd like to tame it and add some sophistication. We're able to knock the pink out of the granite by emphasizing the other natural tones. We do that by painting the wood in a neutral colour that unifies all the finishes in a calm manner.
We carve out sections for relaxing and TV as well as areas for reading, crafts and games and a lovely guest bed suite. What I love about this project is that we use everything Anne already owns as well as a few special things that came from her family home. I get to hear engaging and often hilarious family stories about every thing she has. We share family insights and an easy friendship as we work through Anne's belongings and amazing photographs. By organizing and grouping Anne's treasures we acheive that balance between uncluttered and inviting. Now Anne can easily entertain her family and friends knowing they have privacy from the main floor and are comfortable and cosy. There's nothing "scary" about this basement and Anne's grand daughters look forward to being here. I'm ready to move in myself!