Ocean Bottega Interiors
Layered interiors, colourful style, relaxed living, fun attitude, timeless life
Paris Apartment Before ...
Paris Apartment After ...
There is nothing like an older building that shares it's character and longevity. With a multi-purpose space it's helpful to create working areas to avoid visual clutter and confusion. The secret to creating a room within a room is a balanced approach to scale and proportion. With two chairs, the settee, the desk chair, the bench seat and the four table stools, this space will accommodate a meeting of ten people with ease. No small feet for an 11' x 16' space!
The Lounge
Keeping the elements calm, neutral and tactile enables clients to relax and focus on the their treatment. The lounge has the class and style of a Paris apartment with the softness and comfort of a family room. Gentle colours and textures, natural objects and fun patterns make this area an inviting place to curl up. Two seating areas allow clients to choose where they want to sit. Feather pillows, by Ocean Bottega, encourage deep relaxation with the peace of mind of easy care and enduring quality. The softer than soft throw begs you to wrap it around yourself adding another layer of comfort and luxury. The little basket holds an array of magazines should a client find themselves waiting.
Using two tiers of curtains { sheers and a natural cotton } allows for privacy, light and heat control without sacrificing brightness or the view. I love the calm "tone on tone" aspects of whites and creams and they quiet light they share. These cocoon like whites, natural objects and succulant plants suggest a connection to nature where it's a well documented fact that being close to the natural world contributes to our sense of well being. Succulents are a great choice for this warm sunny window and prove to be a low maintenance option for those of us who do not come from the green thumb gene pool. We added a ceiling fan with a medallion upping the ante on it's visual appeal to help control warm temperatures from a southern exposure. Normally I would have changed out the bulbs for a more discrete look but I couldn't help notice they reminded me of exuberant flower centers. They charmed the pants off me!
The carpet is chosen for it's soft touch and colours, making it easy on the eyes for such a busy pattern. The pattern will be forgiving of wear and tear and ties the colour scheme together. The double drum shade of the floor lamp offers an elegant touch with enough detail to still be interesting. The height of the arms of the settee mean normal height floor lights were not quite tall enough. This plant stand is the perfect solution. It adds to the wood tones in the room. It also creates a lovely pairing of wood and metal while bringing the shade up to the right height.
The tiny but charming piece of art is perfect at eye level above the settee. It allows the viewer to get close and admire and delight in it. It also helps to visually reproprtion the settee so it feels larger than life. This beautiful piece of art is by local textile artist Marilyn Clarke. Sadly no relation, lol!
Bringing in natural elements is one of the easiest ways to impart of sense of calm and connection to nature. Sea glass from the Ottawa River's old glass factories imparts a bit of history and interest. These rocks from Kingston invite you to pick them up and experience their smoothness. Giving your hands something to do can help release tension. Who doesn't love the wonder of shells and reminders of sunny days at the beach? I feel like I can do anything on a sunny day.
The Office
The woman who works here likes open spaces so we enlisted this cost conscious dinning table as a desk. The legs had this beautiful detail that is integrated into the table skirt, another reason it was a real find. It's marked top suggested a paint treatment but the wood was so lovely and the legs in such great shape we decided just to paint the top. A bit of blue was used to bring some colour to the other side of the room. Layering in different blues gives the room depth and interest. Because this is a work surface we used the brightest blue here so it could contribute it's energy to the work effort! The bench seat allows a place for clients to sit as they check in and out as well allowing us to maintain clean sight lines. The bench is finished inside providing extra storage. It also tucks under the table when not in use helping us mainteain a sense of spaciousness. Personally I'd be putting my feet up on it after a long day.
This tablescape was about personalizing the desk for it's owner. Where ever the opportunity presented itself we brought in some green accents to round out the blues, emphasizing our calm nature inspired atmosphere. I always love to see some light heartedness and humor in a room so I appreciated the fun touch of the little rabbit. The cut crystal on this lamp sprays rainbows around the room when it catches the sunlight early in the day.
The highly lacquerd storage cabinet gives the room a modern touch. It keeps the working aspects of the room, (files, printer, shredder, office supplies, garbage etc.) behind closed doors to maintain the relaxed feeling we are trying to establish. Just because it's "behind closed doors" doesn't mean it can't be arranged in a pleasant manner so you enjoy all aspects of your work. The beautiful and ethereal piece of art, Silver Essence, is by local artist Supria Karmakar.
Studio Space/Beverage Station
To help this start up be the success it has become my client elected to share the space in off hours. To accomodate a partner we added a work center for art making that doubled as a meeting place and beverage station. Trays keep contents organized and easy to move around as needed while providing an opportunity for that extra level of caring for clients.
We needed a place to hang coats and bags. Coat racks, because they are top heavy, usually have large space-consuming feet so we elected to use the space saving convenience of the back of the door. These unique hooks are a fun feature. Clients confirm the success of the space as having an inviting and relaxing atmosphere. My Client appreciates its functionality and that it's a delight to come to work. I am pleased that we met each aspect of our mandate including being able to host professional gatherings easily in both comfort and style. Time to get to work!
There's nothing better than getting up in the morning to a job you love than being greated by a beautiful space to do it in. It really does make a difference when you craft a highly efficient, comfortable and inspiring space to be in. It makes everything you do so much more. My assignment is to create a calm and comfortable space for clients and provide a working office with space to host professional gatherings all within an 11' x 16' space.
The room gets divided into three zones: a lounge area for therapy clients, a business area for my client and a studio space/beverage bar as a secondary work station. Everything in this project will be sourced locally and created on a startup budget.
After careful planning I'm always dying to get started. I want to get furniture in the room as quickly as possible to test my layout and confirm I'm on the right path. This original wood floor, with it's inlaid pattern, gives the room natural charm. We painted the ceiling blue to add some life without overwhelming clients. Funny enough the mirror and chairs never made the cut. These awesome thrift store purchases find a home in a different location (see if you can spot them) but they do tell me I'm headed in the right direction.