Second Wind : Decorating with Blue

I must say that I haven't used a lot of blue in my own decor except for the Tiffany blue accents in my office.

So when my client asked me to zhush-up her already lovely living room, my first instinct was to ramp up the intensity of the blues she loves to add some drama to the space while still keeping it very sophisticated.

As you can see from the Before shot above, the floors are a beautiful dark hardwood, the trim work and paint colour is classic, and the shapely ceiling is a great feature - but the room is relatively "boring" according to my client and really wasn't comfortable for entertaining.

So the challenge was to create an inviting space that would accommodate several people at once for drinks before and after dinner but also to function as the spot for their upright piano (off to the right side of the above photo) and as a quiet, weekend reading spot.

One of the other key issues that makes this room "not quite right" is the scale and proportion of the furniture.

All the furniture, except the sofa, was purchased for a previous, smaller home. The accent Persian rug (below) is a sentimental piece for the client, so we are keeping it and using the colours as a jumping off point for the room. We'll place a much larger, wool sisal rug underneath to help visually expand the space, keeping the Persian as a focal point on top.

The coffee table is also too small and will be replaced with a larger one.

The settee is going to another room, and we'll bring in two larger chairs and some side tables to accommodate the long, narrow room.

This was one of the inspiration images that really spoke to my clients in terms of the feel for the room.

Blues and Browns ~ Quatrain wall brackets

They wanted to keep a mix of contemporary and vintage pieces; some sparkle with their existing crystal sconces and aged finishes like antique brass and weathered silver; luxurious fabrics, and artwork that creates interest but is complimentary to the colour palette in the rest of the room.

So once the floor plan was done, I started to pull fabrics for the upholstery and pillows.

Here's the fabric scheme we landed on

The damask and leaf patterns are from Joanne Fabrics as are some of the blue/green velvets.

We are adding two of these modern wing chairs that will back onto the dining room

with the sage green velvet on the front and the damask on the back - can't wait to see it!
(a similar pattern is on the dining room end chairs in a gold fabric)

The clients existing tufted arm chairs will get a big beauty boost

upholstered in this gorgeous cerulean blue velvet - YUM!

I also found this great fabric that will be used for a couple of pillows. The client has an affinity for French decor and loved it as soon as she saw it.

The other big change in the room will be larger scale art pieces.

We'll add something colourful above the sofa working within the colour palette

but adding some depth and interest to the well-lit space.

Here's a few pieces we're considering:

I think I see an image of a person in this one - do you?

Decorating with art really takes a space to another level (as I've noted in another post here).

Given the main purpose of the room is to entertain, a place to store and mix drinks was key. I looked at open bar carts, but this room really needed a larger piece to sit next to the sofa instead of an end table.

We're going to use this antiqued mirrored cabinet and then glam it up with styling...