Another 2 Hour Living Room Makeover

I never tire of rearranging furniture. I can't help myself. I see a room that is ill-configured and I immediately begin the mental gymnastics of flipping sofas and lowering artwork. Often times, for me, the urge to want to move furniture around is to make a room feel better, have better energy, better flow. Read any article about how an interior designer achieved a certain look and you will more than likely find the words "energy" and "flow" describing the process. These kind of words, when used in the context of interior design, are not quantitative or qualitative concepts. Describe a room as having good energy and one might think you're one ottoman away from being a bit cuckoo. But it is true, this is how rooms are described and more importantly experienced. It is the experience that matters and words like energy and flow are words that describe experiences. As a trained architect I naturally strive to create environments that are memorable and engaging. Environments that make one feel like they're in good company. A room should feel as if it is full of people even when there isn't anyone in the room. Now that's a room I would like to experience.

The picture above is an example of a large living room in Orono, Minnesota with furniture placed around the perimeter of the room. One of the challenges with builder designed homes is the scale of the rooms with relationship to the furnishings. In most cases the rooms are simply too large and the furniture inevitably appears lost and disconnected. A natural instinct for some is to arrange the furniture around the perimeter of the room. The result is a sense that the furniture is orbiting the room - floating without any sense of being grounded. Placing furniture around the perimeter of a room is an interesting human phenomenon. It is much like the way some people think of their property - calling out the boundaries of the land with fences - drawing attention to the boundaries of the yard. The problem with arranging furniture around the perimeter of a room is that no matter how large a room the space will always feel smaller and less interesting. Pushing furniture to the outer walls in a room simply informs the viewer of the limitations of the space. On the contrary pulling furniture away from the walls creates depth, increases the intimacy between the pieces of furniture and forms an environment that is more compatible with human interaction.

In the "before" photograph above the home owner has one of the two large sofas with it's back to the kitchen (same direction of the photograph). The sofa ultimately creates a "closed door" to the living room. The connection between the heart of the home (ie. kitchen) and the living room is instantly broken by placing the sofa in this position. The arrangement ultimately shuts off the space and compromises views into the room. The fireplace is hidden behind the sofa and there is no sense of a focal point. The room is simply not appointed properly and lacks any kind of engagement. The room is slowing dying and needs immediate resuscitation.

The "after" photograph shows a completely transformed space - same furniture, same accessories, same room, simply rearranged. This is the same view from the kitchen. The space is open and inviting. The fireplace reclaims it's rightful place as the center of attention and can be experienced for the first time while working in the kitchen. The upholstery pieces are positioned closer together for better conversation and function. The carpet comes into view once more adding much needed texture and pattern. The furnishings take their assigned position with confidence and bravado following the order of the architecture. The room feels better - more energy - better flow - more engaging - more interesting and full of life. Looking at the room reminds me of a bunch of friends getting together. Kind of makes me want to join them! Loving What You Have is about experiencing a room in a way you haven't before. Love What You Have and it will love you back.   Jay Nuhring

Appointed Furniture Placement

Over the past 48 hours I shoveled my driveway six times - four times with snow accumulation of five inches or more and two times with a mere dusting. You might be wondering why I thought it was necessary to shovel the two times when there was hardly any accumulation. I'm still wondering myself - as neurotic as it sounds I found gratification in staying ahead of the predicted snowfall and satisfaction in how the driveway looked - perfectly void of any snow while all around the snow is piling up in record depths. My driveway is asphalt and this past summer I had it coated with the black tar that is suppose to prolong the driveway's life. The contrast of the black against all of the white was actually appealing to me. I liked how the shape of the black driveway became more apparent to me as the snow piled high around the edges where the driveway meets the lawn - now buried four feet under.

I've always been drawn to things that have contrast. I find things to be more interesting when there is contrast to make whatever being compared more obvious - each component is more engaging because of the stark differences between the two. For instance Central Park would not be as interesting without the backdrop of the surrounding buildings of New York City. And a silhouette is pleasing because of the stark difference between the background and the foreground - one enhancing the other and vice versa.

Loving What You Have sometimes means creating contrast between the built environment and the furnishings - stating the obvious and making the pieces of furniture stand out against the background of a room. The example above is of a living room in a home near Lake of the Isles in Minneapolis. The "Before" photograph shows a room with furnishings that neither engage the viewer or stand out against the background that is the architecture. There is just the right amount of seating for conversation except that not all of the pieces are working at their fullest potential.

In the "After" photograph the wing back chair is moved next to the fireplace. This brings added height to the corner of the room - resulting in your eye being drawn to the furthest corner of the room versus your eye stopping in front of the room. The wing back chair also disguises the radiator visible in the "Before" picture. The pair of accent chairs cradle the end of the room opposite the fireplace (one chair was moved out of the picture frame for this particular shot). The mantel accessories are thoughtfully composed in a way that bows to the fireplace - standing like attentive servants waiting for direction. The only end table is now between the sofa and the wing back chair. The books and accessories in the bookcase are recomposed for a better visual from the front entry hall. Finishing touches include fresh flowers on the cocktail table and a fire in the fireplace (Asiatic Lilies have a distinctive sweet scent and the flowers themselves last for several days). The room is very warm and inviting. The furnishings are appointed and patiently wait for an unexpected guest. Loving What You Have means taking care in the things you have - your favorite book, the cushions on your sofa, and the beautiful vase that was once your great grandmother's. Love what you have and what you have will love you back.   Jay Nuhring

Loving Your 1990's Italian Sectional Again

I love everything architecture and interior design. I have a secret obsession with furniture (chairs in particular) and I'm drawn to furniture that is usually overlooked and often times misunderstood. I think the reason why I'm attracted to furniture like this is because I feel compelled to make it work. This requires a closer study. What is it's scale? How does it respond to the built environment? Why does it look outdated? When it's paired with another piece of furniture how does it change it's look? It's a great exercise in design - challenging yourself to make something out of place or outdated look current and relevant. But when a piece of furniture finds it's right placement in a room with relation to other furnishings and the architecture the result is wonderful and poetic - everything is right in the world at that moment. It's really just Loving What You Have.

The first photograph is a "Before" of a living room in a home near Saint Paul, Minnesota. Here the home owner separated the 1990's (Ligne Roset style) sectional into two (2) pieces. Although the sectional was dated I knew a couple simple changes would fast forward it into the 21st century. The accent pillows with attached head rests give the sectional a dated look and the Chinese carpet makes the modern architecture seem dull and less interesting.

The "After" photographs show the sectional assembled to create one long serpentine seating area. The Chinese carpet was replaced with a cream colored broad loom carpet - cut and bound to fit the space perfectly. The original cocktail table was repositioned into the middle of the room and accessorized with large tropical leaves and cocktail table books. The dated attached head rest pillows were replaced with seven (7) custom white euro sized down filled pillows. The room is luxurious and elongated giving a feeling of spaciousness and elegance. The space feels clean, crisp and updated with a few simple changes using the homeowner's furniture. West coast spa retreat is how I would describe this Minnesota modern home.

Loving What You Have reminds me of the scene from A Charlie Brown Christmas when Linus looks at Charlie Brown's Christmas tree and says "I never thought it was such a bad little tree. It's not bad at all really. Maybe it just needs a little love".   Jay Nuhring

2 Hour Living Room Makeover

Thanks for visiting "Loving What You Have". This blog is devoted to everything that is HOME and everything that is you and your life style. My name is Jay and I would like to share with you a new way of looking at your home. Seeing your surroundings differently. Essentially, re-Seeing your spaces and what you have in a way that, hopefully, will make you fall in love with your home for the first time or quite possibly, all over again.

Loving What You Have is about making the ordinary appear extraordinary. It's about understanding why you do not like a particular piece of furniture or furniture arrangement and why that piece of furniture does not like where it is in your home. It's about an intimate relationship between the built environment, that is your home, and the furnishings that occupy the spaces in your home. I believe there is a delicate and dynamic dialog between furniture and the spaces they take residence in and if you ignore that dialog there can be discord and chaos. Think of furniture as having human characteristics. When I experience a room that is not engaging, inviting or simply not attractive it is usually because the furniture is not engaging with the room, engaging with the window placement, engaging with the entrance to the room, engaging with the other furniture in the room, engaging with the adjacent room, and engaging with the architecture in general.

The pictures above are an example of Loving What You Have. The first photo is a "before" picture of a living room viewed from the entry hall, dining room and adjacent kitchen of a home in Minneapolis. When one walks into this room they would see this exact picture. This room is large - the entire width of the home. When I first saw the room it seemed out of balance, void of detail and unapproachable. In fact, the furniture appeared unhappy, a bit depressed and not interested in engaging me, the viewer. The large picture windows struggled to "fit in" to the ensemble as if standing naked in front of two laughing sofas. And the orientation of the sofas suggested that the large floor plant in the corner of the room was the focal point - clearly balance, focus and a sense of cohesiveness were void in this room. All of the components of a great room existed - but not placed where they wanted to be.

In the "after" picture the sofas switch to the opposite corner of the room, following the order of the windows as if to say "I'll have what they're having". Following the order of the architecture creates a hierarchy between the architecture and the furniture - the architecture being the precedent and the furnishings reinforcing and drawing attention to the same order. Not shown in the "after" picture is a low book case (left of photo against a wall). Before, one sofa had it's back to the bookcase. Now the sofas "include" the bookcase as part of the guest list of furnishings. The once hidden Noguchi table is now front and center and the Eames lounge chair comes out of hiding from the corner. The 8 x 10 carpet is rotated 90 degrees and the large floor plant changes corners with the branch arrangement.

The only items purchased for this transformation were four (4) royal purple accent pillows (TJ Max - HomeGoods - down filled) and fresh flowers for the cocktail table. The furnishings actually appear happier and much more inviting as if welcoming guests with open arms. Loving What You Have is about understanding how to re-See the things you have and making your home more beautiful, more functional and more livable!   Jay Nuhring