Shetland
Her Story
This client likes to entertain family and friends in her spacious condo in Chesterfield. But, after seventeen years of the same look, she was ready for a change. She expressed a desire for a unique and approachable elegance throughout but wasn’t sure how to convey her style. Over glasses of wine, we talked about how we could design spaces that were at once glamorous and comfortable; formal and casual; unique yet familiar. After several conversations, we began to home in on a design direction. One thing we knew for sure was that in this space she wanted to see a high contrast, bold black and gold color scheme. She also wanted to incorporate a few items she already owned and add new things that would be uniquely hers. I showed her some artwork being done by an artist friend of mine and she fell in love with the bold style. While this is a large condo, some of the rooms and furnishings would require clever space planning to maximize comfort and storage needs.
Her Home - Eclectic Condo, Chesterfield
Elegant Entry
The first things you see when you enter this condo give clues about what you will find throughout. The client’s eclectic tastes blend Modern and Transitional design with Art Deco. Strong contrasting color selections, like the dark wallcovering and the champagne-colored reverse glass painted console in this entryway. The mirror serves as functional art while the teardrop crystal and black string lamp shades add sophisticated elegance.
Formal Dining/Living Room
The challenge here was to create a space that was multi-functional as a formal Dining Room and Living Room. The room was previously arranged with chairs on one side and a dining table pushed up against the wall on the other side of the room. A cohesive redesign meant the room would be treated as a whole. Careful space planning revealed the perfect layout of the room and both functional requirements were met. The large area rug brings the two spaces together and rhythm of repetition, apparent in the curves of the sofa, chairs and chandelier is used to unify the design. Upon installation, when the client said "Now this is me!" I knew our work was complete.
Dynamic Family Room
The family room wins the prize for ‘most changed’ in this condo, even though we started with a pair of lounge chairs she already owned. These chairs are so comfortable, we decided to design the room around them. To further state the visual height of this two-story room, long drapery panels were added and the fireplace surround and overmantle were painted black. Large-scale artwork - some mounted high on the wall - completed the room and added drama to what had previously been a large blank space. All of the artwork in this room was commissioned especially for this client. Every piece is a one-of-a-kind creating a unique space only found in her home. The size of the room allowed for a mix of dramatically scaled pieces.
Hollywood-Style Glamorous Bedroom
The client wanted her bedroom to be a movie star’s retreat; her own glamorous sanctuary where she could hide out and read a book. The inspiration piece for the room is the sunburst mirror above the custom-designed bed. All of her existing bedroom furniture was removed and custom-designed pieces give the room a whole new look. The wall behind the bed was finished with a wood veneer handcrafted wallcovering especially for her. The wardrobe is custom-made with carefully designed compartments to maximize storage space. A peacock design taken from a glamorous Art Deco door in Chicago was the inspiration for the painting on the doors of the wardrobe.
Breakfast Room
A dated existing small pantry and desk were initially in this breakfast area. The space was not enough for the client to store all of the items she wanted. Storage space was maximized by adding large custom cabinets complete with pull-out organized shelving and drawer and a dry bar. An under-the-counter refrigerator created space for wine and beverages is easily accessed from the table. Custom details such as gold striping and gold hardware on black cabinets, gold-leaf recesses and custom upper cabinet leaded glass elicit the desired Art Deco style.
“Gina was very good at coming in the door with something she knew I’d like, I don’t like anything that’s conventional. I like different styles. You can see what we used is kind of different, from the shapes of the chairs to the materials. I love my remodeled condo and highly recommend Gina for any project! She helped bring out my style just from our conversations.”
