A bachelor pad designed to complement an art collection.
Upon first speaking to my Moorings Makeover client, he was more than excited to see his art and personal items that had been packed away in storage for years. Years, yes years! Not only was this project a blast from the past – literally – the timing also happened to coincide with the onset of the national lock down.
Our first in person meeting
was at a storage warehouse for the Big Reveal! The unveiling of a lifetime of articles far too precious or filled with memories to let go. All of it had been stored away waiting for the perfect home. We waited in the dark storage unit as tattered boxes and well-worn upholstery pieces were brought out and laid in front of us for the Big Reveal.
Slowly Each piece was revealed in a
"What’s behind door number three?" kind of way.
There were odds and ends, the usual stuff you put in storage boxes of memories, files, pots, pans, and the like. Everything had to be pulled from the racks, laid out and unwrapped for me to take stock, dimensions and pictures.
As it turned out, we did not even get to the art that day. All I saw were the large blanket wrapped pieces several of them.
We did not even attempt to reveal the contents.
The challenge at hand was to assess of the mountains of Stuff and create a plan of action.
What did I want to use?
What could he not part with?
How to restyle and furnish a home in the height of the Covid Pandemic.
The new home was a condominium located directly on the water in Vero Beach in the Moorings Community. This place has Awesome views of the river. So close to the river in fact you can almost reach out and touch the boats as they pass by.
The home came furnished with quality pieces of well-built high-end items. Still, a but a bit dated, a little tired and certainly more grandma's taste than a Man About Town.
The original Layout
Originally the furniture placement and space plan of the apartment was typical. It was divided into a Living room and dining area. The seating area consisted of two very traditional print love seats with throw pillows decked out with tassel trim and a few chairs. Dark wood, traditional side and coffee tables.
in the Dining Room there was a nice glass table with a contemporary style Lucite base and Faux bamboo chairs around the table completed the look.
Just off the entry to the apartment a small TV room / Den greets you as does a guest bedroom with two twin beds on the other side.
Tucked nicely off the Living Area, the Master Bedroom is situated with a nice window view of the water.
Did I mention, the best part of the entire home was the stunning river view. A western view, amazing sunsets!
Time for Change!
One of the first decisions we made was Not to have a space designated as a Dining Room.
If you do not cook, and rarely eat at the home, why then devote space for an activity that doesn’t happen.
An outdoor dining table on the balcony was sufficient for any dining or entertaining needs as well as a lovely bar area off the kitchen and that seemed more than adequate for dining needs.
Instead of Dining Area two separate seating groupings were created, lounge areas if you will.
All intended for entertaining, drinking, conversing watching the sunset.
Casual - Manly - Eclectic - Colorful
Also intended to showcase the (yet to be seen by me) art collection.
COLOR was the only request. Bright, vibrant color.
One of the first thing we decided on was honestly a first for me.
WHITE WALL TO WALL CARPET!
Can you say Brave! Who does not want to live in a crisp, perfect white world?
But who can?
We boldly went where I have never been and installed a perfect white carpet.
Complimented by white walls, art gallery style.
One side of the Lounge Living Room is anchored by one of the large art pieces that fills the space, almost from floor to ceiling. A horse and rider abstract painting. A bold yellow sofa is sitting in front of the pass thru bar to the kitchen. Two white bobbin chairs have cushions covered in a blue ultra-suede fabric with a contrast welt in the bright yellow sofa fabric. A beautiful Lucite coffee table with stainless accents sits handsomely between. This table is Heavy but with the clear lucite it looks light and airy with a contemporary feeling.
Just as we started to work on the Moorings Makeover project the Global Pandemic became a reality.
Sourcing furniture, we would quickly understand would prove to be difficult. To avoid any delays, we decided to use internet catalog sources for almost all the furniture other than the upholstered pieces. To get a more custom look, I had several items recovered or reupholstered.
Belly Up to the Bar
In lieu of a dining area at the pass thru bar the addition of sleek stainless counter stools paired with a rolling bar cart set up a cool spot to eat and drink. An eclectic combo of the client’s art and vintage decorative pieces that came with the place and the new stools made a fun spot to hang out in. The floral arrangement is made entirely out of beads, little, tiny seed beads! And funny enough, it is almost identical to one my grandmother had when I was a kid.
If you know anything about me, you will know that I love old stuff! Vintage, quirky, unique I love it all!
Old stuff has soul, it has character and gives a home a comfortable and inviting feel. I will always add unique, one-of-a-kind things in any design.
The second seating area is surrounded by more of the clients bold and oversized art. A second yellow sofa is paired with two red barrel chairs that were originally in the house. Two Rolling tufted ottomans that came out of storage were recovered in a bright stripe fabric and utilized between the sofa and chairs. The ottomans offer additional flexible seating, a place to put your feet up or even a little dining table for one. What I like to call multipurpose pieces.
The Master Bedroom is another space with a mix of new and repurposed some old.
The bed is new, a woven sea grass frame and headboard is paired with embroidered Frette Linens. An existing Simon Pierce glass table lamp and rattan side table were all part of the original decor.
CLICK BELOW ON IMAGE FOR INFO
Why not give your guests a king size bed?
What was once a simple guest bedroom with twin beds became home to another Bold and oversized piece of art.
The guest bedroom is located off the entry hall and after you enter you are met with a graphic piece of art. Two additional pieces of furniture that made the cut from the storage unit were a wooden bed and a rag tag chair that, like they say, "had good bones".
The bed was originally going to be used in the master bedroom. But it was a dark stained wood and had obvious signs of wear as it had been around for some time. Playing off the tropical print fabric selected for the chair I suggested we paint the bed and use it in the Guest Bedroom.
The bed was like new! And completely Fresh for the space.
By far my favorite room transformation was the Office.
Sure, the office was nice before, but the after is by far my favorite transformation of all the rooms. With only one guest bedroom it was kind of necessary to have at least one more option for guests to sleep.
I am always amazed that somehow often the smallest of room in the house is usually the room that needs to function in the most ways.
To accommodate the occasional guest as well as a day-to-day office and TV room a custom sectional sofa was made to fit perfectly into the corner of the room. Each side of the sofa is almost twin sized, large enough to sleep on and absolutely the coziest spot in the house to watch TV or curl up and read a book.
A room filled with photos, memories, books a desk and a TV.
All the little pieces of art, family photographs, and treasured portraits were gathered and hung here.
Oh...and the coffee table, yup, it is the same as the larger version in the Living Room.
Loved it so much, decided to use it again.
Well, there you have it. An eclectic Moorings Makeover.
Check out the video and photos below from the warehouse pull.
The "Pull"
The Unveiling
Can you see the tufted ottomans in their original condition?
Below is the Before photo of the chair in the Guest Bedroom
Full View of Office
I know, it's decieving to see perfectly cropped photos. I just love the random hecticness of this room I had to share the entire thing.
All photos by Daisy Burns Photography
