Our very first client reached out to us with big dreams. She had just purchased her first home and after a quick conversation it was very clear she intended to update essentially the entire thing over time and in stages. Her new home was beautiful but it did contain aspects she would rather not have.
While her home was a newer home, built in 2003, to adhere to her style, updates were needed. The home had been refreshed by the seller with the popular "millennial gray" trend, (while some people really enjoy this, she most certainly did not) and her main concern was how quickly we could change the gray. Dark gray walls in the main areas, light gray walls in all the bedrooms, muddled colored tile in the kitchen, light gray ceilings, and dark gray floors throughout, often left her feeling as if she were in a cave. As a European, her style was much warmer and more classic than her current home's looks provided.
When we first walked into her home we were amazed at her tall ceilings, open entryway, and all of the windows she had to play with. The home has wonderful "bones", a mostly flowing and efficient layout, and plenty of space for her multi-generational family. The updates that needed to be made were almost all cosmetic, and virtually no demo needed to be done. In order to satisfy her wants, the home really just needed a facelift. That being said, however, as soon as we walked in three things significantly, and immediately, stood out.
1. The home has an abundance of large windows, at least one set in every room, but the home felt dark no matter what time of day it was or how many lights were on.
2. There was very little dimension in her home, we suspected a flat sheen was used on her walls. Everything was just about the same color and the rooms blended together. Nothing immediately caught your eye when you walked into any of the rooms.
3. Most importantly, our client was not happy and did not feel connected or at ease in her home, and it was mentally weighing on her. When she showed us around her home she would crease her forhead and apologize for the way the room currently looked.
As we worked through each room in her home we talked about budgets, ideas, concerns, and her dreams or overall thoughts for each space and we could not have agreed more! The potential of the home was there, we just had to work together to uncover it.
When we discussed the starting point for the project, she insisted on starting with her young son's room so that he would be comfortable as future changes occured within their home. We also found out that she had recently moved to the United States and was really starting from scratch with her home, aside from a few furniture pieces. For her, furnishing her home was a daunting task filled with lots of decisions and she would often get overwhelmed. We on the other hand could not wait to get started on her blank slate and were so excited to help her feel comfortable and happy in her new home!
As we walked through his room we were happy to hear our client wanted her son to have a comfortable but non stimulating space. She had set up a playroom downstairs to keep 90% of his toys out of his bedroom. She shares our belief that no matter how young you may be, your bedroom should be a place of refuge and relaxation. Only a handful of toys and books were to be allowed a permanent place in his room.
When she and her family moved into their home, her son picked out an upstairs room with large windows and a great view of the trees in their front yard. The double door closet was enough space for his current needs but only contained the very common upper wire rack and single rod. For this room to keep up with a growing young man, we needed to maximize every bit of the 10' x 10' space.
Our client had already purchased a bed, a chair, a cube storage organizer, a nightstand, a rug, and a themed Star Wars switchplate cover for her son's room before she reached out to get started with us (see starting point video submitted by our client above). These would be the items we would be working around in his bedroom. She knew that in five years time or less they would be needing to upgrade his room as he grew taller, older, and as his interests changed, as such she did not want to invest in something that would be changing in the near future. Our job for this project would be mostly decor and paint which would make things move quickly. The gray at last would soon be gone, at least in this one room.
While our client has sophisticated and luxurious taste, a young man needs a space that feels like his own. We needed to figure out how to best satisfy our clients need for a fashionable and luxurious base that would grow with her son, and how to mix in his current interests so he would be excited about his room as well. His interests included, but were not limited to LEGOS, trains, Star Wars, The Mandalorian, and many, many, storybooks. We decided a gallery wall and a classic color scheme would meet both requirements for luxury and fun.
Painting his room a classic and dynamic navy blue allowed for a relaxing atmosphere. We added crown moulding, and replaced old, yellowed switchplate covers. We updated the fan, so as not to take away visually from the planned gallery wall. We painted his ceiling, his doors, the baseboards, and the interior of the closet all in the same shade, but not the same sheen, of a very crisp white. We relocated a virtually empty bookcase that took up valuable space, and rearranged his furnishings to maximize function and efficiency. Lastly we purchased and installed a closet organizer to allow for as much storage as possible, four hanging rods, one drawer system, a shelving unit and an upper shelf will grow with our client's son and provide an abundance of space.
The room was begining to come together but at this point in the process, we had progressed from light gray on dark gray to everything in the room being blue or white. Every wall danced in that lively blue, which was electrifying when the sun came through the windows, while all the accents and the furniture were a solid and very bright white. Panic set in for our client as we awaited the arrivals of our decor pieces. The room did not yet feel inviting or complete, we reassured her that at this time all we had done at this point was complete the basics of the room. Fears quickly subsided as decor started arriving and the room slowly started looking like the mood board we had designed.
We included more colors and textures into the room with the decor and accessories. Warm burnt orange trimmed the curtains in velvet, lived in the background of the Mandalorian poster and the basketball themed decor, and was accented in his bedding. Red danced throughout the background of the lego themed clock, boldly declared allegiance to the Jedi in his entryway banner, and stood watch as a sun in the poster directly across from her son's bed. Wooden tones accented the sconces, texturized his "M" initial, and added in some warm details with a shelf designed to house his lego creations. We also tied in maps and icons from his home country of Ukraine for a reference point, so that as he aged and his parents told him bed time stories of their homeland, they could easily point out locations or significant landmarks to their son.
Installation day came quickly and as this project was basically only decor, it quickly concluded as well! We used his cube organizer as a storage place for books as well as his nightstand. We sourced woven baskets to conceal any clutter and for additional storage space. Our client let us know her son was still sometimes afraid of the dark so we sourced a decorative moon that doubled as a night light, and a gentle light for easy morning wake ups. We hung his favorite costume and neighborhood exploration outfit in an easy to reach quick access location. We hung the curtains which really had a dramatic impact on the comfort and softness of the room. The gallery wall was framed and installed. The clock we sourced experienced a fall during unpacking, so our client replaced it with a clock designed to help better teach her son how to read the time. The pivoting sconces were installed beside the bed for nighttime reading. The bed was dressed in Mandalorian sheets and a basketball themed comforter. We adjusted his bed to the correct length, yes the bed is adjustable! We hung the inset shades for the windows, and at last the room was complete!
We had sucessfully satisfied both our client's goals and her son's approval and were well in budget with our completed project. We are so excited for the growth and trust we have experienced here at Alderwood Interiors via our clients, and are proud to present this room, and it's story to you all!
