Madalina, a young woman in her mid twenties, bought the apartment completely furnished. The previous owners played it safe by using wenge wood, dark brown and off-white colours, but it couldn't have been more boring than that. And it was not at all fitting the character of Madalina. The apartment was dark, and without any personality.
before/after bedroom - image Casa Lux
The bedroom is a fairly large room, not very wide but quite long. Actually a bit to long as it was not a practical room, not a real space to put a wardrobe, this would have made the room look even more as a wide corridor. But there was place to create a nice relaxing corner. Also, as Madalina was working long hours the chance that she would come home and immediately enter the bedroom was great, so it was necessary to give the extra attention to this room.
relaxing corner bedroom - image Casa Lux
The armchair has a diameter of 140 cm. Perfect to relax or dream away looking outside on the balcony on a Sunday morning.
lay-out bedroom
The large rug has unified the bed area with the relaxation area. It would have been a pity to to hide this floral rug under the bed.
mood board bedroom
It was immediately clear for me, from the first meeting, which colours to use for her apartment. Her sparkling presence, colourful outfits were saying everything without words. Initially she was shocked by my suggestions. She was not expecting so many colours in her home. When I told her: "this is you", she reflected for just a few seconds, smiled and told me I was right.
before/after dining - image Casa Lux
In the living/dining area was a "lost" corner. There was no space in the bedroom thus, the dressing was constructed in this lost and dark corner. It got a real walk in dressing.
mood board dressing
Two separate spaces behind the doors were optimised. And to give this dressing a more feminine touch: glass doors with some very fine sheers in the back. The furniture was painted in an ivory colour with a very soft under tone of pink, hardly noticeable at first view.
details dressing - image Casa Lux
The luxury of a walk-in dressing: optimal use of space, going from wall to wall, floor to ceiling. No standard dimensions needed. You can create the furniture of your dreams to go all the way to the glas cut door knobs.
lay-out living/dining area
View on the long dining/living area. Just a small window at the end.
before/after living - image Casa Lux
The white walls were like a blank canvas waiting for a splash of colour to create a point that would take all attention. A big wall print where all colours of the living area would come together. The wall in the back, where also the entrance is, was painted in a lime yellow, bringing joy and life in the apartment from the first step you come inside. Off-white round table in the dining room, the button on the back of the chair makes all the difference.
detail chair - detail library - image Casa Lux
Bold colours, fine graphical motifs for the fabrics, wallpaper. Colour accent for the chair. Feminine touch for library, filled with intimidating law books.
before/after living - image Casa Lux
The living area was as a long corridor, the window at the end very narrow, the dark curtains was only accentuating this gloominess. I used some white linen curtains which are covering completely the wall on the left, creating the effect that the window is much larger than its actual size. The dark sofa was replaced by a sofa in white linen and colourful cushions. The center of the living area is the coffee tables with the strips: perfect match of classical piece of furniture with a modern twist.
So how to turn a boring and dark place into a place where you love to come home every evening?
- light colour for the curtains
- keeping furniture in light colours will give idea room is wider
- play with colour touches
- use some yellow, does not have to be as sparkling as I used it here. Even ivory has yellow inside, it will give the idea that warm sun light is coming in the space
- make a statement with a big wall print
- use discreet wallpaper, a bold print would narrow the space
- find a solution to turn a lost corner into a practical corner
Everything was well prepared, all orders made and than Madalina left a week on holiday: perfect timing to take everything out, paint, put wallpaper and bring the new furniture in. You can imagine how Madalina must have felt coming back home after her holiday.