Creating a functional play space - A Redesign

I've been so busy getting ready for my daughter's wedding that will be taking place this coming Sunday.  Although it's been fun working on creations for her and knowing that they are a reflection of her unique and special taste, it has put me pretty behind on work.  Even through the details and busyness, I've had the opportunity to work on some fun Redesigns.

I'd like to highlight one that I did for a young couple who have 3 - year old twins.
They're a sweet family who have an amazing photography business.  All of the art that I worked with were pictures that they had taken and printed off on large canvases.
The day I met with them, they shared that they desired an inviting home and cozy atmosphere while creating a convenient place for their young children to play.

This is the view into the living room.  The room beyond it is the dining room where their children play.   We discussed the idea of having a dining table and relocating the play area, but it was decided that this room would function better for playing with the kids being more centrally located.  Some designers might disagree with me, but I feel strongly that our homes need to first function well for our families before we work on making them look attractive.  In the initial interviews, most of my clients seem to have two complaints about their homes.  First they say, "I want it to work for us.  My family doesn't even use this room because it isn't set up well!"  The other thing they often say is, "I want it to feel inviting and attractive, and to be a great place to have friends and family over."  I believe that both can be accomplished, and that is my goal each and every time I step into a client's home.

This family has a sectional and a leather sofa for their seating in the room.  The sofa was placed in front of the fireplace.  Since the fireplace is the best focal point in the room, the first thing that I did was to move the sofa to allow the fireplace to be seen and used.

The next solution was to relocate the TV.

I don't touch television sets!  They're too expensive and too much can go wrong with them if I try to move them.  When I suggested that this one be relocated to the fireplace wall, the client said that he was willing to not only move it, but to mount it on the wall in the new location.  He got busy working on that while I was working on the rest of the layout.

This is the room that functions as the play area.

I took shelving units from other areas and placed them in this space so that the toys could be organized and kept up off of the floor.

In the living room, I placed the sectional on the opposite side of the room and pulled the smaller sofa over to create a closer grouping - more ideal for conversations or watching TV as a family.  The TV was originally where the large picture is (on the right side of the photo.)  I moved the cabinet that held the TV to the other side of the room.  It's the perfect place to store the family's games and DVD's.

Here's the view of the new layout in the living room when you enter through the front door.

You can see from this view where the TV was moved.  I recommended that they find a cabinet to place underneath to hold the other electronic pieces and to place the speakers on.  The renderings of the picture frames above are to show how the space will look after creating a family photo gallery.

Before and after of the first view.

Here's the other view.  Nothing new was purchased for this portion of the project.  By placing furnishings and accessories in new and creative ways, anyone's home can feel like a brand new space.
I would love an opportunity to visit your home and to work on ways to make it feel and function better for your family!
If you live in the Portand area and are interested in a Redesign of your own, please visit my website or call me at 503-997-2325.