White Dahlia Design
The Review: Identifying Key Areas
This month's showcase project is an open-concept Dining and Living Room makeover! Our client knew the style she wanted to pull off since she had already saved tons of photos to her dream living room Pinterest board. However, she wasn't sure how exactly to pull off the look and was having a hard time pulling the trigger on buying some key pieces.
Her main goal was to modernize her entertainment space and to showcase her unique personal design style. She had some existing furniture items such as the sofa and large flat-screen TV that she wasn't sure worked well in the room configuration. Our job was to show her a variation where we kept her current sofa and TV and then an alternate variation where she started from scratch.
We quickly identified that a key problem area was the existing floating corner shelf that was used as a TV ledge. The TV area felt crammed in the corner, making the room feel smaller, and threw off the balance of the space.
She also had one wall painted black in trying to get that "accent wall look" but it didn't quite pull off the style she had on her Pinterest board. The lack of window treatments in the room also made the space feel unfinished and stark. Another worry she had was that she had too many competing wood elements that clashed. All she wanted was to have dream space to entertain that felt cohesive, cozy, and evoked happiness.
Pictured: Before Photos
Pictured: Inspiration Images
West Elm | Instagram: @amber_m_kelly
Style Goals: A blend of Mid-Century Modern & Boho
Her inspiration photos were a blend of mid-century modern style coupled with colorful boho-chic vibes. First off, to achieve her main style of mid-century modern, the key design elements we had to keep in mind were clean lines, natural materials, and pops of color. Then we brought in a touch of bohemian decor, which was all about adding in some mixed patterns, botanicals, metallics, and macrame or rattan accents to really capture her style.
We wanted this space to also be about function! She was not only using this area for daily living and dining but also as a weekend entertainment spot so it needed to comfortably seat her frequent guests. Besides accommodating for humans, they also had a dog and two cats to keep in mind! So it was crucial for us to source items in pet-friendly fabrics.
Diving Deep Into The Design
Since this space was lacking seating, design personality, and cohesiveness, we started with addressing the existing items and architectural elements as the starting point. Removing the current floating shelf would have resulted in having to repaint that corner and thus more work for our client. Instead, we decided to create an organic plant corner that mixed elements of wood, macrame wall hanging decor, and greenery to infuse a bit of the boho style she loves into the room.
Pictured: Boho Living Room Decor
White Dahlia Design
The next step was to relocate the TV to a spot that would properly define the area for every day living and Entertaining. With the TV relocated to a spot that created more balance in the room, we were then able to create a seating area that could accommodate more people and offer a better flow to the space.
Pictured: Design Layout | Neutral Design Option
White Dahlia Design
Bold and Neutral Inspiration
We always love to show layout and design variations to clients so they can feel confident in their final selection. For this project, we created one design that was more neutral (pictured above) and another bolder option (pictured below) for her to choose from. We showed her what it would look like to keep her existing light grey sofa versus a newly sourced sofa in her favorite color, which was the bolder velvet green sofa.
Pictured: Bold Design Option
White Dahlia Design
Since we moved the TV to the adjacent wall, we sourced a minimal mid-century modern standard sized TV stand for some extra storage options. We also sourced a modern leaning wall shelf for extra storage and proper display for her treasures and photos. She also had a ton of travel photos, so what better way to display them than a gallery wall?
Pictured: Gallery Picture Wall
White Dahlia Design
The dining room is modest in size, which doesn't allow for a standard-sized Buffett side table. Instead, we opted for a sleek and narrow side table that was large enough to store entertainment essentials like bottles, glasses, and serving trays. The finishing touches resulted in some flat weaved baskets for the wall, macrame hanging planters, gold finishes for a little added chic, and velvet accents. Now that's how you get the perfect blend of boho decor and modern mid-century!
Pictured: Boho Dining Room Decor
White Dahlia Design
Colorful and Truly Unique!
After the initial design submission to the client, we only had a few small tweaks to make based on her feedback. She wanted a few more pops of color and a less formal overall look. So we swapped out the mirrors for a more casual art piece and also introduced fabulous mustard colored curtains to bring in more color. Voila! Here is the final result: A fashion of mid-century modern with colorful boho-chic vibes.
Pictured: Boho-Chic Dining Room
White Dahlia Design
Pictured: Key Elements Used in the Design
Left to Right: Wayfair I West Elm I Furniture.ca I Ikea
A Look at the Final Design
We hope you enjoyed delving deep into the process behind this boho-chic and mid-century modern open concept Living and Dining space. Check out the full walkthrough video tour of the final design we created for our client!
Video: Final Design Walkthrough
White Dahlia Design
The Big Reveal
The rooms are just about to be finished, so stay tuned for the big reveal in a few weeks! Here's a sneak peek to hold you over for now ;)
We can't wait to give you the full tour! Subscribe down below to get our weekly decor blog articles and stay updated on Part 2.