Client Projects Archives - Satori Design for Living

Light Fixtures for Open Concept Dining Rooms

May

2013

One of my current client projects involves a decorating plan for an open concept living room, dining room, and kitchen at the back of the house. As gorgeous as these spaces can be, decorating them involves careful consideration to achieve a specific mood or feel for each area, while maintaining a cohesive and balanced look throughout the overall space. Selecting the right light fixtures for these types of spaces is particularly important in order to create a sense of flow and interest.

With the dining room smack dab in the middle of the living room and kitchen, it’s important to get this light fixture right. Too heavy or cumbersome, and the sight line will be impeded from one side of the house to the next. However, if it’s too small or insignificant, it won’t give the dining area enough presence, and the table could appear to be floating in the middle of the space.

Aside from these considerations, it’s also imperative to think about the style and size of the table in the dining area. We have already discussed a few options for the space, and my client is leaning towards a Salvaged Wood Trestle Table.

Typically the light fixture in your dining room should be about one-third the length of your table. If the table is 84 inches long by 42 inches wide (as in this case), the lighting fixture should be about 28 inches in diameter. Another rule is to take the width of the room and multiply it by two. The number you get is the approximate measurement in inches that would be ideal for your space. For example, this dining room is 11 feet wide, so the light fixture diameter calculation is about 22 inches.

Of course these are only ballpark figures, and size of the light fixture can be adjusted up or down depending on the openness of style or heaviness of color or material.

For this particular dining room, there are several options I can see working very well. The first that comes to mind is an open cage chandelier which always seems to be the perfect balance between traditional and modern styling. I love that it has presence, but the openness of the design makes it a great choice for these kinds of spaces.

Open Cage Chandelier- Light Fixture for Open Concept

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Filed Under: Client Projects, Decorating Tagged With: Dining Room, Lighting

Design Client Project Updates & More

Apr

2013

17 Comments

How’s your week going? It’s been busy around here with new design projects on the go, as well as a couple others that are almost wrapped up. Both parts of the process are exciting, but I get the most satisfaction when clients are finally able to enjoy their newly finished spaces. I’ll be sharing a few update photos soon, including those custom made purple chairs my clients so daringly went with. I had my fingers crossed they’d love them, and when I got a sweet tweet on Thursday, I was both happy and relieved!

For now I thought I’d show you a sneak peek of my latest design project. It’s a new home that’s currently in the drywall stage, and from what I can see so far, it’s going to be gorgeous!

I’ve been called in to develop space plans for many of the rooms, as well as sourcing a good portion of the furnishings. I can already tell that we’re on the same page with many of the ideas, and I can see this project being very rewarding.

Design Client Project Updates

Jan

2013

12 Comments

How is your week going? I’ve been balancing a couple of my own projects, as well as working on a few for clients. I like to be busy, especially when my husband is traveling for business. It always makes the time go by faster and I’m better able to focus when he isn’t here to distract me (miss you honey!).

I thought I’d give you a little sneak peek of what I currently have on the go. One of my clients is totally gutting a bungalow and has hired me to select many of the interior finishes, including paint colors, lighting, and tile for the kitchen backsplash, entrances, as well as three bathrooms. Most of the design decisions have been finalized and we’re waiting for the contractor to prep everything for installation. Here are a couple photos taken from the front entrance. I love how open the whole main floor is.

Christmas House Tour {Countryside}

Dec

2012

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After showing a snippet of my friend Sandi’s country home back in October, I received emails from several of you asking for more. I’ve been wanting to share this house with you for a while now, and was excited when Sandi extended the offer to be part of my Christmas House Tour series this year.

Although this house was built less than two years ago, it has much of the same character and charm you’d find in a century old home. I think you’ll see why I loved being part of this project, aside from having a good excuse to spend more time with a great friend.

Powell Christmas House Tour_12

Powell Christmas House Tour_11

Upon entering the front door, Sandi has displayed a beautiful combination of mercury glass and natural materials that look so welcoming. At night they’re even more gorgeous.

Refresh My Nest {Kitchen Update}

Oct

2012

7 Comments

Back in September, Satori celebrated its one-year blogiversary with a week full of giveaways. One of those prize packs included Holly Becker’s Decorate book, as well as a mood board and plan for freshening one room. Sarah, author of Journey’s of the Zoo, was the lucky winner and decided it was her kitchen that could use an intervention.

These are a few of the details Sarah sent me:

Lean towards modern/contemporary styling.
House was built in 1974 and is set in the country.
Kitchen is currently dark and lacks cohesion.
Open to DIY projects.
Budget-friendly options are preferred.

Client Bedroom Design for Small Space Living

Jun

2012

6 Comments

I recently completed a bedroom design plan for a young couple living in the city. As often is the case with condos, this space was tight and had bulkheads, columns and heating vents running all over. Storage was also a major concern. After meeting with Tanja and seeing the space, I could see why she was having difficulty putting a furniture and decorating plan together given all of the challenges.

These are a few of the requirements she gave me:

Neutral scheme with some pops of bold color
Serene, somewhat modern, with a nod to vintage
Considerations for resale within the next few years
Budget-friendly

Mood Boards

Client Sourcing + Some Spring Fab Finds

Apr

2012

4 Comments

Yesterday was a marathon shopping day in the city. When sourcing for clients, I always try to schedule a full day in the week rather than running around on a daily basis. Not only does this make sense from a time standpoint, it also saves my clients money because I’m able to split the cost of my shopping services between the projects I have going on at the same time.

At the moment, I have several projects that are wrapping up, including window treatment selections for a country home, tile and paint choices for a kitchen and an E-Design for a kitchen/dining room. I’m also putting the final touches on my office closet re-org and freshening. Immediately after the Easter break, I’ll be starting a powder room design, in addition to finalizing the plans for our own basement renovation. With so many projects on my mind, it was really important to plan out yesterday’s shopping trip ahead of time so I wouldn’t forget anything.

For the most part, I’d call the day a success. I found most of the items I was looking for (and a few more!), except for some storage containers for my office. Apparently everyone is in organizing mode and they’ve scooped all the nice boxes or perhaps there’s a void in the marketplace? I’m planning on looking for these when I visit my sister in California for Easter (crossing fingers!). This means waiting a little while longer for the reveal.

While shopping, I came across an array of spring eye candy. Although our skies are rather grey this week, the pretty colors and botanicals I’m seeing this season seem make up for it. I just love this new kitchen cart I found at Ikea. I wanted to buy one for my office, but they were sold out. I think it will add the extra paper storage I need and I like that it can be rolled anywhere.

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Filed Under: Client Projects, Fab Finds Tagged With: Client Sourcing & Shopping, Spring Decorating

One Room, Two Looks

Mar

2012

14 Comments

Following the completion of a sunroom E-Design for one of my clients a month or so ago, I was asked to create a plan for the bonus room as well. Similar to many scenarios I see time and time again, Patty had purchased new furniture pieces and a few decorative accessories, but she didn’t feel like the room was coming together and it seemed, as she put it, ”kind of blah.” The main purpose of the bonus room was a place for Patty’s teenage daughter and her friends to hang out in. It also served as an occasional sleeping spot for her family when they visited. She wanted this space to have a more contemporary and fun vibe than the rest of the home, but still be classy and comfortable enough for everyone to enjoy.

After receiving photos, samples (paint swatches, carpet, furniture fabric, etc.), as well as written information about the room, I realized that Patty needed elements that would tie the room’s finishes, her furniture selections and accent pieces together. Although the furnishings were fantastic stand alone pieces, the overall look of the room was disjointed. In addition, some of Patty’s original purchases included red accessories, but she was open to any color suggestions.

What I decided to do was create one general plan along with two different color scenarios. I started using Olioboard as a tool for putting mood boards together and it made completing this task much easier. (I’m quite new to Olioboard and I’m definitely in the learning phase. However, after only trying it for a short while, I’m hooked and will be using it moving forward.) The first scheme I put together incorporated the red décor items Patty had previously purchased and the second option included turquoise.