Design Happens

Alright. If you missed the episode of Mid-Century Artist: Secrets From a Stylist, here’s what we got. She loves anything bold and unexpected. He loves anything straight and clean. She likes feminine and soft and white. He’s hip to functional and symmetrical. Ultimately, this couple was not too far apart…

…but their home was none of this. And i was about to make a bit design mistake. Stay tuned.

She sent me these pictures: very traditional with flair.

And he sent me these guys: super mid-century ranch. So, for the first look, I re-did the house in total mid-century.

Now, i wanted to change out the carpet for something darker and more kid friendly. But here’s the thing, i bought the carpet based on a small swatch and on that teeny little swatch…it didn’t show the pattern. Then, the carpet delivery was 8 hours late, so we were all waiting around for it. And when the install crew finally showed up and rolled it out…i saw the pattern…and i was like — what a disaster! It was wayyyy too busy with the stonework of the fireplace. And it reminded me of an 80′s hotel lobby. And while the 80′s are in right now (people are wearing neon and shoulder pads, yours truly included in the latter…just one dress) we don’t need to totally relive the past. Not like this anyway.

See? It was not my favorite, NOT AT ALL. But, I did love that sofa. I rented it from Grot in Redondo Beach. The lamps came from Practical Props, but i spray painted them red because they were brown and gross. The shelving system is from Amsterdam Modern. The white rose pillow is from Z Gallerie and the striped pillow is from Crate and Barrel. The coffee table is from Blueprint. So while there are aspects I like here and there, this look feels too much like a sitcom set from the late 60′s, you know, with wacky people doing wacky things…but in an office lobby or something. Plus, the 80′s patterned carpet.

So after looking at the budget, i concluded that we could afford do away with the carpet. That’s some behind the scenes for you. As of today, i haven’t watched the episode yet, so not sure if my disdain for this carpet came through, hopefully it did. And here’s the second look – Mid-Century Artist.

Ahhhh. Much better. That blue lamp is also from Practical Props, the sofa is from the Sofa Company, the chairs were flea market and reupholstered and the coffee table is from the flea market, then DIY’d with stencils. That table was pretty awesome. By far my favorite piece in the room.

Big lesson learned in this one…take your time picking out carpet. The second one is Shaw, and it has light beige with some colored flex in it. It’s great. But i was hasty with the first one. Clearly most people wouldn’t have this problem, i’m just designing soooo fast that mistakes get made. But making mistakes doesn’t necessarily mean anything. You are always going to make mistakes. Knowing when you have made a mistake and doing something about it is what matters! So i fixed it.

That sounded like an after school special, but you know what I mean. It’s all in how you react.