MIDLEVELS URBAN CONTEMPORARY

A Living room with a punch of red.  

URBAN CONTEMPORARY

The best way to stay focused on a design concept is to find an inspiration room you would like to interpret. You can find anything on the internet.  

I kept loosing my way and getting 'eclectic' - but I think I'm on the right track now. 

-----INSPIRATION-----

Both living rooms below are very clean and minimal - but each piece of furniture is unique - making it's own statement. 

The rawness of the wood - the red slipcovers over an exaggerated wing back chair - the rustic metal - natural sisal - tufting on the chair..... 

Here we have wood and iron coffee table - rustic beams - rustic wood lamp - red pillows  - again red wing backs... Notice everything is matte - there's no shine. Glass is then only item with reflection. 

Red is brought in with :

linen pillows - slipcovers - flowers - plates - garden stool - candle

Stay neutral and punch the red with accessories.  The client had it right all along. 

Here's my suggestions:

----- LIVING ROOM -----

The starting point is with the sectional - needing just the right size to fill a nook on one side of the room. 

The fabric for the sectional is a heavy off white linen @ $360/ yd HK.  25 yards are needed.  The legs will be a dark brown stain. 

$16,280

Medium foam cushions - no extra pillows until we decide what color and then we make them 25 x 25 down filled. 

MEDIA CABINET 

Across from this is the media cabinet.  The Flat Screen TV will be mounted to the wall so we want something low and no more than 50" wide. 

Clean and contemporary  - and staining it 'as is' - a rich chocolate brown. 

$2080hk

FINISHED ITEM

COFFEE TABLES 

Here's where we have to make some decisions on a coffee table and end table.  I was hoping to find a ready made iron/ wood coffee table in the size needed - but after searching high and low... I can't. So, I thought of this design. 

Rustic wood - slight light stain for protection and industrial wheels.  Storage below for the remote controls and magazines.  If you want as punch of red - we can add a tray.  

or a rustic raw wood opium table

with baskets inside for hidden storage. 

Another option is the opium table.

A large tray with touches of red I designed and used before. 

Move the wood color around the room - and balance. 

DARK WOOD   -  -    LIGHT WOOD  -  -   DARK WOOD

Brown Coffee table

I like that there are drawers for the remote and 'stuff' 

If you went with red here's an option....  

but thru our discussion it veers away from the inspiration and becomes 'eclectic'. 

TRUNK:  Not my favorite option.  There are 2 storage benches at the dining table - so this is a bit repetitive. It's also difficult to get in and out of... only good for long term storage.  And the dimensions are small but tall. 

I also think if you're not using a red sideboard - do not use a red coffee table.  Too much punch for a single item. 

SIDE CABINET 

Next to the sofa you need a side table that is large enough for a lamp and a good size shade. 

The client originally likes the cream leather trunk with stand. $5640 hk

If we don't use this dreamy cream trunk - you can find smaller ones and use as accents on top of the TV console. 

FINISHED ITEM

WE USED IT! This creamy leather trunk will complement the coffee table done in raw wood.  

Again, since we have 2 ottomans at the dining table I think we could use another type of storage helper. I have something similar (mirror) that has 10 drawers and love it!

Stain this dark brown like the TV cabinet. contains 6 - 4" deep drawers.  This can store sunglasses, batteries, nail polish, pens, tools, photos....  all those little things you don't know where to put.  

Possible lamp in wood found in Shenzhen

Garden stool in Shenzhen

Natural Sisal or Seagrass rug keeps the Inspiration room look

But there is also the Shaggy Frieze for softness

----- DINING AREA -----

You can use 2 stains of wood in a room - keep it consistent in the tones.. Slight variations are acceptable.  The choice is dark brown with a rustic natural. The natural brings in the Urban feel. The table will be flush to the wall - so we want an interesting leg.   The trestle table design keeps it simple and functional. 

$9280 hk

We add 2 cotton covered parson chairs with nail heads along the sides and bottom so they can be seen from far away. It also gives a simple chair a lot of interest.   The legs are dark brown stain. $3080 / pair

Then a touch of unexpected by adding 2 storage ottomans in a synthetic leather to keep the price down.  $5360 / pair

I'm liking the creamy leather look vs the white white.  It's richer and blends with the raw wood.   The sofa actually has a cross thread that's cream - 

Fabric and wood colors in the room 

creamy eggshell, dark brown, natural wood, and red

Lastly - the large piece of furniture needed at the end of the room is the sideboard. 

I'm headed to the factories and looking for a smaller sideboard about 50 - 60" wide in a dark brown stain (balancing the wood color around the room). 

FINISHED ITEM

it's actually 22" deep - not the 18".  That's deep but normal for a sideboard.  I think if you keep this wonderful antique for years to come it would be a shame to cut it down for 4".  Lamp Shades will work well with this depth. 

Red Earthenware dinner set - Shenzhen

Possible lamp in wood

BLACK BED WITH PINK ACCENTS

Black & white with touches of Pink

CERISE COLORING- 
Formula :  #DE3163


FABRIC FOR THROW PILLOWS

I'm currently working on a master bedroom for a young professional. We want it to be contemporary urban but with a feminine flair with the use of pink. 

We have a tight floor plan for a queen bed.  Ideally the bed would fit better on the long wall that is 124".  You usually place your largest item on your longest wall to keep the proportions.  But because the window placement is awkward - it's going on the other wall so we can create a headboard. 

The straight lines make it contemporary - the rustic wood tops and lamps make it urban and the Venetian mirror and pink make it 'girly'. We add a simple roman shade in the stripe fabric - and some accent pillows on the window seat that looks out over trees. One more layer of a fluffy white carpet...

 We have already chosen a heavy black linen to cover the bed frame.  The bed fame has drawers for extra storage.

Ok - this is leather - but it has the same feel just to use for reference.  It will be dark and heavy - so we need to find a way to soften it up. 

 First - we will ad 3-4 black painted screens for a headboard.  The elevator is too small for a headboard unless we split it in half - horizontal and made it in 2 parts. 


CONCEPT

FINISHED ITEMS
Antique screens

Second  - we add lots of white bedding - hotel style - either in white crisp cotton - or a Matelasse if we can find it or make it. Throw some pink linen pillows on for color accent.

Key is you have to find the right pink.  Not too harsh - just soft and sweet.

Then we add a lamp for both sides of the bed - I found this in Shenzhen -  It's capis shell and acrylic.  Not sure if a pair are available. 

AND/OR
we paint the wall behind the bed - PINK - then the screens stand out and so do the lamps. 

Another way to bring in the shell and contemporary feel is the hanging capis shell lamp. 

White with lt. pink inspiration room  - on the coral pink pastel tone

Or
MODERN HOT PINK 

Found all this in the market place - suggestion for pillows and a fake fur throw.  Keep the bedding white because the size of the room. 




BEDSIDE TABLES

Now we need side tables. 

I don't want it all black - and I would like to add some English antique drawer handles. 

So we make the top a raw wood distress - to give it age - and the drawer handles will also help with that. 

We ended with a Urban sleek handle and a shabby planked raw top to match the screens. 

There is still room on the bathroom wall for a small vanity.

FINAL

We went for 2 drawers for better organization of small items. 

Above the vanity we find a elegant Venetian mirror - I think we need to head to Shenzhen!

One last touch for the 'girly' look - a small vanity stool.   I think a chair will be too large for the space - so a low back is best. 

But we went with this adorable chair found in a corner of a Chinese warehouse.  It's from a set of 4 but he was willing to break it up.  After we paint it black and lightly distress it - we will had a black plaid cushion. 

Then we need to finish the look with the rug, pillows and roman blinds.

TREASURE HUNTING IN ZHUHAI, CHINA

GREAT WAY TO SET UP A NEW HOME ON A BUDGET!

EVERYTHING AT WHOLESALE PRICES

REMEMBER:  need 4 people to depart!

JUNE TOUR SCHEDULE

THURSDAY, June 14th

Room for 4 more

NO TOURS THE MONTHS OF

 JULY AND AUGUST

Item on a USA website $10,000 hk

Find it in Zhuhai for much less!

REMEMBER:  need 4 people to depart!

We will take a waiting list. 

PAYMENTS secure your spot. 

PRICE:$1098 per person/each - 4 person minimum

We do not discount for larger groups
We cannot take less.

This is something you cannot do on your own.  We have a van and driver taking us to 3-4 factories and a marketplace in a short amount of time.   We do business with these factories on a regular basis for years and have developed an understanding of every factory strengths and weaknesses. 

Your tour guides:  Jeni and Elisabeth

CHAIR FOR SALE

LARGE CONTEMPORARY LINEN UPHOLSTERED ARM CHAIR 

Beautiful Contemporary Living Room Chair in Tan/Taupe nubby linen.  

Oversize at 35" wide x 40" d x 37" h

Original Value $9500 hk

Asking $2500 delivery included. 

email: homeredesignhk@yahoo.com

I've moved it to Redhill Peninsula and it actually matches my living room...