“Kristin, I would love for you to makeover my room for me, but I don’t have the budget for a whole new space!”
“I really like my sofa and the chair I just bought, but I don’t know how to tie it all in together”
“I have to keep my old furniture, but I still want a whole new look”
I have heard these exact comments (and many more similar to these)…and guess what? I totally get it! I myself have a room I still need to tackle at my house but have been putting it off because I have to work around my existing large pieces. Most people don’t start off from scratch unless they are building a new home. And it IS harder to design a room around existing items than it is to start over brand new. But it can totally be done-and I love the challenge of doing it!
Recently I did just the thing for a great client-a wonderful family with three school-aged kids. This family requested a Postbox Designs Living Room Makeover, but they wanted to divide the room into three main areas:
One: TV/Hang out Space
Two: Command Center
Three: Homework Center
They also requested to keep the majority of their Living Room furniture. They wanted me to incorporate their existing blue sofa, two floral arm chairs, TV, four pieces of artwork, some family photos, and yellow and blue striped ottoman. Those pieces also set the tone for the color scheme-working around the existing blue, tan, and yellow colors.
So as part of the Postbox Designs process, I had them take photos of their existing room AND their existing furniture (including overall dimensions of the furniture they wanted to keep), so I could work it into their design. They requested a traditional/cottage/French country look that would be durable and useable for their brood of five.
So here is the Mood Board I came up with:
Because the homeowners were keeping their existing main furniture, I chose small furniture pieces (like accent tables and a TV stand) and accessories like pillows and a rug, that would work with the furniture they were keeping. Other items like the window treatments help add layers to the space, making it more cohesive. Although the homeowners did request to keep their ottoman, I did include a potential new optional coffee table (#8) that would further give them a new look for only a few hundred dollars. However, everything is designed to work with the ottoman if they keep it as well! Sometimes swapping out a single piece can give a room an entirely new look.
However, for ALL of my clients I really, really want them to have options, so:
I always create two versions for each space. I design them so my clients can also mix and match from both versions.
So here is Version #2:
I stuck with the same color schemes, and lots of neutrals, so that it would work with their existing blues, grays, and yellows. However, this version shows polished nickel and cooler tones, instead of the warmer tones in version #1. Plus this gives an entirely new selection of fixtures and furnishings to choose from!
On select packages, I offer 3D Perspective drawings with their Postbox. These clients selected that option, so remember version #1? This is a 3D drawing of how everything would look in their new room. I draw out the room to scale so that everything will be as real to life as possible. Then I put all of the fixtures and furnishings I selected for them into the space.
I marked all of the items they were keeping-their blue sofa, two armchairs, and the TV (their existing artwork is used in the space, not shown here). So just a few new small furniture pieces and some accessories rounded out the space for a whole new look!
So to recap: I updated their paint, flooring, window treatments, and small furniture. I added in some accessories, but it was all made to work with keeping their existing furniture pieces. They can save thousands of dollars but keeping perfectly great pieces of furniture, but still get a whole new look for their room.
Plus, all of the Postbox packages include to-scale floor plan, with dimensions, that shows the clients where to place all of their items:
What isn’t shown, is they also received a customized Shopping List and instructions and tips on how to pull it all together. I only select items that fit into my client’s budget, and from places they can purchase directly. So many designers add their mark-up to the pieces they select. Or they only select items that are available to the trade. I want my clients to have the freedom to order their pieces when they wish, and to save money too! With their Shopping List, every item has a description, size, and price. They can click right on the link to take them directly to the item and purchase it. Plus, whenever I can share tips on how to save money, I include that. In this case, with one store, if you sign up for their newsletter, you can save 15% on your entire order.
Stay tuned for my upcoming blog posts where I share the Command Center and Homework Center I helped them create!
Do you have questions on how you can create a new room using furniture you already own? Email me at kristin@postboxdesigns.com and we can chat! Or sign up to get special offers and never miss a blog post HERE!
See you back here, same time, same place,
Sasha Grey says
Highly Appreciated ! Great piece of work.
Alexa says
I love this articles as it is crystal clear and easy to understand.
homefurnitureadviser.com says
I think you can find more information here.
How To Makeover a Room Keeping Your Existing Furniture: A Real Postsbox Project! – Postbox Designs