The mobile sample board

Colour and texture are the backbone of a good design, and yet for those who follow, you can't but notice just how neglected they were, compared to space planning.

As I had declared, in my blogcommencement manifesto, one of my motifs to pursue with a blog is my wish to learn … but I had shamelessly stuck to what I know better than average – technical drawing, software, space planning solutions.

So, to me, the whole colour and texture conundrum is the actual challenge. Moreover, having almost decided on a floor plan, the time has come to start picking pieces of furniture, soft furnishings and accessories.

Therefore, and contrarily to what design theories advise, I put together a mobile sample board (or mood board) – something to bring along while choosing those pieces.

This is what you'll find on my mood board:

The most present colour is the one on my four walls – so you find the sample I got from the shop, but also the way it looks on painted over fiberglass paper – which covers all my walls.

Then, for the floor I have the beautiful tiling – same as in my hallway and kitchen – so my public areas have the same flooring. The piece here comes from the skirting.

Next important surface is the door – another shade of taupe. I have one more door, which I sadly cannot present – it’s lacquered fir tree, quite popular over here.

The window treatment – at least part of it is decided already – so you see the fabric in a special presentation window. It has several colours, different shades of brown/beige, which nicely correspond to the rest of my palette.

And finally something brave: I spray-painted the curtain rail in this gorgeous copper/bronze colour.

Now, it is up to you to judge how successfully my mobile mood board represents the room, but in case you wonder – here-under is a picture of the finished room.

And what to do with it?

Having decided in larger terms on floor planning, having measured and re-measured the space, having shortlisted the bookcases I need – well I head for IKEA, to finalize my choices.

And this is where the things do not go quite as planned – the perfect colour match won't fit in as dimension, and the one I meant as size does not blend in as nicely?

I would have given it less thought if I didn't have my mood board with me – but armed with it – it is pretty obvious, so am I back to square 1?

In more detail – the BILLY bookcase system has four types of finishes, and as said while it is the sleekest out there, I cannot definitively choose for any one of them:

- White – probably the best to keep the room looking big and spacious. On the other hand – so clinically boring, borderline scary due to medical associations.

- Oak – not real oak – sickly yellowish more like it

- Light brown with red under shades – spoiling the whole thing?

- Dark brown/blackish – perfect match for other pieces of furniture I already have and like – but since what I like most about my room is how light it is – a very serious designer risk!!!

On the other hand, with BESTA I found the following finish, which not only matches the colour board, but is also as noble, neutral, luxuriant kind of wood finish that I’d love to incorporate.

And here the problem can be defined – BESTA is always 40 cm deep – I have so little space and options, my bookcases have to be thinly spread. BILLY with their 28/30 cm is a better match….

Solutions, there are – I just have to find ways to test them and make sure I will live with substitutes just as nicely;)

-   Stick to the sleek BILLY pieces – dark colour, but spray paint some bronze to connect it to the room

-   Compromise with my ideas and pick BILLY white – boring but safe

-   Combine BILLY and BESTA – see drawing…tricky stuff is  - heights are not uniform either. Also – which colour of BILLY will do the job?

-   Reconfigure BESTA, in a way that allows for a sofa and only BESTA pieces?

And once again it’s up to you! What would you do? Don’t be shy – share!

In case you need more inspiration, here is the wall where it all has to happen:

For my part – some of the solutions are on my virtual draing board – meaning I am trying to build a Sketchup model. Or, I shall be spending more time in IKEA? Which method will deliver a solution? If you care to know, just stay tuned.

Elevations – when a room rises around you

If you’ve seen those photos from the previous post, you certainly know that my project 1 is becoming real and it is picking up speed, and for great many things I’ll have to make decisions!

So, with this post I will be going back to layout, letting you know how I got there, and hopefully looking and making it further on.

A very versatile study of the possibilities you find in this post – exclusively dedicated to Project one. Then in a post on Sketchup, and 3D, my then favourite is explored in multiple dimensions. To be on the safe side, another SketchUp model appears in my take on the GIDC, this time inspired by one of the participants.

And now, I’d like to bring to your attention the version F!

It is the “compromise” version – trying to keep all that was nice in each preceding version, but also brave enough to do away with what simply won’t be possible.

Therefore, at present:

·       The darkest wall is dedicated to storage – bookcases A. It offers the continuum and won’t be hampering any other zone.

·       I had to give up the idea of an angle sofa – simply impossible to reasonably fit in one within 16 square meters, and leave space for dining! So, currently the big question is whether the sofa B should be a two seater or a smaller three seater. Very few small three seaters out there – I am missing Japan with its cute pieces of not oversized furniture!

·       Dining corner C-D-E – best served by a round table C, for closer fit; storage chests D, could be tied to the rest with some upholstering and chairs E still have to be defined (in my heart of hearts I’d go for those transparent, suspended in the air type, but will they be good for the rest of the room?)

·       Reading corner with armchair F and stool G! Just like the dining table is next to the window, so for any daylight type of hobbies already two fantastic options next to the lightest window in that room! The challenge is to find pieces B-F-G which resemble each other, ideally a set – but I know too well I am being ambitious!

·       H is going to be the TV furniture – I’d also like to use it to inject some Asia element – so the perfect one is possibly antique or import from that part of the world.

·       A final touch – set of coffee tables – I already have I – precious memory from a visit to Nicaragua 5 years ago, when I didn’t even have the apartment.

And as the KLCprecious course planning spaces advised – elevations are needed to make the right decisions. I would start with the bookcase wall A.

The way things are, we know already some part of it will not be accessible all the time – due to the sofa. This is not a problem though – storage for seasonal items is always useful!

The furniture suggested for the following simulation is IKEA series BILLY. Whereas it would be nice to upgrade furniture, the advantage with this one is that there are plenty of modules and colours – so much that any option could be explored. The disadvantage of many choices is that the whole thing may end up as a furniture store with every pieces as a part of different series.

Other than BILLY, IKEA has the BESTA system. So, probably at some point in time a simulation with BESTA, which also is more likely to have a solution for H, and for wall mounted pieces too. At this point in time advantage pf BILLY is that pieces stand on the floor. Advantage of BESTA could be the fewer open shelves, which attract too much dust for my liking!

Now the following simulation has two heights – 202 and 237 cm. I’d be so grateful if you’d advise your choice, based on the elevations hereunder!

The taller version looks offers more storage, the other one looks more harmonious next to the door! So – shall I go practical or aesthetic?

When thinking of colours – I had a very successful spray-painting experience with the curtain rail, which is now copper colour – another earthy shade to this room. Before I go furniture-hunting, I am planning to put together a mobile mood-board with the materials already in use, to lay against future materials. And I bet there’s going to be more spray-painting in this apartment. So, hope will be abe to present that with following post, alongside more elevations.

Painting project one – midterm review

So, last time I posted I was in the neutral maze, cold feet and all…

I was so much hoping the decision will make itself – it didn’t. And that in spite of my posting a survey on twitter with the generous number of 0 participants.

And that is why the colours travelled with me – in my mind, as I remember them, in my handbag – so that I can review and revisit throughout the day, different lighting, atmosphere and moods. It seems to me I opted for A40 at a point in time when the other competitor disappointed me a little.

Being so unsure on my choice I went for a sample – comes in cute little pot and the manufacturers promise you 3 square meters of sampling area.

The quantity is not true for at least two reasons:

-      The walls are seldom flat – the surface thus is bigger than its flat projection

-     When doing a sample, the selected colour is laid against existing surfaces – ceiling, flooring, doors, switches, architraves – for all the “borders” the detailing brush is necessary and it consumes a great deal more paint than the roller.

Therefore, two things to do when the pot is finished – first I try to assess how the colour looks next to my doors, but I also try to measure those areas and calculated the actual yield. In my case I worked out that I only achieved around 2,5 square meters out of the 3 promised.

Once satisfied with the result, I proceeded with calculation of the overall area nett – meaning my four walls minus 2 windows and 2 doors. First time I got it wrong (happens), so I strongly advise to check and recheck whatever your result is. In my glorious past, I wouldn’t worry as much – I would just buy the paint, and then buy some more if not enough. However – there was a discount in Brico, the quantity was more important than usual and last but not least – all paining takes place in the weekend and there is a limited number of shops open on Sunday, and none of them is in my area.

I mentioned the word satisfied – but satisfied I could not be right away, because my new colour was also laid against the older colours, so the contrast did not exactly help to evaluate the final choice.

In addition, after an advice from a previous paining adventure, I had done an extra coat of white over the darker of the two existing colours, so that they are equalised. I was hoping that this may save me a second coat. It didn’t. The white paint being fresher than the existing one mixed with the final coat (all water based paints these days!), and the finished walls look slightly different.

As you may have already discovered, the actual painting is small percentage in time compared to masking and detailing. I dedicated all Saturday to the latter, and achieved the former in under 3 hours on Sunday.

Am I ready? Photos make it hard to tell for the simple reason that blemishes are visible mostly close up, mostly in strong daylight. So, another coat is in order – as I am almost certain about the layout, I will make sure to load the future visible walls well and probably make less effort for the ones which will remain behind furniture!

In any case the painting will go on for as long as there is paint in the pot – I had 5 litters for 60 square meters, with original estimate of 35 square meters upgraded to 44 in order to allow for detailing and uneven surface.

Final question – is it normal to have painting as a full 10 days activity? Definitely not – for one – I have to quickly unmask the freshly painted ceiling, if the tape stays for too long, then it will leave with the paint and I may be forced to start over!

The not very successful ceiling painting is a different story altogether, but I will keep it for later on – we have enough on paining as it is!

And what about you? Which part of painting do you find the most challenging – colour selection, quantities calculation, masking, detailing, rolling? Do you feel it is still worth it doing it yourself? Don’t be shy, share your thoughts!