I am so excited to share this dramatic before and after of Theresa’s living and dining room after months of COVID-related delays, curfews and lockdowns. It’s been a rough few months, but at least things are starting to get a little bit better now!
Theresa recently moved into one of the newer rental homes in our community, and was keen on having an “I want to spend all day in here” home that she could be proud of. She had enough pieces to set up the space, but the scale and the colors didn’t work and she didn’t really like those pieces anyway… So we got rid of almost all of it!
Some of the items we used as inspiration for the design
I usually start this design process with trying to get pictures of rooms that people like. However, Theresa was eager to show me the meaningful pieces that she wanted incorporated into the space to make it feel like home. She loved the colors of the bowls and also wanted her Belgian tile to be featured. She was also very particular about wanting a harmonious design that was inviting, aesthetically pleasing and also functional.
So in this case, the challenge was to build an entire design concept based off of a feeling – the comfort and warmth of feeling like you’re at home!
The floor plan was pretty much kept the way that it was because it made the most sense and was great for flow. After some measuring, not only did we buy some great furniture but had some pieces made for the space as well by Arabian SAS. We ended up keeping her pretty nesting tables, but got rid of everything else. Like the other new rental homes in this area, changing out any light fixtures or painting the walls was not really an option, so color and lighting had to be brought in through other means.
I normally don’t like to have the lamps on during a photo session, but I needed the extra light in the dining room and I just had to show you how cozy lamps can make a space look when used in the right way…
| BEFORE |
| AFTER |
We were able to fit 2 large couches and a beautiful caramel colored leather armchair in the space as well as a custom round coffee table and media unit. The media unit is almost the same size as the previous IKEA one, but so much prettier! The existing nesting tables were used as side tables so that we could bring in a table lamp. The real show stopper though has to be the rug. It’s subtle, but the movement of the design is so interesting that it becomes a nice feature in the space. It also doesn’t compete with the rest of the room, but instead does a really great job of enhancing all of the other details.
Since painting the walls wasn’t an option, we needed a way to inject quite a bit of color into the space. Rather than buying colorful furnishings (which can be harder to work with at a later stage), dark and dramatic curtains were added as it would be the bold statement that the room needed.
Since this is a smaller space, the entryway bench doubles as a bench for the dining table to accommodate for more guests. The dining table is extendable as well. One of my favorite parts about the entryway, besides the beautiful family gallery wall, is the adorable coat hanger. I love that it looks so artistic that even when you don’t have anything on it, it looks like a sculpture!
Don’t you love how much warmth the lamps bring into the space? If I lived there, they’d be on all the time! I really wanted to add a mirror to this side of the room to reflect light and act as another window in the space. The sideboard was a piece that I custom designed for the room!
I hope you loved this space as much as I did… I definitely think it feels like a home now!
Entryway: Bench | Coat Hanger
Living Room: Couch | Armchair | Rug | Floor Lamp | Table Lamp | Media Unit (Custom made by Arabian SAS) | Coffee Table (Custom made by Arabian SAS) | Basket | Curtains | White Wooden Blinds | Blue Blanket | Embroidered Cushion Cover | Blue Lumbar Cushion | Tile framed by Arabian Collections Gallery
Console: Console | Lamp | Photograph by Dhahran photographer Raazia Ali (Framing by Arab Frames)
Dining Room: Dining Table | Dining Chairs | Rug | Sideboard (Custom made by Arabian SAS) | Lamps | Mirror | Dough Bowl | Rattan Charger
If an item is not listed, has no link, or has a US link, it means it’s not available in KSA anymore. MANY of the items are no longer available. We were lucky enough to pick up most of the stuff during a buy 2 get 1 free deal at Pottery Barn & West Elm so make sure to take advantage of those sales when they come up.
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Samim says
Everything is perfect!