refining the man pad

before

When we began this project, this living room had more personality than functionality. All the furniture was arranged against the farthest walls leaving awkward gaps in between, blocking half of the only window and wasting precious space. As well, this room often doubled as a studio for painting and drawing and really needed a separate zone for art. The brief: refine the space to create a comfortable living room/studio without whitewashing the fun out the artsy man pad.

After

By flipping the layout and downsizing some of the overgrown furniture, we were able to put a workspace and canvas storage on one side of the room. This gave a home to much of the stuff that had formerly been clutter. The feature wall was painted white to freshen up the space and make the room seem larger and brighter. The art was edited and rehung at an appropriate height. Secondary lighting adds light and warmth. Throw pillows custom-made from the client’s own fabric and blankets break up the large couch. The TV unit was replaced by a smaller cabinet featuring hidden storage and decorated with graffiti stickers. Marker and sketchbook racks were hung around the desk to keep the desktop clutter-free. All resulting in a comfortable space for man and beast (one fat orange cat).
I often try to utilize much of that a client already has in my designs for financial and ecological reasons. This project stretched that to the max. Below are prices and sources for everything we acquired for this space:

IKEA PS media cabinet-bought new-$129
White wall shelf-donated-free
IKEA curtain-donated-free
Midcentury rope lamp-thrifted-$10
3 pillow inserts-IKEA-$15
Three custom-made pillow covers from existing fabric-free
Geometric wool blanket-thrifted-$5
Vintage folding white side table-thrifted-$3
Table lamp-donated-free
Plastic drawer unit-donated-free
Hanging storage cups-thrifted-$5
Metal sketchbook rack-thrifted-$1
Drum shade for overhead light-thrifted-$3