Living Room Redesign

While I was staying at my parents place in SoCal, I insisted they be my guinea pigs.  They are not selling this home, so instead of staging it for such, I did a little redesign work in their living room.

This picture is taken from the entry way.  Its a nice space with great windows.

The way it is set up now is functional, but the point to redesigning your space, is to make it interesting, beautiful, AND functional ... and those are in no particular order.

The sofa & chair are facing a brick fireplace and a fairly large entertainment center, and that means those big pieces are not moving anywhere.

Although there is not much leftover to change, a little bit goes a long way.

This photo is taken from the same spot (the entry) but I've taken a few steps back so you can see where the wall begins, as well as, the vaulted ceiling.  Go look at that first photo again; makes a difference, doesn't it?  I will have to make it my goal to get the same angle shot when doing these before and afters.

I switched the placement of the sofa & chair, but put them at an angle, aligning the rug too.  Angles can eliminate the boring and predictable and instead create interest.  I ultimately chose this angle to work with the vaulted ceiling.  Your eye tends to scan the whole room, ceiling included.  Redesigning it this way creates more a natural flow with the house.

This seating arrangement still allows perfect viewing of the fireplace and the entertainment center, but I think having them BOTH at an angle helps to create more of a conversation area.  My parents do not do much entertaining with guests over, but still, good design is good design!

You may also notice I took down the mirror that was over the sofa.  There was no point to it.  It did not reflect the fire, it was not in a good place to use it for personal use, so, it had to go.  The Italian Villa print that is there now, which was originally over the fireplace.  Having switched the 2 pieces, the mirror over the fireplace can reflect candle lights on the mantle, while this print creates a nice focal point on the opposing wall.  A new purpose for both pieces!

I also broke up the set of floor lamps and brought in a Tiffany-style lamp on the side table.  The 2 matching floor lamps were on the boring side, and that new lamp brings in new lines and more color.

(Next time I will take more pictures.  Although nothing on the opposing wall was moved, it can/will make a difference on perspective of the room as a whole.)

Not a penny was spent.  Not a wall was painted.

I love this stuff!

What do you think?

Do you see the difference?

the seed is ready to BLOOM

Hi Blog-land and WELCOME!


As a kid, I remember rearranging my room all the time.  Not just the furniture, but during those teenage years, my walls were covered with posters and so of course, those had to be moved too!  I did this often enough to remember 20+ years later ... I guess I was onto something.


When it was time for me to work, I began in retail.  I started with shoes, jewelry, sunglasses, and eventually ended up in a furniture store.  I loved it.  We had to assemble furniture, arrange the store with home decor, merchandise the store-front windows, and too, it was always changing for the newest product.


I ended up going to college for Interior Design.  I knew I wanted to get into set design; magazine spreads is what I had in mind (still do!).  I did the certification course at the Interior Designer's Institute in Newport Beach, CA.  Let me just say, what a bunch of brilliant people they have working there!!  They truly are the experts.  Everyday I was in awe.
I did the Perspective class, and realized I cannot draw.  I did couple different model building classes, and discovered that was not my thing either.  I only passed because I did the work and they could see I tried, but really, I had no talent in these areas.  NONE.  Building Codes, History of Architecture, Space-Planning, and Textiles I did great in ... hmmm, I got into design because I wasn't a book worm.  I was so confused and did not finish the program.  


A couple years later I became a mommy and stayed home with my son ... now I have two boys.  I kept in touch with my love of design just by working on my own home.  My family and I moved around a lot, so I couldn't really get into the big DIY-type of projects, but what I did get really good at is organizing for the packing & unpacking of all our stuff with each move.  I've always had a good attention to detail (maybe a bit too much at times!) and so our moves went fairly smoothly because of it.  I also got to arrange and re-arrange our furniture ... rewind 20+ years and I'm back in my bedroom again, trying to figure out where everything goes.


So now my kids are a bit older and mommy needs to find herself again ... aka find some sanity!  I wanted to stay in the design-world somewhere, and came across Home Staging.  Although there are many of the same "rules" for Interior Design as in Home Staging, they are actually very different professions (another blog post for another day).  For me, Home Staging is so similar to the set design I wanted to do, and as it turns out, it IS a much better fit for me.  No perspective drawings required!!  No models to be built!!  I'm in!!


I am now a trained and certified ASP (www.stagedhomes.com) and am taking baby steps to starting my own Home Staging and Redesign business ... Renew the View is born!


This blog is a way for you to see what I do, how I work, what my personality is, what my style is, and what Home Staging and Redesign is all about.  I'll have before and after pics, reviews/testimonials, and I hope to answer your questions along the way.  Thanks for visiting, and come back soon!