Velvet Jungle Interiors | Maximalist & Bold Interior Design

Project Mathieu – Tearing Down the Wall

November 14, 2016

As you know this month is all about the makeover of my brother’s living room/ kitchen. And this weekend was the first and funnest part : tearing down the wall !

Since I mostly work with small budgets and renters, I don’t get to experience making structural changes all that much. I’m much more used to making over a space with colors, textures, and lighting, and it works wonders, but you always need to work around problems instead of, well, bashing them in ! Most of the time it’s a rewarding challenge, but let me tell ya, knowing that we would plow through this particular problem was very satisfying !

We were very lucky, through an acquaintance we found someone who tore it down for 150$, and took all the debris with him to throw it out. And when you live in an apartment building in Paris, that is the most amazing news you’ll ever hear ! The actual demolition was done so fast I wasn’t able to be there in person. I was pretty bummed because I think I would’ve loved to give it a good whack myself to blow off some steam (I may have some unresolved anger to work through…), but apparently it was awesome, and exactly as much fun as you hope it would be ! So I’ll share with you what I saw of it : the afters !

So this is what we were working with, a non functional sliding-door-wall that cut all the natural light in half and made life a lot less fun …

And now, it’s a whole new world :

(Hard at work…)

The space seems so much bigger and it instantly gave us so many ideas !

I mean, look at all this amazing light in here !

It was hard to imagine how much more of a difference it would make until we saw it, especially since the wall was red. So this new view made for a very happy client and designer !

We realized immediately that the kitchen needs to go as soon as possible, mostly because it’s blocking the new pathway we want to create (more on that later), but also because it’s pretty disgusting. The appliances were next to a wall and it didn’t look as bad until we saw the side ! Yikes …

So this week, the guys are going to get cracking on dismantling the kitchen, moving everything they can out of the living room for all the work that needs to be done, and figuring out the wiring for the whole room and the home theater. Meanwhile, I only have a few days left to crank out a game plan for this room. Thankfully we already discussed most of the choices, like the wall colors and the layout of both the kitchen and the living room ahead of time. So all I have to do now is put it all together visually so we can fully agree on everything before we move on, and then go out and find the perfect paint colors and select the kitchen furniture. It’s a lot but we’re so excited about this project I don’t even think we need sleep anymore, so we got that going for us !

I’ll be sharing all of this with you as soon as I’m done and then it’s progress pics for days !!

I can’t reveal too much but I’ll leave you with the best part so far : this is now the view from the kitchen. Not too shabby … !

(I’m not sure what happened here, but on behalf of my face, I apologize)

Have a great week everybody !

Save

0 Comments

Makeovers

Project Mathieu – The Return of the Kitchen

November 7, 2016

Hi everyone !

Things have been craaaaay-zay around here. I’ve been handling a bunch of projects at once (I can’t wait to share them with you), and forgetting to sleep and eat in the process. So my internal clock is all over the place and I’m not sure I’m even in the right house. I mean, it doesn’t look like my house, and there’s a bunch of angry/scared people staring at me, but that doesn’t mean anything, right?

Like every Sunday around here, the motto is : tomorrow is a fresh start!
I’ll get back on schedule, get up early, exercise, eat a good breakfast, rock the week like a badass and everything will get back to normal. Ha! Good one, brain. (*sleeps ’til noon, exhausted*)

Last week I teased a new and exciting project for this month : the makeover of my brother Mathieu’s kitchen/living room !
He’s been living in his apartment for 10 years, technically it’s still a rental but he’s looking into buying it like some sort of weird adult.
With this in mind, we decided to go big, remove the whole crappy rental kitchen and invest in all brand new, pretty, shiny stuff for said adults.

When I first moved to Paris, I moved in with him in that very same apartment. Like most of the places I inhabit for more than 10 minutes, I started painting away and decorating my room. His living room was pretty basic : some not-so pretty Ikea furniture, a disgusting carpet, and movie posters. After I made my room over in a few days (and even though I painted it all purple, which should have been a warning to stay away), he asked if I could help redo his living room and make it a little more personal. I may have forced that idea. I cannot be responsible for my actions when it comes to makeovers. Or carpets (*shudders*).

Regardless of whether he wanted to or not (I’m pretty sure he did), we updated the living room, and he was pretty happy about it (I’m sure he was), so it all worked out (I swear I’m not crazy). It was still just a rental at the time so we only put in some laminate flooring over the carpet, painted the walls red and got cooler movie posters.
Honestly, I won’t apologize for it, at the time, it was awesome. We were obsessed with the TV show “Rome”, so we based the color palette on it, and the whole room became warmer and more inviting with color in it, which was the point. And considering the vibe before, it was a big hit with guests.
We also had a whole lotta of fun doing it, with the help of our Dad we learned how to install flooring, use drywall mud to add texture, and ended up with a much prettier space and a new appetite for DIY. The living room pretty much stayed the same up until now (with some degradation from putting up art and then taking it down), with a few big furniture updates over the years.

After that, for no reason and because he apparently inherited all the energy genes I’m lacking, he started making furniture for fun, and got really good at it – which worked out perfectly for me ! This new hobby added some serious home-made charm to his home.

Like these beautiful vinyl storage carts in the bedroom.

And this is awesome custom bookshelf/TV unit that’s actually in the living room now.

So let me tell you what we’re working with.
The “room” is made up of a living room area and a kitchen area, separated by half a wall with a sliding door on it.
The sliding door was fixed in place early on, because it wasn’t being used, and later on it helped secure a projector. Its a great gift that sucks all the light from the living room so the good news is, we’re destroying !! Muahahaha !

The current living room set-up, with its fantastic holes in the wall and brown sofa cover – my mortal enemy.

The opening between the living room and kitchen.

And the totally decorated and uncluttered view of the home-theater screen from the kitchen opening.

The living room was basically conceived as a big home-theater, and that’s what it’s used for daily. The seating is aimed at the screen, and the storage is used for Blu-rays and books only.
With the decision to tear down the wall (insert Reagan impression), what we need to update here is the layout of the living room.
Currently, the sofa is too big and impractical, the coffee tables are not as useful as they used to be, the footrests as seating have to go, and we need to create a good reading nook (my family is cursed with reads-a-lot-disease. Look it up, it’s totally real).

Now feast your eyes on a kitchen worst than mine :

This kitchen had always been a disaster. We built some super basic extra storage to help a few years ago, and talked about covering the floors but basically it was always a project for the future. And since at the time the kitchen was only used to store pizzas and fresh drinks, we forgot about it quickly. It does have a kickass “Art of Seduction” painting of George Costanza so it does have some things going for it.

In the last few years, Mathieu started to cook more, so he was getting really sick of that ugly kicthen with its terrible layout.
And then, finally, a few weeks ago, the big, red, emergency phone rang : “let’s redo the kitchen”. Hooray !!

So we’re basically re-adapting the space to his current lifestyle and budget, adding more comfort and style. The space needs to become a classier, more grown-up place to both entertain and just relax at home, with a kickass kitchen !

What we’ll be doing :

– Opening up the space and creating one big room, by tearing down the wall.
– Changing the color palette of the whole room for a more masculine and modern look.
– Creating a more appropriate seating arrangement and updating the furniture.
– Creating a better kitchen layout with awesome appliances.

Now let me tell you about my client !

This is my brother. He is 2 years older than me, and it’s my job to bug him daily. Today for instance, I’m doing that by showing a weird picture of us as an introduction. You’re welcome. (Just doin’ my job, guys.)

The man likes his comfort, that’s an understatement. He’s in the movie biz, and when he’s not on a shoot, he’s writing at home, so it’s understandable that he needs some serious coziness. The living room is a giant screening room, where he spends most of his time and where people come from all over town for movie nights. The rest of the time, it’s a haven to listen to music and read 24/7. In the future there’s dreams of Eames loungers, and built-in speakers in the bathroom so he’ll never go without music. He does not mess around. This will be a master class in loving your home !

Last thing you should know, once he’s got an idea in his head, well let’s just say, there’s a reason we’re related. While I’m painting walls and moving furniture in the middle of the night, he’s dismantling a home theater and putting together furniture in his own home. So together we will be unstoppable !

Get ready to see some makeover magic on this one. Have a great week !

Save

0 Comments

Makeovers My Home

Banquette reveal !

October 31, 2016

Gather ’round folks, it’s reveal time !

October’s been all-kitchen all-the time around here, but all that is coming to a close today, with the final piece of the puzzle : the banquettes ! So if you’re sick of it by now, good news, and if you’re jonesin’ for more, hang tight, there’s always the accessorizing to look forward to in the future. I’m shopping the fabrics and pillows right now so we’re still a ways off.

I’m very excited to share these with you, first of all because they’re very cute, but second of all because they’re a fantastic small-space solution. Let me demonstrate :

Here’s the smaller of the two benches we made. The shape is very basic because I focused on the practical side of it, and it’s made of thick MDF so it’s very sturdy. Since this is a studio after all, no potential storage should ever go to waste! So instead of going for pretty legs or storage room on the floor below, we designed it to have a big storage potential under the seat for easy access.

Check out how much I can fit in this thing !! I’m basically getting a second pantry here ! This one is closer to the kitchen and easier to access so I put in extra dry goods and the utensils and tools I use for special meals or for guests. On the other side, under the window, is the bigger of the two :

It’s made to fit perfectly between the walls so it’s hella sturdy … I’m talking dance-party on the banquette sturdy ! Inside this one I stored the lesser used things. You can’t imagine how much space I’ve gained from this. It’s bananas.

Now you’ll notice from their shape, they are actually made to fit into each other to be more stable, so I finally tucked them in :

Ta-da !! Bonus GIF !

Once these gals were finally in their new home, it was time to install the table. My precious, Docksta Table.
Now, once again if you missed it, I bought this baby for 20$… ! That is ludacris my friends.

Ok, I did have to unscrew it as soon as I bought it, and roll the top down the street ( I looked like the kids in old movies playing with a hoop and a stick … what was that about by the way ?) while a friend carried the base, because as it turns out this table is suuuper heavy. Thankfully I have wonderful friends who still say yes to rolling a table top down the streets of Paris for 30 minutes, no questions asked.

I suspect they’re starting to get sick of my shit though… I don’t have a car (*cough* or a license *cough*), and I have a terrible, unrelenting thrifting obsession, so you do the math… I can still count on my brother though, unlike my friends, he didn’t choose me so he’s stuck with me. Poor bastard.

So here she is, in all its 20$- rolled down a street glory. She needs a little love and a whole lotta paint but I’ll be happy to oblige !

It looks pretty damn good all put-together, if I do say so m’self !

Now of course, this is all very white and shiny but that’s not going to stick ! If you remember, this is the plan for this little haven :

I purchased a few yards of purple velvet and wrapped it (poorly) around some foam to see what it’ll look like :

I don’t know if I’ll stick with this particular fabric yet or not, but the color in this space definitely has the go-ahead ! I plan to put down some Velcro along the edges of the seats so they’ll stay in place but can be removed to access the storage. I’ll be working on that and ordering the accessories later on, but for now I’m taking a break for this every-weekend all-consuming month of redoing the kitchen and I’m going to start paying some much needed attention to my living room !

Budget breakdwon :
Sheets of MDF : 105$

So there we are : all done for now, and all under a month, not too shabby ! My life is so much more awesome now with this kitchen. Entertaining is a breeze, cooking is much more enjoyable, and the I can see half of it from my living room (and bed) so it makes me happy every time I look at it !

I hope you enjoyed following along on this cute and super-cheap project. For November I’m switching gears, and sharing a new and exciting project ! I’m renovating my brother’s kitchen and living room over at his apartment and I’ll be bringing you along.
… I know, I said no more kitchens a minute ago. Technically I didn’t lie. It’s a different kitchen … !

Now, prepare yourself, because we’ll be going from velvet and chandeliers to a much more masculine and contemporary style, so if you follow me on Instagram, it might be a bit of a departure ! I’m thrilled to be trying my hand at a different style and, most importantly, I’ll be helping someone realize their vision so it’s all about my client’s style.

Since we’re a team on this project (two handy fellas !) you’ll get more of a full behind-the-scenes, because someone else can actually take pictures ! For my home projects I’m mostly alone, or my hands are full, and I dunno if you’ve ever tried taking pictures of yourself casually painting a wall, but it ain’t easy…

I’ll be layout out the deets next week and showing you the awesome space we’ll be working with.

But mostly, today is finally a great Monday !! It’s Halloween, dammit ! So drop what you’re doing, put on a cool costume and have some fun !
Happy Halloween !

Save

0 Comments

Older Posts

Newer Posts