Planning a TV corner

When you have young children, it comes in handy to have a corner for the family to gather around a TV or toys. If you have the tools to build something or the creativity and vision to plan it that will show your children other skills and teach them how to plan.

Personally, I hesitate to create a place for young children around windows. I remember a classmate who got badly cut when he fell from a chair into the glass of a cabinet in the living room. When you can stretch on your sofa, you might also care less about the placement of the pillows and can hurt your head in the back. In this case, the father had built the wooden seats to be covered with a mattress and cushions. In order to make sure I understand what exactly he had in his mind I drew out the plan and once approved we chose the fabric and foam in the comfort of their home.

Only then the material was ordered and upholstered. Since there were corners that stuck into space it was important to take these into account when planning the foam shape of the back. Since they did not need storage underneath the front board was screwed to the unit from inside. The seat board was covered with fabric and the mattress and back pillows placed on top of it.

Yellow dress replaces the red one

Do you let yourself sometimes sit on the arm rest? You snuggle into the settee with your mum or dad and look at some picture or just start a conversation while the armrest under your body drops down. Even in expensive furniture stores there is no guarantee the shape will always stay the same. But in this case I could not believe how the chair was made. It is every time an adventure to see what is underneath.

The family decided it is time to give their living room a new comfy look with some personal touch. I arrived with my box of fabrics and tried to understand what happened to the inside of the chair in order to evaluate the scope of labor. Later the couple took a romantic tour in the city and checked out some fabric stores. They wanted something modern, but cozy and comfortable. It is always important to grasp what each of the persons is looking for and to find a decision they both are happy with. So they went for dark grey to merge with the background wall, a lighter grey and a warm yellow to brighten up the space.

In this case, I took the settees with me and took off the fabric of the large sofa. Once the fabric was taken off the settee the filling was uncovered and it was apparent why the foam had dropped down to the sides. No person can sit on 20mm metal bar without pushing down the foam on the sides too. Now came the adventure and exciting brainstorming how to make this settee better than it was before. I decided to cut out a slot of 20mm in the middle of a 60mm large wooden board and to screw it on top of the metal frame. This way the board could not fall or move to the sides. And it allowed me to fix some foam and fabric on top of it and only then add the foam on the sides.

It is very bohemian and cool to sit low on a couch. But the older we get the harder it is to get up from low chairs or beds. Therefore I created higher simple legs and added an extra layer of foam to rise up the sitting level of both the settees and the sofa. I came back to the couple with the settees, pillows and legs and then arranged the dark grey fabric on the sofa, which I had placed in their garden on top of some high wooden legs. The staple gun worked until late in the evening.

Stuck at home and now what?

With the pandemic hopefully not knocking at our door, we spend endless hours at home. Stress in the home office and disappointment about what we dream our life could be like add some bitterness to our cocktail of the household, carrier, family expectations, and restrictions. Even when you are on a low budget, it is important to surround yourself with items that are useful, comfortable, and pleasant to your eye. Looking at beautiful things lifts your spirit and more so with familiar objects.

"But where should I start?"

If you have the money, time, and energy, you may want to start collecting pictures and ideas of what you like. As an Interior Designer, I prefer connecting to the client and tap into their wishlist, and understand their needs to present them with ideas that match their lifestyle and not only a trend or fashion in the stores.

But what if you cannot afford to buy a lot of new items now? It depends on your priorities. Do you feel comfortable with Japanese Minimalism, Scandinavian simplicity, Classical style, Mid Century Modern style for example or do you still like a more sophisticated style?

The Grandmillenial Style could be the perfect option. Using the modern high-tech tools, modern furniture, and still place that old setee from your grandmother or the vintage couch from your aunt with the retro typewriter from your mother and the first camera of your father with pride in your living room. In most cases, using some of your spare time, allows you to freshen these items up for display and reuse. In case you have less time and are exhausted make sure to organize your home so that you are not becoming a slave of it. And if you fight with your spouse about that old chair that is tagged to be tossed in the bin, then it might help to give it a new look and keep it not only in your heart but also in your home.

Up-cycling your favorite piece of furniture

Check out some questions that may arise when reusing what you already have

Check that chair, table, or cabinet

• Where will it be placed in the end?

• What is the condition? Is anything broken, wabbly or saggy?

• Are the joints ok?

• Is the frame and filling in a good state?

• How does it smell?

• Do you only want a new color?

• Would you like to have its natural wood color?

• Is cleaning the fabric enough?

• Would you like to change the fabric?

• Any metal pieces that need to be refreshed?

• Any accessory material you would like to see on it?

Do it yourself

• Do you have the tools and only want to buy the new material?

• Do you have space and can secure it from small children or animals during the work?

• Do you have the time to do it and want to teach your children how to fix it?

• Will it be a bonding experience or something you fight about with the other inhabitants?

• Do you enjoy being creative and doing the dirty job of taking it apart?

• Do you want to show the afterpiece on social media and to your friends?

• Would you like to fix it for someone as a surprise or token of love and gratitude?

Ask someone else to realize your dream

• Explain and show what you would like to have

• Make sure to mention your budget

• Understand the workflow

• Discuss how the piece gets from A to B and if it is not being transformed in your home

• Be aware of surprises during the labor

• Understand the scope and how long it takes

• The person does the job in your home and you get to learn while watching