Smart choices can uplift decor and save money
My clients bought this groovy 60s side-split to get the room they wanted to spread out and start a family. My task was to whip their dated and drab living/dining room into a sleek space for entertaining – in a hurry and on a budget.Stacey Brandford
If you’re starting off with an open concept plan, like this L shaped room, you’re saving dollars right out of the gate and won’t need to expend precious resources to knock down walls and make structural changes.Stacey Brandford
If dated brick or Flintstone-esque stone is currently cladding your fireplace, refacing it with a sleek new material is relatively easy. By knocking off the existing fireplace surround, I was able to redefine the proportions, centre the opening of the firebox on the surround, and extend the hearth. To work within the confines of our budget, I sourced large-format marble tiles with minimal veining to create the effect of a slab marble install without the heavyweight price-tag.Stacey Brandford
In the pursuit of contemporary style, the man of the house put an all-out ban on chandeliers. So, instead of the standard single light in the ceiling, we took a more playful approach and hung a collection of pendants as a group.Stacey Brandford
By flipping the sideboard onto the wall under the window, I was able to continue down the contemporary road for my clients with a striking chrome and glass dining table for eight. Scoring inexpensive citrus-fresh chairs with sleek chrome legs to round out the dining room arrangement was an added bonus.Photos by Stacey Brandford
Before committing to any new furniture pieces, it’s worth investing some time to plot their dimensions onto a scale floor plan. You can whip it up on the computer with the help of Google SketchUp, or go the old-fashioned route and map it out on graph paper with simple cutouts to represent the sizes of the furnishings you are considering.Stacey Brandford
Some ideas are good enough that they bear repeating. In 1951, Ikea featured its MK wing chair on their first catalogue cover, and 62 years on they reintroduced it – renamed Strandmon – with a deal that’s comparable to the value price point of their iconic meatballs. At $299 per chair, you can kick up your feet and relax fireside in this sleek and stylish nod to yesteryear.Stacey Brandford
Stacey Brandford