Living Room Inspiration

[PR76 0]

Hi , I bought a black n white Eames chair with wooden legs to complement the butcher block dining table with black powdered steel uni legs. Will be getting 2 more Tolix stools. I also bought nugochi sofa and I'm not sure if I made the wrong choice!! ( will be getting Eames plywood coffee table and a set of 3 tom Dixon beat lights to place on top of the dinning table. Will be using subway tiles and white grout as a backsplash for the kitchen and using small black mosaic in the shower area for the bathrooms . What do you think ?

[gakuseisean 4]

Hi , I bought a black n white Eames chair with wooden legs to complement the butcher block dining table with black powdered steel uni legs. Will be getting 2 more Tolix stools. I also bought nugochi sofa and I'm not sure if I made the wrong choice!! ( will be getting Eames plywood coffee table and a set of 3 tom Dixon beat lights to place on top of the dinning table. Will be using subway tiles and white grout as a backsplash for the kitchen and using small black mosaic in the shower area for the bathrooms . What do you think ?

The Eames chairs should work quite nicely with the table, as will those stools.

The Nugochi sofa however does stray a little into mid-century modern territory. It is however a very nice sofa, that if you like, you should stick with (after all, this is your home, not some sort of lookbook that is defined by a particular style), and it should work alltogether assuming that it isn't in an outlandish pop-ish colour. I'd suggest accessorising it with fur pillows for that more natural look.

However, if you are truly keen on brining it back to a more "rustic revival" look then consider something like this coffee table, or perhaps even a rough teak/wood one (perhaps something from Commune Home) instead of the Eames one.

The Tom Dixon lights are a little ubiquitous these days, can I suggest glass pendants by Niche Modern (available at Grafunkt), replicas are available at Lightcraft.

The subway tiles should be fine, though the black mosaics I'm a little doubtful - again, it's your own home, if you love it then go for it.

[PR76 0]

Hi gakuseisean, thks for your advise. Was contemplating between mosaics or subway tiles for the toliet, 1 side of the wall may do a cement creed with subway tiles. As for the glass pendants lights I saw that before , is nice, thks for the recommendation !! I'm doing away the false ceiling and cove lighting, just feel that it is not necessary, do you think the house can still look cosy with all warm white lighting? What light do you suggest to put at the door entry ? I will also have a brick wall ( maybe to leave it raw or to paint white ) behind the customised seating area to the console and I'm thinking what color to opt for, white for wood color ? Got a black haiku fan and will be getting a spun floor lamp / Tolomeo lamp / Arco floor lamp to put beside the nugochi sofa. Any other floor lamp you may want to recommend ? I'm swarmed with many choices and undecided which 1 to get. My house will be painted all white and the room doors are white. Toliet door are bi fold louver door. 1 wall panel will be a chalkboard wall for me to doodle. As for the bedroom, there will be a walk-in-wardrobe and a platform but I was thinking of doing away the platform but I can't find a bed frame that is suitable for it. I'm sorry to have come out with so many questions ;(

[gakuseisean 4]

Hi gakuseisean, thks for your advise. Was contemplating between mosaics or subway tiles for the toliet, 1 side of the wall may do a cement creed with subway tiles. As for the glass pendants lights I saw that before , is nice, thks for the recommendation !! I'm doing away the false ceiling and cove lighting, just feel that it is not necessary, do you think the house can still look cosy with all warm white lighting? What light do you suggest to put at the door entry ? I will also have a brick wall ( maybe to leave it raw or to paint white ) behind the customised seating area to the console and I'm thinking what color to opt for, white for wood color ? Got a black haiku fan and will be getting a spun floor lamp / Tolomeo lamp / Arco floor lamp to put beside the nugochi sofa. Any other floor lamp you may want to recommend ? I'm swarmed with many choices and undecided which 1 to get. My house will be painted all white and the room doors are white. Toliet door are bi fold louver door. 1 wall panel will be a chalkboard wall for me to doodle. As for the bedroom, there will be a walk-in-wardrobe and a platform but I was thinking of doing away the platform but I can't find a bed frame that is suitable for it. I'm sorry to have come out with so many questions ;(

I think the subway tiles will go nicer with the cement screed.

In my opinion, cove lighting isn't really necessary, and would be a bit too modern looking for the furniture choices, but a false ceiling (to conceal downlights) would really clean up the appearance of things. Things will be cosy if you rely on moveable lighting (i.e. table and floor lamps) plus a pendant lamp or two, but you will have to ask yourself if cosy lighting would offer adequate illumination for your home - if not, then LED downlights are a good option (and hence the inclusion of the false ceiling). Another option would be track lighting - some forumers use that; it can create a similar effect to LED downlights, with an added flexbility.

For your brick wall, it would depend on what flooring you are doing - contrast would be nice.

I'll have to advise against those lamps that you've listed with the exception of the Tolomeo - the other two choices are far too modern for the space (they will give a space-age vibe rather than an eccentric vintage feel). Go with the Tolomeo Mega floor lamp. An alternative choice could be the Serge Mouille Three-Arm Floor Lamp. A one armed version exists. (I'm not sure where you would be able to get replicas of those, but you could try Lush). A budget alternative would be this from Ikea.

For the bed frame, how about something from Muji? Or this Scanteak option?

Hope that answers everything

[PR76 0]

hej hej,during my last visit to ikea, I did took a pic of the Hektar floor lamp. how abt bar top light ? Kitchen cabinet will be all white. The ikea Hektar pendant light, will u recommend it ? I will be using track lights for the brick wall n chalkboard wall. Any particular brand that has wide-planked, raw looking wood floor laminates ? Lamitak ? Intially I want to use homogenous wood grain tiles but not able to overlay so gave up the idea.

[gakuseisean 4]

hej hej,during my last visit to ikea, I did took a pic of the Hektar floor lamp. how abt bar top light ? Kitchen cabinet will be all white. The ikea Hektar pendant light, will u recommend it ? I will be using track lights for the brick wall n chalkboard wall. Any particular brand that has wide-planked, raw looking wood floor laminates ? Lamitak ? Intially I want to use homogenous wood grain tiles but not able to overlay so gave up the idea.

The Hektar pendant light should be fine, but in my opinion, go for either the floor lamp or the pendant one - you don't want things looking too matchy-matchy. I don't know your home's layout, but if the bar top is rather close to the dining area, then I'll advise against having pendant lightings at the bar area as well - there will be too much visual clutter dangling from the ceiling in one space. Choose downlights instead if that is the case.

Lamitak only offers laminates for surfaces (e.g. cupboards etc), they have some really nice ones that are quite natural looking that should work well for your built-ins.

Pergo (I've given you a URL that lets you try out their floorings virtually) is an option for your flooring laminates - quite a few forumers use them, and they seem to be of quite good quality. I think you should be able to get them via Goodrich. I'm inclined to suggest that you get a chalkish-grey-wood sort of flooring, but that will have to depend on the colours of your furnishings. From their catalogue, "Winter Oak" seems nice. For a different feel, "Midnight Oak" seems to work as well.

Edited August 15, 2012 by gakuseisean

[PR76 0]

Hej hej, I'm not able to open the link !! I love to collect fridge magnets and I have a collection of it? Where do you suggest to place it? Not on the fridge cos it will leave marks on it, thks !

[beezewax 1]

Hi

Seriously gakuseisean. U're a godsend! Really appreciate ur ideas n all the pics, links, etc!

I took the sproost test & it said Modern Elegance. Ok so what's next? Lol. I mean, my hm is only 92sqm. I'm thinkg of hvg mostly white so as to make my plc looks bigger but then again, maintenance will nt be easy. Therefore, am looking more to monochrome. But i love the lilac colour too.

Any suggestion on what colour kitchen cabinet shld i go for? What bout the living rm's wall colour?

I really appreciate any suggestions frm u. Thanks a lot in advance!

[gakuseisean 4]

Hi

Seriously gakuseisean. U're a godsend! Really appreciate ur ideas n all the pics, links, etc!

I took the sproost test & it said Modern Elegance. Ok so what's next? Lol. I mean, my hm is only 92sqm. I'm thinkg of hvg mostly white so as to make my plc looks bigger but then again, maintenance will nt be easy. Therefore, am looking more to monochrome. But i love the lilac colour too.

Any suggestion on what colour kitchen cabinet shld i go for? What bout the living rm's wall colour?

I really appreciate any suggestions frm u. Thanks a lot in advance!

Hi there, thanks for the compliments. Based on the test results, here's my suggestions.

There's nothing wrong with using a white backdrop for your home, and given its size, one other thing you could consider would be to have a mirrored wall somewhere to visually enlarge the space. Do take note that with white, it is important to have not only some visual contrast, but also textural contrast so as to keep things interesting. I would suggest that you stick to creams and whites for your living room 's wall colours - a fabric style wallpaper would be nice. If you're feeling bold, you can consider having some walls panelled with dark oak (like the picture below, but do that only if your space receives sufficient natural light.

Image Credit: Ong&Ong Architects

Very importantly, because your space isn't particularly large, you must choose your furniture wisely - nothing bulky, try to keep the pieces petite, or delicate looking.

For your love of lilac, one option you can consider would be to go for a dusty lilac sofa in velvet. Consider this or this in that colour. Personally, I would suggest the first sofa - it evokes the lines of a classic wingback sofa, without being too stuffy and traditional. Do check out Danovel and Abitex for sofas as well.

Another option would be to inject that colour via artwork.

Also consider having a bit of artwork like the example below.

Image Credit: Remodelista

As for your kitchen cabinets, go for a glossy white with a white marble, and possibly white subway tiles as well.

Image Credit: Remodelista

Lastly, do take a look at the following lookbooks that I've done in the past for a bit more suggestions:

Pop Glamour

Monochromatic Luxe

Hope that helps!

Edited September 1, 2012 by gakuseisean

[OhMyDog 2]

Hi gakuseisean,

Your ideas on this thread are really impressive!

I have a slight problem in the design of the foyer/dining for my house. We would like to have a divider (fengshui reasons) and a shoe cabinet. We wanted to have the shoe cabinet as the divider, but read that the fengshui divider should not keep shoes within (not sure of the reason). We had explored using those normal full height strips as divider, but it looks very common.

Hence would like to seek your suggestions on this.

Thanks!

[gakuseisean 4]

Hi gakuseisean,

Your ideas on this thread are really impressive!

I have a slight problem in the design of the foyer/dining for my house. We would like to have a divider (fengshui reasons) and a shoe cabinet. We wanted to have the shoe cabinet as the divider, but read that the fengshui divider should not keep shoes within (not sure of the reason). We had explored using those normal full height strips as divider, but it looks very common.

Hence would like to seek your suggestions on this.

Thanks!

Hi there, instead of the usual thick strips that most IDs use, how about something like this (it has a slight Japanese flair to it)

Image Credit: SCDA Architects

[barcadibreezer 0]

Hi gakuseisean,

I've get many inspiration from your blog but still a bit uncertain about my theme. Most ID that I spoke to will propose me with Modern Contemporary or minimalist concept, however, I prefer something more modern tropical and resort style deco. I took the quiz and my result is 50% Zen concept.

My resale flat has white and grey marble flooring in the living and dining hall, my FS master advice to have more wood furniture in the house and add a water feature at a corner of my living room. I do like solid wood furniture but I'm worried Zen looked will be using too much dark wood color furniture and make my house look very dark and cramp.

Can you give me some advice how to have Zen/ resort style design and yet with some modern element that make the house warm and cozy but not dark?

I like the solid teak dining from Motto and suar wood sculpture from Ovas, but it's a bit pricey, do u have other recommendation where to get the similar furniture?

[gakuseisean 4]

Hi gakuseisean,

I've get many inspiration from your blog but still a bit uncertain about my theme. Most ID that I spoke to will propose me with Modern Contemporary or minimalist concept, however, I prefer something more modern tropical and resort style deco. I took the quiz and my result is 50% Zen concept.

My resale flat has white and grey marble flooring in the living and dining hall, my FS master advice to have more wood furniture in the house and add a water feature at a corner of my living room. I do like solid wood furniture but I'm worried Zen looked will be using too much dark wood color furniture and make my house look very dark and cramp.

Can you give me some advice how to have Zen/ resort style design and yet with some modern element that make the house warm and cozy but not dark?

I like the solid teak dining from Motto and suar wood sculpture from Ovas, but it's a bit pricey, do u have other recommendation where to get the similar furniture?

One place I'm going to recommend you check out is TheLifeShop - hope they are still around though (judging by the existance of a FB page, I suppose so)

What you should be aiming for is some dark wood furniture pieces, juxtaposed against white fabrics (e.g. sofas, curtains, perhaps even linen-textured wallpaper)

Think something along these lines:

Image Credits: SCDA Architects

As for your water feature, consider a gentle reflecting pool, like the picture below, instead of a fountain, which is quite cliched and old-fashioned.

To create that resort feeling of lightness, keep your window dressings simple - white drape-y sheer curtains work well.

Oh and just your luck, I've just published a "Modern Resort-inspired" lookbook on my blog (a preview is below)

Edited September 10, 2012 by gakuseisean

[dolphin88 0]

Hi gakuseisean,

Wow, I am impressed by the designs you put together yourself. We just collected the keys to our flat last week. Am still at a loss with regards to renovations, despite scrolling through dozens of pictures. If you don't mind helping us with some ideas, I can send you pictures of our place for some suggestions Much appreciated!

[monk8 1]

Hi Gakuseisean,

I am so glad to come across this post aand your blog!

I am planning my reno for my resale and would like your advise.

I have taken the quiz and it stated 100% contemporary and I'm going for minimalist theme...i think that's comtemporary, rite?

I'm thinking of whites and some greys for the whole house....loved dark wood for furniture but from what i have read so far..most are light wood color to go with whites...can dark wood be chosen for a minimalist theme?

thinking of cement screed flooring but am wondering if it's as bad as what i have read so far...any advice? in the worst case, will be using white tiles for living and dining and wood laminated for bedrooms...