On-island suburb of Montreal Split Level House

“Thanks Rita. You were so helpful & it’s going to be beautiful”. This is what my client told me after presenting my concept to her & her husband.

This project turns around a Persian rug that my client had. The whole idea was inspired from that red & blue carpet. My client had a living room sofa & armchairs that she liked so much & found extremely comfortable. However, the fabric was old & needed to be refreshed. I started with picking neutral fabrics for her to reupholster her existing furniture. It had to be extremely neutral because her rug is so present with its warm colours. I went for whites & off-whites with some sand colours & I dared a blue-gold damask for one armchair. Her furniture layout was already good, it just needed some adjustments as well as a coffee table, side tables, a console & accents. After renovating her whole house, my client needed a professional advice related to interior design. She was expecting the right tips from the right designer. Her living room is spacious with high ceilings, which is a rare find these days. I enjoyed putting high end tables & high lampshades everywhere. I remember my client calling me right after delivery saying: “Rita, the lamps you picked are giant, they’re huge. I’m going to return them all!!!” I ran to her house & showed her how important it is to have “huge lamps” the way she described them. “We can’t leave everything so close to the floor & we have an enviable height! Your living should be well balanced & proportions should be respected”, I told her. I removed the lamps for her & showed her how empty her walls would be with short or no lamps at all. My client saw, understood my point & became extremely satisfied with the result. I made this living room a typical transitional space with classical & modern pieces mixed nicely together. The heavy weight is on the floor then it starts to be lighter slowly when you go up with your eyesight. The final point was her made to measure drapes. A light beige semi-sheer with marvellous antique gold hardware & a crystal finial. My favourite part of this project was the design education I had to supply in order to point my client in the right direction & this was much appreciated. The challenges were many & the last one was to find a new ottoman to my my client’s old armchair in terms of width, height & style, & I did it!

All I can say at the end: it is a memorable project. I took it from conception to completion.