Using two small sofas instead of one large one makes the room feel bigger and enables family and friends to sit and watch TV together. The blue and white print on the Bergere chairs give a great look from the dining room as well as the living room. The wood and glass screen that sits behind one of the sofas camouflages the wall-heater. The entertainment cabinet houses the TV and the audio-visual equipment, plus it has cabinets on both ends to display our blue and white accessories that we collected over time.

Every year, my client brings back a piece of art as a souvenir from her summer vacation in France. I lovingly framed them in a consistent way to create a gallery on the wall behind the dining room table. The French chandelier has blue and white toile shades that are quite fun. The sideboard and cabinet holds antique blue and white dishware that was found by scouring several antique stores.

The bathroom was the biggest challenge. Originally it was two rooms, one with a sink and one with a toilet and shower. By removing the door between the two spaces, we created one larger, more useable bathroom. We replaced the existing doors to the bathroom and the bedroom with glass doors, using laminated art glass, which creates a light, open feel in an otherwise closed-in space.

We added stationary piece of glass, made of the same laminated art glass that was used in the doors to create a stationary shower door. Blue and white French wallpaper completes our French look in the room.

A beautiful garden in the back patio peeks through to the bedroom window, which was enlarged to enhance the view. In order to put a lot of pattern in one small room, we used the same pattern everywhere and I think the result is very effective. One really feels like they are on a vacation in the South of France.

The client’s garden in her back patio is lush and green. It is so well cared for and so beautiful that all I wanted to do was to add a few key elements to bring the blue and white theme outside. I had all of her furniture painted a glossy white, added a blue umbrella over the dining table and cushions to the seats of the bistro chairs. Custom cushions were made for the very sweet bench in the corner, with lovely blue and white reversible outdoor fabric. The reverse side was used for the throw pillows.

In this small, little space, I was able to achieve a feeling of openness and spaciousness, like escaping to the countryside, in the middle of the city.

French Provincial Condo
Santa Monica French Provincial Condo

This is a 650 square foot condo in an older building in Santa Monica. I created a theme of blue and white, a French Provincial look, and carried that theme from room to room.

  
  

It’s bittersweet to be writing this letter - sweet, because it’s been such a fantastic experience working with you on the renovation of my home; bitter, because it means the job is done and I’ll miss my daily infusion of your creative energy!