The Divas have serious house trauma when it comes to their living room. But let’t go back a couple of years ago and talk about the five different couches we have owned since buying Chez Diva. The divas searched three years for the “perfect” untouched mid-century home in Seward Park. We were the place’s second homeowners, but thankfully the fabulous mid-century detailing had been untouched by a mad 1980’s renovation – including horrific granite and cherry colored cabinets. Well we found the perfectly untouched green shagged carpeted mid-century rambler in south Seward Park. And boy – was it untouched. Now Chez Diva has a new roof, kitchen, bathrooms, boiler system, floors, etc. You name it! But what it does not have is one fabulous living room.
Problem Statement: Chez Diva’s living room is long, dark and oddly designed for modern living. It was built back in the time that your “formal” living room was meant for show and not real living. But we Divas want a “formal” living space that is for living and for show. Sexy, sassy and veristile for you know – a 30 person sit-down Passover Seder. The reason we have called in official help is that as of now we have been through four different couches, a host of lighting arrangements, and even more random design elements. The whole time we have just never felt “right” or that we were able to express what we want in a home. This summer Kim convinced moi to purchase one massive sectional couch for an extreme amount of money. Thankfully – the fabric was out of print and we had to cancel the order. Well – sometimes you need a professional and that is where the experts, Kwanchai – Jonathan Mathews Design Group, comes into play. The Divas need Jonathan and Christina to bring out the our personalities in our living space, create an environment for perfect entertaining, and more importantly get us a freaking couch by Thanksgiving.
The Design Team: The Divas have hired Kwanchai – Jonathan Mathews Design Group. The Divas meet a lot of designers in our life. But we were really impressed by Jonathan’s intuitive sense of how to entertain at 2012’s Velocity Dance Center’s annual bash. Our pal Tracy really wanted a chocolate desert and Jonathan skillfully traded up desserts to get our girl what she wanted. It told us Divas that Jonathan thinks about his guests/clients the way the Divas think about what we do in our own lives.
Design Inspiration: We are fresh back from a trip from New York and saw a fabulously designed long couch with custom fabric at the Maritime Hotel. Yum. It captured the essence of Divas at home. Lots of spots for guests to feel comfortable. A little edge and surprise in the design. And simply fabulous design!
Chez Diva’s Pinterest Board: We wanted to create a design board that captured what our home already has and at the same time capture the essence of what we wanted to see in our new space. Let’s just say we did a lot of pinning and pining for juicy home furnishings, vintage chairs, collectible glass and lots of Mad Men inspired lifestyles. See the whole Pinterest Board after the jump»
Next Steps to a Fabulously Designed Living Space: Christina and Jonathan joined us on Friday afternoon for a little vino and fromage as we showed them around Chez Diva. They had a nice long chat and we discussed every room in detail. We talked about how we have entertained and lived in the home. They measured every room and every piece of furniture. But more importantly we purposely opened the space for them to do whatever they felt the space needed. I know that Christina and Jonathan are not going to talk us out of our mid-century funky style. I can trust they see our overall sense of design and will improve upon it.
Follow along as we document the process and let you know how it feels to hire a professional for your home!
