Black, White and Red all over - Heights Modern Loft

This pair of empty nesters migrated south from Colorado to Texas and settled in the lovely historic Heights of Houston. With their human kids grown up and gone away (they still have two feline fur babies), they decided to downsize to a loft and upgrade to a more modern look. Lofts present some spacial challenges because they are small and relatively unstructured. In order to visually and functionally expand the space, design must be streamlined and free of clutter, with pieces strategically placed to add shape and form to the free flowing nature of many lofts. Ceilings that cap at fourteen feet definitely aid in opening up the area, and provide sufficient wall space for this couple's extensive art collection, but this tremendous downsize was still a challenge. See how we put their art on display, complemented by some old and new pieces of furniture, and gave their new home a modern, yet traditional and homey look. 

Concrete floors and exposed brick can feel a bit cold and industrial, especially paired with the contrasting color combo of red, black, and white. In order to bring in some unifying warmth, we featured several walnut pieces throughout that blended the red-brown of the brick with the black pieces that accessorize their home. 

 

Finding a place to sit in this living room is a nonissue. You can choose between the modern sofa bench, the pair of matching chairs, or the four red hot bar stools. To keep themselves and their fur babies happy, the couple needed to use comfy yet sturdy materials that they kitties could climb on and relax.

Speaking of seating, this modern sofa bench not only opens up the space by providing visual flow, but it also opens up the options of where to sit. The removable seat backs provide guests with endless possibilities to maximize (or even minimize!) their social interactions. 

This may seem like a simple coffee table, but it is so, SO smart-- especially for this space. Though a unique shape, the triangular with rounded corners is perfectly positioned between the living room's available seating. The base faces the sofa and the other two sides face the matching chairs that seated at nearly the same angle. Still nothing can get in the way of guests chatting and gliding from space to space.

Just beyond the sofa is the dining area. Again, the sofa allows the living and dining 'rooms' to be brought together perfectly so guests can feel free to glide from space to space. Here is a great example how to blend traditional with modern: a refinished antique dining table and chairs offsets the cool edge of the modern pieces.

Perfect for parties, we equipped the dining area with a full bar cabinet to the left, and a sideboard storage to the right that can easily serve a buffet. This loft was designed for entertaining! However, the large windows may make some nosy neighbors jealous they weren't invited... Maybe next time, neighbors!

Enough talk about the furniture- let's move on to the art and accessories! When space is limited, its crucial that displayed items are always kept organized in a way that looks deliberate. Board games, books, religious symbols, family photos, and vases can all coexist on these floating shelves in a visually appealing manner because they're grouped by color and complemented by other items to be equal in height.

You can bet that I needed a ladder to install the artwork here. Tall ceilings are lovely, elegant, and elongating especially when the walls are adorned with art. This couple had a fairly extensive collection of pieces dear to them that they wanted to put on display. Even though they downsized, there was plenty of wall space to accommodate. 

The paintings were continuous with the classic color scheme of red, black, and white featured in the furnishings, textiles, and other accessories. Fresh paintings subtly bring in more color to a space to make it overall more interesting. 

Just to brag about these ceilings one more time, we had enough height to add not just one but TWO chandeliers! In a loft, this is a big deal. One in the living space and one in the dining area bring in just enough light to the rest of the room. 

What a wonderful, fresh start for a new chapter in this couple's life together: a cool loft in a hip part of town, modern, and designed with entertaining in mind. They may be empty nesters, but their kids are sure to stop in for a visit (or maybe just a drink or two!). 

If you have a project in mind but just don't know where to start, we can help! Contact us! 

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S Squared Design

Coakley Residence- Bloom Where You Are Planted

  For this jet-setting professional, finding a place she could lovingly call ‘home’ wasn’t always an option-- until she one day decided to root herself in Houston. Starting from the ground up, this home needed everything--down to a mattress! While a fresh start is always exciting and the opportunities seem endless, this new homeowner already had a vision of planting the perfect home.

 Feeling as if you can float through this home, the ocean blues and greens found in every room offer a serene continuity that is vastly welcoming and comforting. Each guest bedroom serves as a haven for all of the travelers that pass through. Comfort, charm, and ample storage create the perfect space for guests to feel at home.

  

Along with the blues and greens, gray is used throughout the home to be neutral and calming. To add a touch of depth and intrigue, try using many of the infinite shades of gray rather than trying tirelessly to match gray swatches (boring!). As seen in this living room, texture and myriad hues of the same color make this room deeply interesting yet with a calming effect. The sleek leather chair, velveteen couch, and tufted chair are large neutral pieces that allow for small bursts of color to really spark interest.

 Seating arrangements must be strategic! All chairs, sofas, and love seats need to be positioned comfortably so that all guests can socialize without leaving anyone out. This can be difficult to achieve, especially while keeping people’s seating preferences in mind. Whether in the kitchen, dining room, or living room, there is usually a visual focal point in a room for guests to be actively or passively engaged with (think cooking, watching the game on TV, playing Pictionary, looking at each other across the room, whatever!).

  

Our client longed for her home to be clutter free. As you’ll notice in her minimalist office, furniture in the center of the room is streamlined and skeletal. It fulfills its duty as a desk, chair, computer, etc. while keeping the rest of the room visible. Larger pieces of furniture are placed against the wall to keep the room appearing spacious, while concealing anything that may clutter this workspace.

 

 I never quite understood the phrase ‘the devil is in the details.’ The wooden hexagons pieced carefully together to create this beautiful desk seems rather heavenly to me. I suppose that phrase is highly interpretive, but I’d rather replace ‘devil’ with ‘beauty.’ I’d even go so far to say that this desk and wonderfully colorful rug were a match made in design heaven.

When she isn’t working from home, entertaining guests, or traveling the world, our client retreats to her home’s master bedroom to relax and rejuvenate. Soothing grays, blues, and whites seem like rolling waves that crash soft and white upon a quiet shore. All that is needed for a satisfying rest is a bed and a pair of bed-side lamps.

 Being the traveler she is, she understands the importance of having a comfortable place to touch base, and aimed to offer just that to her guests who spend a night or two (or ten!). And with that, her home bloomed where it was planted: from an empty space in Houston into a haven where all her loved ones can gather.

 

 

Not enough seating? Don’t worry- there’s another entire kitchen and dining area OUTSIDE! This is by far the most impressive feature a host can offer her guests. Outdoor hospitality in Houston is a must- Houstonians are proud to handle the heat, but from a shaded distance. Grilling, making refreshing cocktails, and keeping beer cold are just a few of the amenities offered in this outdoor kitchen.

And still, guests are able to socialize in style and comfort as the colors from inside continue outside, but with new textures. The blue hues in the slate blend the orange from the house’s brick in with the gray of the furniture. Stainless steel appliances add sophistication to this outdoor kitchen.

Home Edition: Workout at Home in YOUR Gym

Tired of going to the gym? Having to wait for a machine? Well there is an option! Create your very own home gym. Think about what you use the most at the gym, is it dumbbells? Treadmill? Cable Machine? Whatever it might be; be selective in your equipment. Get creative with exercises and working out at home gives you more flexibility that adjusting your workout schedule to the gym's. These are some home gyms that would make anyone want to workout! Also can save you money in the long term. So save time, money and hassle....get your pump on at home! Enjoy!

 Be creative! Don't just leave your walls bare, make it feel like the rest of your home, bring in colors and textures. When it feels pleasant you will want to spend more time in there.

 Like working out like you are in fight club? Make the space dark, paint the walls and ceiling dark. for some people this brings concentration to your workout and you can actually get better results.

 Ahh the sun! Natural light is key for some people. And what about those beautiful days you wish you could do your gym workout outside? There is a solution for that! Sliding window/door panels. The nice breeze feels great too!

 For some colors and textures are distracting...so eliminate those and go with a simple architecturally designed space. White walls, lots of natural light and a simple wood floor is the perfect backdrop for getting a clean workout in.

Don't have room for a whole gym? Use part of your home office, it can be a cable system like this one. You can do various exercises with a cable machine and this particular one looks great with the rest of the room so when you aren't working out the machine doesn't stick out like a sore thumb!

 

 

Hope you guys enjoyed today's inspiration! Fell free to leave a comment.  Tell us what you liked and if you are in need of inspiration and its not here.....we will find you some!

 

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The Tour: Our Loft.

We will be moving soon I wanted to share with you our loft. It is small in size so we had to create different areas within to give us all the function we need to live comfortably. We are very minimal people so our space reflects that. Our Chihuahua Jose Cuervo  wanted to be apart of it so he is in a few shots. Enjoy!

 Just the two of us! An industrial kitchen island we found made a perfect dining table and paired with barstools from CB2.com made our little eating area have some style. Ork Posters makes graphic maps of cities so my great friend Sarah gave us this Philadelphia one when we moved here. Too bad they don't have a Houston one yet.

Like I said its a small place so no coffee table would fit. But we enjoy each others company so our long sofa  does the trick for stretching our legs out.

 One of the reasons we picked this loft apartment was for these ginormous windows, high ceilings and exposed duct work!  Lots of light makes it really cheerful and we don't even turn on the lights during the day.

 I like texture, so i found a few pillows that went well with out nubby grey sofa. A little pop of red here and there but for the most part a neutral color palette.

 

  I like love the classic black and white so when I saw this fun bird pillow I know it would go great. We have a few acrylic pieces throughout which you can see (or can you) the side table here and our desk chair behind the sofa.

 The wall facing the windows in the living room doesn't go all the way to the ceiling. So this room doesn't have it's own window but that's how we get natural indirect light in the morning. Small room = no place for big furniture. So our dresser had to have plenty of storage for our clothes, it does the job and looks good while doing it.

Our bedroom is just that, a room with a bed.  Minimal furniture and minimal color. We wanted a relaxing room so blues and warm greys were a great choice. The bookshelves double as nightstands since one side is open and easy access. 

 Our bedding is soft and textured which give a cozy feeling without being over the top. Our warm mahogany V-bed from Environment is sleek modern but so stylish.

Hope you enjoyed our tour. Fell free to leave a comment.  Tell us what you liked and if you are in need of inspiration and its not here.....we will find you some!

 

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