I’m excited to share a more in depth look at our project for the writer, illustrator, style icon and founder of Doré…. Garance Doré, and we are starting with the living room. Garance had recently bought the modern developer-built house when we met at there for a walk through to discuss plans. At the top of the list was to build-in some character that still fit the modern aesthetic but felt more custom and considered.  We did this in many areas with actual build-ins like the double plaster sofas that flank the fireplace above. The second order of business was to brighten up the main living area. She didn’t move from New York to California to block out that California sun after all. The first thing to go was the wall with a double sided fireplace in order to let the flow of light through and unite the living areas. The room it created in the back had all the good light but it went unused and disconnected from the rest of the space.  So let’s take a look at the before photo…

BEFORE

Garance told me Lulu, her sweet pup, was the only one that went in the space, as shown in the photo above. So off to the drawing board. Moving the fireplace against the wall, designing the built-in the sofas, sourcing mostly all vintage furniture, and a couple cozy rugs all helped to bring the character as well as brighten it up. Below is the rendering with my design plan pre-construction. There were a few small changes in the end… we only installed one floating shelf and we used the mirror on the other side of the fireplace in the entry instead of here, but it is gratifying to see what we sketched up come to life.

RENDERING

The first two photos in the post were from the Domino feature shot by Jason Frank Rothenberg but I recently swung by with Jessie Webster to shoot some more angles and details because so many of you asked for more photos and better late than never… here they are.

The vintage Milo Baughman coffee table, hanging chair, and one of the Herman Miller “chiclet” chairs were all found on Chairish. The matching Herman Miller chair we got through Ebay. The upholstery was worn and the chairs were different colors so we had them reupholstered in “Bolden Fabric” from Fabricut. The built-in plaster sofa was finished with Portola Paints Roman Clay “shining” and the cushions were upholstered with “newport” fabric from Fabricut.

On the other side of the fireplace, are more vintage finds. The coffee table and the velvet chair were both found on Sotheby’s home. Both rugs are from Loloi.

SOURCES:
Hanging Rattan Egg Chair and Burl Wood Cocktail Table by Milo Baughman Chairish //Vintage Chairs by Herman Miller in Bolden Fabric Fabricut // Hygge Rug Loloi Rugs // Custom Integrated Couch Sarah Sherman Samuel // Cushions and Pillows in Newport Fabric Fabricut // Photograph by Maria Del Rio Del Rio Photography, framed by Framebridge // Print by Caryn Owen from minted // Ceramic bowl and Candle Holders by Virginia Sin // Circle Line Block-Print Pillow  Kesslyr Dean // Vintage Japanese Wood Sculptures from Merchant Gallery // CSS-8-1 by Jen Garrido Jen Garrido // Ceramic O’Dear Bowl by Ben Medansky  Lawson Fenning // Half Black & White Stoneware by M Quan

And just for fun some side by side before, rendering, and afters shot from the same angle.

BEFORE

RENDERING

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

Top Photos by Jason Frank Rothenberg for Domino Magazine
All others by Jessie Webster 
Design by Sarah Sherman Samuel