All original work © Jason W. Wong. Please ask for permission to reproduce any work.

All original work © Jason W. Wong. Please ask for permission to reproduce any work.

Saturday, February 13, 2010

This time I know it's for real...

Amy and her fiancé Akhil are old friends of mine. I knew them both separately from different circles of friends and then one spring they met at the wedding of mutual friends and—long story short—they’re now engaged to be married this summer. I began designing their home in the Glen Park neighborhood of San Francisco back in 2008 just before I started my interior design program. It was an experiment in how to deal with clients and eventually helped me create the rate structures I’m currently using. (As renters, they couldn’t perform any structural changes to their small house, but as professionals they wanted a sophisticated home to entertain friends and family.)

I had organized and designed Amy’s old single-gal studio apartment years ago, so she and I had worked together before. And I had been to many dinner parties and events at Akhil’s old apartments so I knew his style as well. As a couple, they compromised well and we spent a several weeks deciding and executing purchases, paint colors, etc.

But then I had to start classes and my studies ramped up. Running out of hours, I had to leave them with a checklist of things to purchase (mostly art and accessories). A year and a half later after graduation, I realized they hadn’t had the time or energy to follow through (they are busy professionals after all) so I offered to bump them up to the next level of service and procure the aforementioned art and accessories as well as do a follow-up staging of their home. With assistance from my former classmate Lily Hanna, I spent an afternoon installing the new pieces.

(Click on photo for full-sized image.)





Here's the "before":


The bedroom was the biggest challenge because Amy and Akhil tend to gravitate toward the dark side (dark furniture, frames, square angles, and even dark bedding). By injecting white pieces and varied color, I tried to showcase their original furniture selections.
 
The living room had been well-maintained since my initial consultation in 2008. But Lily and I created more varied vignettes out of their collection of things (along with additional pieces taken from my warehouse). Dream clients, Amy and Akhil are incredibly well-traveled and about 90% of the art and accessories in this room were taken from their own collection, which had been languishing in the basement.
 
(Click on photo for full-sized image.)
 









The family room received a coat of yellow paint back in 2008 which really brightened up the space. They both loved bright Indian-inspired accent colors, but didn't want anything that seemed like a themed room. I chose art and a rug with bright pops of orange and purple that could easily be switched out if their tastes ever changed. Their old leather sofa is a classic piece that they decided to keep.








Here's the "before," when they tried but couldn't find any art on their own:


As I've stated before, art plays such an important role in our homes. I love being able to introduce clients to pieces that resonate with them and make their homes feel so much more complete.

Thoughts? Opinions?

9 comments:

Unknown said...

What a fantastic project!! HUGE changes between the before & afters - I love that. And the end results are personal and lived-in...something else that really resonates with me! Great work!!

Unknown said...

P.S. Wish I had you here to help me struggle with figuring out what to do with my tons of framed family photos from varied generations!

Lily said...

Hey, I just wrote about you on my blog! The pictures came out really good! I had fun helping :)

Lily's {Sketch} Pad

Jason said...

Thanks so much for helping, Lily! I just linked you to my blog. It was great to finally work together on a real project.

Michelle said...

I love the color walls, it made the fireplace POP. The circle rug is genius, it looks great.

Jen D. said...

Gorgeous!!! I love the bedroom!! Can't wait to move and work some decorating into my budget. I too have the hardest time getting the bedroom into that sanctuary everyone talks about.

Alexandra said...

I am Akhil's sister! I love what you have done with their place...it is such a warm and cozy place to visit.

Jim N. said...

Books are so decorative, don't ya think? Seriously, Jason, you did a great job and you did it by keeping it about Amy and Akhil. It's a great example of how the seemingly smallest details (like the watch on the hand sculpture), can say so much.

Unknown said...

Wow!.... Wow! The bedroom is amazing! (So are the other rooms, but I had already seen them) Yes, the touches of white really transform the dark space. I'm not good at identifying what makes it work, but it definitely does. Fantastic!