Frankie Sectional

A little known fact is that a majority of the custom hand-made sofas we carry can be made as sleepers. All it requires is that you choose a frame that has loose seat cushions (so that you’re able to remove them) and that you pick a size that meets the minimum size requirements (66″ W for a full and 78″ W for a queen, in most cases). And if you’re worried about being able to see the sleeper component at the bottom of the sofa when it’s not in use, then don’t! We increase the size of the lower portion of the sofa (the apron) to conceal everything.

BAM! Now it's a Frankie Sleeper Sectional

The sleeper component consists of a 4″ innerspring mattress and a 4″ inflatable air mattress. That gives you 8 inches of mattress that prevents you from feeling a crossbar making it comfortable to sleep on.

Co-owner Eric Kole actually has a Metro Sleeper Sofa in his own home that’s used by friends and family when visiting.

Disguised in this beautiful den is actually a guest room waiting to be used...

The best part of being able to custom make sofas is that we have full control over the design of our furniture. If you want a sectional sofa with a sleeper inside, in a grey fabric with wood legs and tufting on the back…it’s totally doable. Just for you.

“I have a cape cod contemporary two story on the water with large windows facing east. We have a beautiful whitewashed cedar ceiling. The floor has stark white 10″ floor tiles that are very hard to keep clean. I’d like to replace it with porcelain floor planking that looks like wood. I’m stuck trying to decide on the color for the floor. There are so many options. By the way, the doors are all whitewashed with a bright white wood trim. My style is classic with a bit of contemporary thrown in. We are planning on a redo of the fireplace as well as well as the kitchen.

Here is a summary of my decorating challenges:

1. What color floor planking (porcelain) to put on the floor.
2. What color to paint the new wood around our new fireplace.
3. The kitchen cabinets are white washed.  I’m selecting white painted ones.  What color granite – light or dark for more or less of a contrast?
4. The wood doors are all white washed too.  As is the railing going up the stairs.  Do I paint the railing white or?
5. Do I paint the walls a lighter or darker color?

Whitewashed Cedar Ceiling

Here’s what Vastu senior designer Sarita Peresada had to offer:Thank you for submitting your design dilemma, I am happy to make some suggestions for your home.  First, concerning the wood grain floor time, I would definitely go with something in the mid-range tones, not too dark, but not too light either.  You really need some contrast between your floors and walls, trim, and moldings.  Currently everything is very similar in tone and a bit washed-out.  I like the tile below from Daltile:

Timber Glen(TM) RUSTIC in 'Heath'

As for the wood mantel around the fireplace –  if you are keeping the existing mantel, I don’t think that it is necessary to paint it.  However, if you are removing it and adding a new mantel, it can be painted to match the trim or you can go for a real focal point and paint it an accent color that ties into your existing décor.  I think that the wall color should be considered in this decision, too.  Before you make any of the wall color and mantel decisions I would suggest taking some time to determine what overall look and feel you are going for in the space.  Why are you considering changing the wall color?  Why are you changing the mantel and what is the new mantel design?  Do you like the open, airy feel that your home currently has?  Darker colors on the walls and floors will detract from the open, airy feel.  Have you looked through any design magazines or websites for inspiration photos?   Are you planning to replace any of the furnishings in the space?

Upholstery selections should be made before paint colors, it’s much easier this way!  Once you determine the look and feel that you are after and what furnishings you will keep or add, you will easily be able to choose paint colors based on your preferences.  It is especially easy if you start with an inspiration piece (artwork, rug, fabric, etc.) and pull your colors from that piece.

Lastly, in the kitchen, I would go with a mid-range color on the granite.  Not too dark, like black, but not white-white, either.  If you are going to change the floors to the wood grain tile in the kitchen, then something like Crema Bordeaux would like nice with the white cabinetry.

Borelli Granite in 'Crema Bordeaux'

I hope that my recommendations have been helpful to you, at least as a good starting point!  If you need more help with color selection after you have discovered your objectives for the space, please don’t hesitate to ask!

‘G’ is for Gothica

Add an element of interest to your space with Gothica wallpaper. Available in a number of patterns and colors, this wallpaper can be applied to a single surface (as shown above) to create an accent wall. For a really bold statement, consider applying the wallpaper to an entire room.

‘H’ is for Home

The clean lines of the Home dining table make is a great fit for a number of design aesthetics. Pair the table with dining chairs that have similar lines for a modern look or go for upholstered chairs with a “curved” element for a more transitional look.

‘I’ is for Igloo

The Igloo is a freestanding, environmentally friendly fireplace. The glass enclosure means that this fire range by EcoSmart looks great in the middle of a room or open floor plan. The stainless steel shelf houses the burner mechanism.

“We bought our first house a year ago and remodeled the kitchen, master bedroom and bath. During the renovations our baby girl was born. Suffice to say, we haven’t had much time to devote to the actual decoration of the house. Specifically, we are struggling with what to do with living room and dining room area. We want this space to be modern, grown-up and loungy… a place for quiet conversation and adult time. We don’t know where or how to start except that we want warm, vibrant tones (leather, reds, oranges, yellows/gold) and we want to use some of our Brazilian art paintings. Can you help in terms of how to place the seating/arrange the room…should we consider tearing down the wall between the living room and dining room to open up the space??? Any help you can lend would be appreciated! We would Vastu!”

Sarita Says…

Congratulations on your new house and baby! You have been really busy in the last year and it’s completely understandable that you have put the design of your living room and dining room on the back burner. Now that it is time to start working on these spaces, there are a lot of things to consider and it sounds like you have already put a lot of thought into it. You know how you want to use the space and you know what colors you want to introduce into the space – those are two of the most important decisions in the process!

The next steps in the design process are to create a furniture plan and then to select the pieces of furniture, the fabrics and finishes, and then finally the accessories for the space. In order to create a furniture plan, the decision about the wall between the living and dining room needs to be finalized. It is hard to say if this is the best decision or not without seeing the space in person, but big open spaces are usually preferable to smaller, closed off spaces in general. If the wall stays, I think that you could make a cozy seating arrangement where you currently have the sofa placed. Perhaps the tall storage piece could be relocated and two arm chairs could be placed across from the sofa. The challenge in this space is that there are two major pathways going through it, including one between the sofa and two proposed chairs just mentioned. It could definitely work; however, I would need to measure the space in order to determine specific chairs would fit best. I think that your next step as far as the furniture plan/space plan is to draw the floor plan of the space and start playing around with furniture sizes and layout.

As for the color palette of your space, you have a great advantage over most people that say they have no idea where to start – you have inspiration pieces! Your Brazilian artwork is your inspiration! You already know you want those colors in the space, now you have to find the fabrics and paint colors that complement your artwork. My suggestion is to pull the main colors out of the artwork and find various shades/tones that are complimentary. There may be a specific shade of orange in the paintings that you really like. You can find a fabric that is close (I don’t recommend matching every color exactly) and have a chair or sofa made in that color. Then you can do the same with another color in the artwork, find a drapery fabric that is close and have some drapes made. It’s usually easy to find a neutral color to work with all of your bold colors (I think something in the beige or brown family will work nicely) and I recommend using the neutral on the walls and some of the furniture. You don’t want everything in the space to be bold and colorful, it will be overwhelming!

I hope that this helps, please let us know if you have further questions or needs!

“I am buying a new house on the water. I want to make it warm but I need to use my old furniture that is black and red leather, black and red carpet, and also a glass coffee table. How do I combine it with my dream of a warm, light and woody living room?”

Ray says…

Hello! Congratulations on your new home! In order to achieve a warm, light, woody living room, I would consider introducing some Asian-inspired motifs. Silk embroidered pillows, wall hangings with black script, roughly hewn wooden bowls and vase – think Shanghai in the 1920’s. Natural materials, like the roughly hewn wood bowls, will warm up the black and red color palette and help play into the ‘woody’ feel you’re going for. Along the lines of natural materials, I’d also recommend natural linen draperies and hand stitched items to soften things up – make it light. Lastly, selecting a paint color that works well with these elements will really help you achieve the look and feel you want for your room. Consider earthy grey paint colors – think colors like pumice or stone. Hope this helps!

What do you think?

(image via bossy color blog)

…consider creating an art wall. Interior Designer, Annie Elliott, recently helped a client create a great looking art wall in their dining room. Click here to see how she did it.

This How Do You Vastu? entry was sent in by Jeni Heninger, a MFA candidate of interior design at GWU.  Jeni used bright pops of color and pattern in her walls and flooring to give her space energy and a sense of whimsy.  Mixing patterns and colors like this is daring, but Jeni did it quite effortlessly by pairing them with classic, simple pieces with clean lines, such as the Isaac Sofa and the Knoll D’Urso Swivel chair. Thank you Jeni for showing us How You Vastu!

This How Do You Vastu? Entry was sent in by GWU Interior Design graduate student Tiffanni Reidy. She used some of Vastu’s most vibrant and colorful pieces to create a beautiful living room scheme that anyone with a flair for design would appreciate spending time in.  The Ecosmart fireplace and variety of rich textures make the design so cozy and appealing that I am sure nobody would ever want to leave! Thank you Tiffanni for showing us How You Vastu!

How Do You Vastu? by vastudc on Polyvore.com

How Do You Vastu?
We have asked designers and design students in the DC area to show us how they would use pieces from the Vastu to create beautifully designed spaces. We hope that their creative ideas and visions will inspire some of your own!

Above is a design example created by a Vastu team member. The neutral palette and variety of textures creates a very comfortable, yet glamorous look.

Check in every Wednesday to see how DC designers and design students Vastu!