Private Villa - Salon, Dining, and Family Room, a project by me

Hi all,

This is the last mini project I've worked on, thought I'd share it with you. If you want to decorate your home on your own but need someone to put you on the right track and give you an "action plan" then you'd need to hire me to do the same work I've done for my latest client. The fees are much reduced than when hiring me to do full design/ execution/ furniture supplying/ project management.

Project Scope;

 

- An initial visit to the villa to see the rooms and meet with the client to determine what style/ needs they have for the rooms they need to have designed in their home.

-Creating a Color Scheme.

-Creating a mood/furniture board.

-Creating a furniture layout for each room.

-A final visit to present the design and discuss it with the client.

 

The project included 2 rooms/ 3 spaces;

 

- A family room for doing crafts, watching TV, storing media, books, and crafts supplies on the first floor (kids friendly).

- Connected formal sitting room & dining room on the ground floor for adult entertaining.

 

budget was open as per the client's request.

 

when asked, the clients' collective favorite colors were
Black, white, greys, blues, green (emerald, dark green), red, plum, pale pink & purple, and pale lemon yellow. 

 

I started with visiting the villa, talking to the clients about their needs in each space and how many people they wanted to be able to host, activities taking place in every room, and the style of their preference.

 

the style of their preference for the interiros of their formal dining/sitting was a rather complex one; eclictic, chinoiserie chic, old world meets modern, colonial!

 

Taking dimensions I produced plans and did a few layouts for them to choose from and then created colors and furniture boards that fit both; their style and needs.

Balcony Revival, a project by me

Hi Everyone, I'm finally getting to actually sharing my space with you guys. I know I promised to do that long time ago, but I'm getting too caught up in the little details to start sharing just yet. So I decided to share one space at a time!

We never used the little balcony which is in one of our 3 bedrooms ever since we moved into our first apartment in September after our wedding. It was so hot that we never actually even opened the sliding doors because the Air conditioners were on all the time. Once the winter in Doha started though, my husband started day dreaming about having a nice balcony and I was day dreaming about trying out my green thumb.

I had to get a maid to clean out the balcony, it was so dirty- I don't think anyone cleaned it ever since the building was built!- that I didn't even know what type of flooring laid underneath the layers of dust and dirt and then planning commenced!

These pictures were taken during mid cleaning, it was much much worse than that. I didn't know if I had terrazzo tiles or ceramic tiles laying under the dust, to my surprise it had ceramic tiles just like the ones inside the house! 

I took measurements and logged onto the best website ever, IKEA of course! and started shopping around for items that would work within my space, I knew I needed storage for all the plants care tools and items and outdoor equipment and that I wanted plants to be able to vertically grow (climbing plans and shelves for pots to go on) and that I had very limited space so furniture size mattered big time here. I chose the furniture and did the layout as per the furniture measurements.

My husband liked these floor decking tiles that we saw at IKEA once so I did a tile layout just to know how many tiles I needed.

I then went to IKEA for a shopping spree and got everything on my shopping list+some candles and garden lanterns and all the furniture pieces were assembled and in place! my husband and I spent the following days having every cup of coffee, breakfast, dinner there, we loved it. It had transformed so much although it was still pretty bare.

The next weekend my husband and I took off to the plants shop near the whole sale market and picked and choose plants and flowers to go in our balcony and had them arranged in the pots right there. I also picked up some seeds which I should get to planting right now so that I don't miss the season! I got cherry tomatoes and some herbs to try and see if I have a green thumb!

All the plants and lanterns went into place and the place turned into a mini oasis! we are absolutely smitten and in love with our little balcony/garden for two and we are keeping our plants company by being in that balcony on almost daily bases.

So what do you think? have you had any green thumb experiences lately? tried yourself at landscaping or got someone to redo your garden, balcony, outdoor space? share your ideas, comments, and photos with us!

The IKEA Malm Dresser Glam-a-fied

Hey Y'all,

This is my first ever DIY project, if it justifies as one in terms of size of the "project". I've always pondered while reading DIY blogs and pinned and saved projects that I wanted to do myself but it's always been a hard thing to achieve due to me living in Doha and believing I lack the craftsmanship.

The living in Doha part has to do with the fact that there aren't flea markets that sell used furniture that you can puff up, and even if you had something and wanted to work on it, a lot of the items that you need to re-upholster or re-finish a piece aren't necessarily available in Doha, Qatar to the comment customers, as oppose to contractors who buy them from outside of Qatar, and if they happen to be available in Doha the overhead cost just doesn't justify the project and you'r just better off buying a new piece all together which feeds the vicious cycle of high consumer-ship (is that ever a word?!) in Qatar.

Anywhooo, IKEA opened in Qatar, and I previously mentioned- I believe- how much I wanted to go there and check it out and buy things from IKEA because I LOVED it from other countries where I've visited it and couldn't wait for it to finally open and when it did the timing couldn't have been more perfect because I was getting married!

Getting married to me meant leaving my parents' home, my one and only home, and move out to a new flat that I rented with my husband in Doha. We shopped all around for our furniture and furnishings and as our living/ dining happen to be highly eclectic, our bedroom is very much "modern glam" if I may call it that.

I got my bed from Bombay at The Mall in Doha, an amazing tufted winged purple headboard+mattress&box for a great price- I will show case it properly in a later post I promise-, custom closets, custom curtains, parquet flooring, a venetian mirror from Life Style at City Center- it was on sale! :D- and the rest was all IKEA (MALM Dressers, MALM Dressing Table, MALM Night Stands, and IKEA Pendant light and table lamps).

I had sketched out a general layout of how I wanted my bedroom furniture to be distributed and then began a furniture hunt.

Before I began furniture hunting I looked at colors and finishes and decided to go with this color palette for the bedroom, I knew I wanted to add white to it though and brushed brass for accents and hardware

So I saw this piece

The Malm dresser at Ikea, and it was a good height (the AC would be right on top of it) but it was too narrow and lets face it, I wanted more drawers than just that so I bought two and pushed them together opposite to my bed. It was too bleh though and I wanted to add a spark to it. I thought adding handles would make it look busy and redundant so instead I decided to go with an alternative solution.

I decided to paint the gap lines between the drawers a matt brushed gold color to accentuate it's geometric design, for those who know me, you know how much I like straight lines in design. 

These are the items and tools I used (bought in Doha);

- tin disposable plates. (from the super market.)

- masking tape. (from Jarir but available elsewhere)

- 1/4" paint brush. (from Jarir but you can find it at an array of shops.)

- small paint roller. (I bought mine from Jarir but you can find it at other places.)

- sanding paper (from Jarir but you can buy it from carrefour and a lot of other places too.)

- Folk Art acrylic paint bottles suitable for all purposes in Gold, it didn't need a primer nor a finishing layer from any other products. (from Jarir bookstore)

- foam sheets for protection (I used the ones which came in the packaging from IKEA, you can use newspapers or anything else that you have handy)

So, first thing to do was for me to remove all of the drawers (If I'm you I'd choose to do this in a place where you haven't just installed parquet flooring and had other furniture around, choose an empty place and do it there.

second thing to do was to decide which areas I wanted to paint I was initially thinking of painting all the way to the edge of the dressers but then figured out the outer frame protrudes beyond the dresser and it would have made it look weird so I stuck to the gaps between the drawers.

then I dusted the dressers, they were straight out of the box so really they were clean, if it's an old piece that you have I'd do more cleaning.

and then I started sanding, yeap sanding, the paint off. 

taking into consideration that I wanted to paint a white dresser a darker tone I didn't have to get rid of the underneath color completely I just wanted to roughen the surface enough for the paint to adhere to it and get rid of any dirt (if you are painting over old paint or a dark color you do need to sand it completely off)

keep in mind that sanding produces a lot of dust, thats why you need to do it in a well ventilated preferably exterior area.

once done with the sanding you need to wipe the entire dresser clean again and make sure there aren't any little pieces or chips of the sanded paint sticking out.

then you start taping everything and anything that is close to what you are painting but will not be painted with masking tape making sure to have straight clean edges for the area that you are going to paint.

then, you should really do this step first, my mind was all scrambled when I was working on this project, I had workers in the flat assembling things and delivering things and it was Ramadan so doing this between (wedding planning- home furnishing- fasting-iftar-and a full time job) is a huge accomplishment, do I hear a woot woot?

ps: put down as much protective coverage as you can not as you think you need because believe me, the paint will get to the weirdest of areas.

ok so this is what you should have before you start painting+ extra floor protective coverage

1 problem I faced and will soon undo- I should have known better!- is, paint peeling off of the kick plate.

The Kick Plate - Before Painting

Never ever try to paint any piece of furniture or part of a piece that is covered with laminate. Ikea are perfect when it comes to this they tell you exactly what parts are painted and what parts are fiber board with a laminate cover on such as the kick plate.

Acrylic paint doesn't normally stick to laminates, it needs special preparation for it to do that and it's highly unrecommended but I insisted and tried and the result was that the golden paint pealed off like a sticker at the corners of the kick-plate.

so now comes the cool and messy part The Painting. I poured a good amount to cover the bottom of the disposable plate, not too much. I used two so that if I had excess paint on the roller I can roll it off in the other one.

and then I started painting, the color was perfect for me when I saw it in Jarir, it's got a golden leaf kind of feel, antique-ish brushed brass sort of.

I have a few don'ts for you here;Do not put too much paint on the rollerDo not expect the first coat to be perfectDo not press too hard on the roller or paint will ooze out and you will have runs

just keep on painting until you have covered all the areas you wanted and use the 1/4" paint brush to get paint into the little corners.

adjust the protection lay down as you go

After the first coat you should get something that looks like this.

paint will not be even in the first coat, I did about 3 coats until I was happy and as paint dries it will dry unevenly and you will see some areas darker than the others. leave the dresser alone and check on it again in a day once it's all dried out and then you can put your second coat and so on.

ps: see how the masking tape is protecting the edges of each dresser? aren't you happy you took the time and taped all that off.

Send us pictures of DIY paint projects that you've worked on and we will share them on our page, show us what you've learned and what you've used and give us any tips that you've learned in the process.

one thing that you must do between coats and at the end is clean your brush and roller otherwise once the paint dries in it's going to be a hard task to get it all off.

once the paint dried out 1 day after I've painted my last coat I removed the masking tape and sled the drawers back into place and ta da.

It wasn't a huge transformation but for me it was just what I needed to customize the dressers and make them mine rather than "Ikea's"

I painted an IKEA dresser because it was cheap and if I had any problems with it, in other words completely trashed it for some reason, I can buy a new one. Please do not try to personally paint a Baker dresser unless you are a trained professional confident craftsman who have done this kind of work for years. 

Thanks for tuning in! I will show you what other little changes I applied to create a difference in my apartment and I promise I will do a house tour of my place once I'm finally settled down from the Wedding/Honeymoon/Back to reality Marathon.

If you ever do and photograph a DIY project that you did, send it to me and I will share it here and on my facebook page. 

See you in another DIY post! 

Wardrobe Organization by Nurbry

I had to share this great piece on organizing your wardrobe from Nurbry, a must-check-out website

"Summer is here, and if you have not had time to conquer your closet yet, there is no better time than now. An unorganized closet can equate to clutter, tardiness, and stress…who has time for that?

How To Organize Your Closet For A Guilt-Free Wardrobe

Your closet is no place for guilt! Every item in your wardrobe should make you feel amazing and proud of your investment, not the other way around.  It’s time to streamline your life and feel amazing about your beautifully organized closet!

With a little work, some closet therapy, and daily maintenance, you can save yourself a great deal of stress.  Any good closet organization project starts with going through your closet and ridding yourself of items that you no longer need, use, or should be wearing.

Below, we’ve listed 3 closet decluttering steps necessary for you to achieve a guilt-free wardrobe. Leave a comment below telling us your wardrobe organization strategies!

RELATED POST: How To: Organize Your Closet

Step 1: Purge and Plan

Start by going through your closet and deciding what items you need to get rid of and what items are questionable.  If you don’t wear it, pass it on and don’t let it clutter your life. We often hold onto hope that we will wear something again, but that item often continues to sit in our closets and causes nothing but guilt every time we happen upon it. Free yourself, your mind, and your closet…if you haven’t worn it in a year – give it away! Remember to always give away items, rather than throw away, because you never know who might be able to use your hand-me-downs! 

Follow the closet purging tips below to help you decide what needs to go:

• Analyze Everything: invite a friend over, try everything on, and take pictures of yourself. Be subjective. If an item of clothing doesn’t make you feel amazing when on, get rid of it – no matter how expensive, stylish, or amazing off the hanger something might look, if its not right for you, it doesn’t belong in your closet.

• Think Creatively: some items can be salvaged but will need some creativity, a good tailor, or a needle and tread. Set aside anything that requires a new button or needs repairs, and take care of it now! Never put damaged items back in your closet. If items have potential, take them to a tailor to have them custom fitted. Or, consider shortening, hemming, or altering items to make them more stylish/wearable.

• Mark Maybes: for questionable items that you just can’t make up your mind about, try a hanger or labeling system. Have all of your hangers facing one way and as you wear items turn the hangers around. As the year progresses you will realize what you have not worn and can toss them. You might also try marking maybes with a post-it and utilizing the same system.

Step 2: Implement

After you have the items you want to keep, devise an organization system that works for you. Try these simple tips to help organize all the items in your closet.

• Accessories: roll up belts, gloves, and other small accessories and keep them in a drawer. Belts can often become tangled up so keep them separated and easy to gaze over.

Roll belts and store in a drawer with other accessories

• Scarves: try using a tie hanger/organizer for scarves. This is an easy way to hang and display your scarves so that they are organized and easy to find.

Hang / Tie scarves so you can easily see them

• Shoes: make your shoes visible. If you love shoe boxes, put a picture on the shoe box. If you can’t see them, you are unlikely to wear them. You might try buying a shoe hanger system and place off-season shoes in an under-the-bed container to maximize space.

• Shelves: utilize shelves. Items like jeans, sweaters, and tee shirts can be much more easily organized and save you space by organizing on a shelf. Try labeling a shelf for jeans. Use categories like skinny, trouser, straight leg, etc. Then, place your jeans on a shelf according to the right label so that you can easily see style and color.

Use shelves to accommodate folded sweaters

Label jeans and display them neatly on a shelf

Step 3: Maintain

A well-organized closet stays well organized because of constant maintenance. Below are some organization rules to live by.

• Never drop clothes on the floor and leave them there.

• Take 5 minutes a day to inspect your closet and ensure that everything stays organized.

• Have a special bin for items that need repair and constantly evaluate.

• If you find yourself always feeling blah when you wear a certain outfit or always passing something over even after trying it on, let it go."

I'd add this

* Store shoes/accessories/hats/etc in boxes and bins and place them at the bottom of your wardrobe if you had that space available.

*organize your clothes per color or per category or both, you might want to have a gradient of color going through your wardrobe from one end to the other, or you might prefer to have a gradient of jacket colors on one side and then blouses, pants, and so on.

*Add baskets/bins on top of your closet if you had that space available for storing out-of-season items or- if planning a new closet- plan to have floor to ceiling built-in wardrobes, if you can afford them, the extra storage space that you get on top of your regular storage is priceless.

*For all of those drawers separators & organizers, closet organizers, shoes closet hangers, etc in Doha, visit IKEA they are ultimately the best

IKEA Opening in Doha Soon!

For a person like me who's engaged to get married, the opening of IKEA in Doha can't come soon enough!

I'll be starting a family; getting my own place and furnishing it as a bride-to-be and an interior designer. If you thought it was hard for you, think again! it's super hard when a designer is designing for themselves...on a budget.

IKEA is opening on the 11th of March in Doha as the first shop to open in the Doha Festival City project on North Road.

For all of you planning to remodel or furnish a new home, you should wait until IKEA opens and definitely check it out.

IKEA is well known for its affordable prices, beautiful designs which are highly customizable, and brilliant services.

Also a really nice in-house restaurant which serves mouth watering dishes.

I will leave you with the link of the IKEA current catalog and the announcement of the opening as it showed on Doha News.

Ikea Catalog Page

Doha News, IKEA Opening 11th March in Qatar