How Much For This Room?
Hello and happy Friday! I love Fridays and for the next three weeks and possibly beyond, I'm going to give you another reason to love Fridays with How Much For This Room? -- a fun new series on decor8 that will take you into a room and break down each item listing price and source along with a grand total for the entire space. Yay!
For the first three weeks Calgary-based interior decorator, artist, and photographer Lori Andrews, aka the 10-Cent Designer, will walk us through some client spaces starting with her own living room shown below. Lori and her husband Ken are just starting their fifth year in a charming 100-year-old 1,100 square foot home in a vibrant neighborhood in Calgary. They love their home and enjoy completing a new renovation project each year and love to mix in a few more "permanent" furniture items, too. Living close downtown, Ken is able to walk to work and Lori is minutes away from the shops she does business with for her Interior Design projects. They have no plans to move on to something bigger or to a fancier neighborhood, "it feels good to buck the environmentally disastrous trend of over scaled houses and suburban acreages". Their neighborhood is full of young families and an eclectic mix of people and cultures. You can view Lori's entire home here on Flickr.
Lori's living room.
When we lust for rooms in Elle Decor or Dwell we can easily forget that costs can go into the thousands for such spaces, some into the ten and hundred thousand dollar range for a single room. Oh yes. Lori and I both agree that television shows and magazines can often mislead when it comes to how much rooms really cost to design. You see a space, try to recreate it according to your budget, and sometimes fall flat wondering why your living room doesn't look like the one that inspired you from the magazine. On the flipside, lots of us watch shows that miraculously pull together a dream room under $1000 and while it can be done if you have a hunky carpenter at your disposal building custom furniture at no charge and a seamstress doing all the window coverings and upholstery work for free, that's not real world design. It's also important to note that most shows play with the numbers so the rooms you see aren't always "under budget". Lori and I discussed these points just this week so I have to credit her for the idea to try out this new column.
One thing of many that I respect about Lori is that she shops local for the most part, "I prefer to spend my dollars in my own city. I have built good relationships with my suppliers and while I often am not assured of getting the "cheapest" price, I am confident in their customer service and in the fact that part of my money stays local." Lori is also a lover of handmade and prefers quality over quantity, "I prefer to buy Canadian artisans and design whenever possible". I am also happy to buy "antiques and retro items" online. Lori's furnishings are a mix of mid range pricing and quality and entry level IKEA, seconds and Pottery Barn) quality and pricing. Her signature pieces are heading into the luxury range and the art that her and her husband purchase is by mid career artists.
What you're seeing:
1. Sofa from Montauk wood frame custom 6 foot size $6000. 2. Painting, Margaux Williamson bought at Skew Gallery Calgary $3000. 3. Floor Lamp Gerald Thurston Three Leg lamp for Lightolier purchased through 1stdibs.com from Fat Chance $1000. 4. Pillows Judy Ross cushions purchased from Kit Interior Objects $200 each (2). 5. Plastic cow head purchased from Home Sense $35. 6. Side table, Saarinen marble purchased from Kit Interior objects $650. 7. Stool, recycled teak purchased years ago for $350. 8. Leather cowhide purchased from Buckskin Leather $290. 9. Silk chevron cushion purchased in SF at Krimsa $500. 10. White Credenza, IKEA Bonde $400. 11. Trevor Mahovsky drawing $500 (market price). 12. Mirror orange filagree $260 at Steeling Home. 13. Bowl large handmade natural bowl by artist Chris Faulkner purchased at Kit Interior Objects $300. 14. Vase small handmade white artist Tyler Fritz purchased from Kit Interior Objects $140. 15. Noguchi Table Lamp Model 1A purchased from Kit Interior Objects $100. 16. small Gold vase Jonathan Adler $65. 17. Wall Sconces from Robinson lighting and Bath originally by Tech lighting no longer available but some just like it are available here at Jesco lighting $300. 18. Artifort Orange chair from Kit Interior Objects $3000. 19. Desk from Pottery barn bedford modular desk components $1000. 20. Lamp on desk by Jielde $500. 21. Computer 24" iMac $2000. 22. Gold vase made by artist Tyler Fritz $140 purchased at Kit Interior Objects. 23. Vase and Plant $100 from Sunnyside Home & Garden. 24. Small wooden vessel $65 from Country Furniture. 25. Saarinen tulip chair $1000 from Kit Interior Objects. 26. Painted storage chest from Pier 1 Imports $300. 27. Magnetic board IKEA $10. 28. Mohair Jonathan Adler Bench approximately $2,350. 29. Small blue polished stone coasters $20. 30. Custom gray boxed cushion $300. 31. Blue Asian silk cushion$120. 32. Flooring Kahrs Ash floors installed by contractor with new subfloor $4333. for this area of living space, 33. World map desk pad $16.95 from Map Town. 34. Blue leather/brass tack footstool $800 from Soho + Nada. 35. Sheepskin $89 from Buckskin Leather.
Grand total- $30,433.95 (not including track lights, speakers, back up drive, paint or window coverings).
In addition to Lori's help on this column over the next three weeks, I want to recruit fellow bloggers, designers, and readers who have a space that they would like to break down here on decor8. Budget spaces are welcome, high end, mid range, a variety is good. If you want to participate, please send me one clear image of your room shot in daylight to holly AT decor8blog.com for consideration.
Any questions for Lori? Please comment below!
(photography by lori andrews)