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Room of the Week: A Tonal Melbourne Living Area

This open-plan living and dining area is a study in affordable elegance

Vanessa Walker
Vanessa WalkerOctober 2, 2017
Houzz Australia & New Zealand Editor.
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In a Q&A format, we talk to the designers – and examine the creative thinking – behind some of Houzz’s most loveable rooms.
My Beautiful Abode
Photos and answers by Sophie Kost, lead designer and director at My Beautiful Abode

Who lives here: A professional couple and their new baby
Location: Toorak, Victoria
Room purpose and size: Living room and adjoining compact dining area.
My Beautiful Abode
Starting point: My client’s rug was the starting place for my colour palette, and I had a very clear vision of how these colours would look in the space.
My Beautiful Abode
Once I showed my client the selected artwork during our initial meeting, it was love at first sight. I then set about layering that colour palette through the cushions, throw and other furnishings. Including a few elements that incorporated gold was a fun flourish that my client loved.
My Beautiful Abode
Brief/scope of work: I met my client when she was eight months pregnant with her first child, and had just moved into this home. I was tasked with making her existing furnishings (sofa, coffee table and rug) settle into the new living room and dining area, to make the space feel planned and comfortable. The living room has no television, so it is primarily a room for conversation and reading, while the dining area needed new dining chairs and artwork.
My Beautiful Abode
Thinking behind the arrangement of furniture: The rooms have very high ceilings, so they needed artwork to draw the features together. Without the artwork, the furniture looked a little lost. Along with the existing sofa, we introduced a grey armchair to make a pleasant seating area. We also brought in a very tall white bookcase from Ikea to house my client’s extensive book collection without crowding the seating area.
My Beautiful Abode
Key design aspects
Colour palette: Turquoise, teal, grey and gold
Materials palette: Leather, timber, velvet, mohair, ceramic and metal
Key pieces of furniture: The canvas artwork is from Urban Road, while the limited-edition gold prints are by Danish artist Monika Petersen and framed by Forman Picture Framing.
My Beautiful Abode
Why do you think this room works: There is something special about a colourful piece of oversized art on a white wall. I think that the room works as the accessories are not all matching perfectly, this is a space that someone can comfortably live in.
My Beautiful Abode
Challenges worked around: We needed this project to be a quick one, as we wanted it completed before the baby arrived. As it turned out, I was onsite with my picture hanger finishing the project as my client was in hospital in labour.


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