Why I didn't Tuft ...

WHOA! Ok, so first, let me start off by saying this: I LOVE GETTING YOUR EMAILS! I do, truly. I get such a treat opening up my email every day and seeing sweet little notes from my readers. I don't even mind when they're not so sweet - when you put yourself out there, you have to expect a few people to have differing opinions, that's what makes the world go round, right? RIGHT! But, I was shocked that so many of you were a little disappointed that the tufting didn't actually happen.

If you emailed me about it - I've already emailed you back, but for those of you who didn't email, who are curious, maybe even a little peeved, well - here's why!

The Apartment - No Tufts

 

Many of you have been long-time readers, something I haven't taken for granted. You've seen my work in a variety of ways, but mostly in my old home which I called CDLV. CDLV was dark and moody, mysterious even. Masculine and linear. There was a lot of color in that house, it called for it. I tried white, linen, the dreaded dropcloth slipcovers, and it never worked in that house. That house needed color, it needed jewel tones to blend with the orange-y gumwood trim that I was forbidden to paint. So, when I moved into my own place, I wanted the exact opposite. No more dark, no more heavy. I decided light, bright, refreshing, and peaceful was the way I wanted to start my "new" life.

 

 

The Apartment - Light, Bright, Refreshing, and Peaceful ... Right? Oh - AND no zebra!

 

At the first apartment, I started with the sofa, then added two club chairs, both slipcovered in a sort of winter white heavy linen. Piece by piece I added, and while I added, I tried adding color. I would pull in gray and chocolate brown, orange, and once I even did blue - it never looked as good as it did with the simplicity of the white. So, I knew that was right ... for me, for now. So enter reason number one into evidence:

 

REASON NUMBER ONE

I couldn't, wouldn't go with any other color but white in the space. I looked at tons of fabric - and nothing seemed right. I knew that having a WHITE upholstered piece of furniture, with tufts, was a terrible idea! That thing wouldn't have lasted a month! 

 

The ottoman was a must for this space. And while it's huge, and there have been people who questioned me for adding a piece so big to a room that size, I don't think I made a poor decision. Not yet, anyway.

 

The Apartment - Ottoman's First Night 

 

The day that the cushion was finished and I brought it home and put it all together, I took a few pictures to show how much of a transformer this ottoman really was. Because I didn't tuft it, and instead decided to do a cushion - just like the sofa - I not only had an ottoman, I had a chaise.

 



The Apartment - Ottoman Serving Double Duty

 

Playing around with the awesome rectangular bolster pillow I designed with my slipcover maker, Michelle, the ottoman went from chaise, to tête-à-tête.

 





The Apartment - Ottoman Transforms Yet Again!

 

And the way that I've chosen to keep it, at least for the time being, the ottoman serves perfectly as a back to back armless sofa, giving me two separate seating groups, with the ability to comfortably host gatherings of 14 in a room that's less than 250 square feet.

 

The Apartment - Ottoman As Two Sofas? WHAT!? Oh yeah!! 

 

REASON NUMBER TWO:

This ottoman, this design, the separate cushion, the comfort of it makes the piece, already massive in size, more than just a fixture in the room for trays or the occasional pair of feet. It's functional beyond functional. It's an ottoman, a chaise, a tête-à-tête, a double sofa, a guest bed - oh yeah, A GUEST BED! A large tufted piece, even if I had gone with white would never have been so transformative to the space, and as useful as I need in this small but beautiful space.  

 

 

When I blog and ask for your thoughts and suggestions, I do take them into account. ALWAYS! And I weighed heavily the options for tufting and upholstery over separate cushion and slipcover. In the end, we all know which I chose. And while I loved the idea of a tufted piece just as much as all of you who voted YES to the tufts, my reasonable side looked at the two reasons above, and vetoed the buttons in favor of comfort and function. I hope, sincerely, you understand!

 

Now, onto the next controversial change in the apartment ...

 

The Red Door - I Think I'll Name Her Elizabeth Arden

 

After a few dozen coats, the closet door in the hallway is now red. That's only a mild exaggeration, by the way. I'm calling it, "I'm not a waitress" Red, after the OPI nail polish. Here it is in progress. I can't tell you how many people have told me they hate it. Just hate it. "It doesn't make any sense." "You don't have red anywhere else in your room." "I didn't think you liked red." And that's exactly why I did it. Because it doesn't make any sense. It's odd and qwirky, it's different, and conversational. AND ... IT'S PAINT! If I decide in a month, a week, hell, in the next 5 minutes that I don't like it, I grab a brush, and life as we know it is back to Dover White. Plus, you can totally blame it on Miles Redd, and his new project that was featured in this month's Veranda!

 

Alright - so there you have it, answers, more to ponder, more to love ... or hate, and I welcome you to discuss, more to keep you tuned to how this little shell of an apartment that once looked like this:

 

 

Now looks like this. Thanks for taking part of the journey. For loving it, for giving your honest opinions, for the talk back and the chatter, and for being a part of this "new" life, much brighter and peaceful than before.