Drawing Room - From Theory to Concept

Having looked at the theories of High Modernism and Truth to Materials, I have used these theories to develop the following concepts for the Drawing Room.  These I have shown below.

Truth to Materials

Wood is the main component in this neutral looking scheme.  There is not a lot of colour variation, and so this design does not have much depth.  My favourite elements from this design are the wood and stone table, and the sea grass carpet.  These are aspects that I may look to carry through to the final design.

High Modernism

 This design has a lot of references to external structures such a s trees.  The room has three windows, all of which look out on trees, and so this design really connects to the countryside.

Truth to Materials and High Modernism

This combination of both theories I feel is the strongest design, as it incorporates the theme 'country connections' as well as being practical.  This rom is used the most by my client, and is often host to family afternoon teas, meaning that all the surfaces need to be resilient and able to take the odd mark.

Furniture and Fittings Choices


Coffee table - The table top is a rough surface which adheres to the truth to materials theory.  It is a solid piece, and so will be able to handle everyday use.

Square side table - This is made from wood and stone, two natural elements.  The stone in the table reflects the existing stone in the room which makes up the fireplace.  This is to be placed on the right of the sofa, creating symmetry, as the stone shelf attached to the fireplace sits to the left of the sofa.

Round side table - the rough oak matches the mirror, and does not take up too much room, as this will be beside the arm chair which sits a third of the way into the room.

Console table - Again this has a rough wood surface in tune with the truth to materials theory.  It is a large but sits along a long wall, under the window.  The length allows the lamps to be placed either side of the window without obstructing the curtains.  It is not a solid piece, and this allows the wallpaper which will be behind it to show through.

Side chair - This made from a  matching wood to the console table, and comes upholstered in a natural linen.

Sofa  - This is an elegant statement piece and will be used in two places.  Firstly as a large three seater sofa, and secondly as a love seat.  The large sofa will have a matching natural linen to the arm chair, however the love seat will be in a different fabric, yet to be chosen.


Light -  The light incorporates ivy into the design, a natural element that grows on the outside of the house.  This is part of the high modernism theory, incorporating an external structure.


Table lamps  - Both of the lamps incorporate elements f a tree, the first imitating the structure of a tree, the second incorporating twigs into the design.

Wallpaper - The wallpaper will be on the end wall which contains the console table, and looks out on an orchard.  The design as been chosen to incorporate the external view.


Whicker basket - This is a natural material, and is to sit on the hearth with logs in for the open fire.

Final Floor Plans - Agreed by Client

These are the final floor plans that have been agreed by the client.  Under each one is a despcription of the alterations and areas of development.

Drawing Room

• Here I have extended the console table to fill the wall space.  This also means that two table lamps can be placed on the table, without obstructing the curtains
• I have made the armchair smaller, and so a small chair will need to be looked for
• I have also added a small round side table 
• The side table next to the sofa has been made larger.  A longer table was tried which did fill the space better but looked too cluttered

Kitchen

• I have chosen to include a breakfast table instead of an island for two reasons.  Firstly because it is more traditional, and secondly because I did not wan't anything obstructing the view out of the double doors.
• I have removed both the windows from the one wall, and centred double doors along the wall instead.
• The fridge has been moved out from under the stairs, and although it is not in an overly prominent position, it is not obstructing anything, and this seems to be the best place
• The external door opposite the stairs has been moved to allow the cupboard doors to open easily.
• The door at the bottom of the stairs is not new, but was not drawn into previous drawings as it should have been.

Bedroom and Bathroom

• The main change is that the client has now decided that they do not want a TV in the bedroom, as they feel it ruins the ambience of the space. 
• In place of the TV I have added two wall lights and a mirror to create a dressing table area.
• Nothing else has been changed in this room

From these drawings I can now construct a furniture list for each room and begin to choose furnishings.

A rough Idea of the Drawing Room

This quick sketch represents the living room with the new design in place, and looks cosy but uncluttered.

Drawing Room Floor Plan Options

Having looked first at the drawing room, I have come up with three different furniture layouts.  I have drawn thumbnail sketchens of each layout, and below are the floor plans drawn in vectorworks

These I presented to the client, to gain feed back, and look at which one I should develop.  Below is a copy of each drawing, with the client's thoughts written underneath:

Drawing 1 - Client Feedback

Positives

• Good use of fireplace and stone shelf
• Like how the furniture faces into the fire.
• Room seems open and easily accessible from double doors
• Extra seating is sometimes required when the family comes round so chairs either side of console is a good idea.
• Room looks full, but not over cluttered
• Table lamps spread throughout the room, so that ambient lighting is possible.

Drawbacks

• Perhaps need a bigger side table between love seat and sofa to fill the space
• Hooks next to double doors may crowd the space if have lots of coats on them.
• Possibly not enough room behind arm chair to get through the door

Drawing 2 - Client Feedback

Positives

• Again like how everything is centred round the fire
• Similar use of stone shelf, but this seems to work well
• Like the console table hiding the back of the sofa
• Moving the door towards the wall creates more space for the seating area, perhaps look at using this in the first drawing to give more space?

Drawbacks

• May not be enough seating
• Sofa arrangement creates a corridor from door to door
• Room doesn't feel as open
• Wall with double doors on is long and blank, may look like an area of dead space or another corridor
• No quick access into seating area from internal door

Drawing 3 - Client Feedback

Positives

• Lots of seating

Drawbacks

• Corner unit overpowers the space
• Left side of the room looks bare and empty
• Chair blocks door way
• Not enough room for side table next to corner unit so anyone on the end has no where to put a drink
• Coffee table seems too big, might not be enough leg room when sitting on the sofa
• Not many table lamps so ambient lighting cannot be attained 

Thumbnail sketches to give a rough idea of what each one might look like in 3D

Looking at each of these drawings and the feed back from the client, drawing 1 seems to have a lot of positive aspects for the client, and not too many draw backs.  In drawing 2, the door has been moved and the client suggested that if this was implemented in drawing 1, it would overcome the problem of the lack of space between the door and the chair.  Drawing 1 also provides a large amount of seating, which is something the client seems concerned with.

I have decided to take drawing 1 further, and try to overcome the drawbacks of this lay out.  Drawing 1 seemed to be the one that the client was most impressed with and each of the problem areas are small details that can easily be altered.  I will however be taking an element of drawing 2 (moving the door), and drawing 3, which the client did not like will go no further.