Condo Living Room Decorated With Comfort in Mind

The Solution

The design team delivers on its promise of a contemporary masculine space with subtle color — here's how they do it:

• The walls are painted a soft beige-green hue to complement the existing furniture and set the stage for the subdued contemporary look.

• The furniture layout is reconfigured to make better use of the space. In doing so, the sofas are positioned opposite each other eliminating room for Michael's existing coffee and console table. Dave decides to build two new pieces to custom fit the space. He cuts the tops out of a 4x8 sheet of 1-1/4" birch plywood and applies a walnut veneer tape to the edges. After adding a semi-gloss polyurethane to protect the top, he attaches squared-off parson's legs to the coffee table and aluminum legs to the console.

• Kristan purchases a new entertainment unit to house the TV and miscellaneous electronics — a shelf underneath provides even more storage without adding too much weight to the design.

• Since Michael is an amateur photographer and has a stash of good-quality images of his children, the team frames a sampling of them in frames with crisp white mats.

• Michael's stand-up bass is taken out of the case and used as an accessory in one corner of the room. Other decorative elements include greenery, a collection of throw pillows on the sofa and a basket of apples on the coffee table for additional color. The room is lit with two standing paper-shade lamps.