Airy Girls Bedroom

Photo credit to come…thanks Al

This used to be my 23 year old son’s room before I staged it as an airy girly room for staging our house…I had the opportunity to make a girls room after all…lol.… if only for a few months. All for under 300 bucks including mouldings', paint, lighting, new electrical…and furniture with bedding. It can be done…Brian didn’t believe me. Thanks IKEA :)

Hence, my absence from blogging lately. Wish us luck…a few steps closer to that loft space in the city :)

Best, Michelle

Colouring Book – Sky Lounge

 

Design and Computer Rendering by Michelle Morelan

Another “Colouring Book” post…use this as an underlay to create your own interior rendering.

It’s a lounge on the 34th floor with a accessible green roof. I have designed the aerie with the concept of merging the earth and sky, taking bits of both and lending them to each other…that’s how I’ve chosen my finishes which I will render into the drawing, but chose your own concept if you like, and try rendering this perspective in fineliners and markers. I would love to see your finished drawing…I’ll post mind soon.

Watercolour or Marker?

Watercolour, Michelle Morelan 2006

Catherine asked me via email if I have ever tried watercolour…I admit, yes, but it’s not something I feel I '”get”…I feel more comfortable with the control of markers and the texture you can create (below). For presentations I think watercolour fits lots of concepts nicely, but doesn’t offer the intensity of colour that markers do…just the point I would guess. I encourage experimentation with all mediums :) Thanks for ready my blog Catherine…have fun!

Architectural Markers, Chalk, Fineliners, Michelle Morelan, 2006

A Valentine Wish

Happy Valentines Day

Check-In

 

Renderings don’t always have to be structured…as a matter of fact, the client is happiest when they feel they can still change the design, and a finished rendering may say…”here…it’s done, and you have no say”… plus, they don’t want to think they are paying you for hours at the drafting table during the schematic phase of design. So loosen up :)

Design and Rendering by Michelle Morelan Design

www.michellemorelandesign.com

Small Space Study #3 Clandestine Barn

 Interior Design and Rendering by Michelle Morelan

Could you live in 750 square feet? This barn has a great space downstairs with a roomy entry, and studio/office space with double carriage doors which doubles it’s square footage. It features a double height stone wall and fireplace, and gourmet Wolf range included in a full cook’s kitchen. One change has been made…by code, I would think a set of doors off the LR area to the deck and stairs for egress is necessary. Living in the treetops, gourmet meals and natural iconic chairs which reference nature are all parts of the formula for living.

The barn serves double duty, where the bottom floor with stone fireplace can double as celebration space; clean off the painting table, and set a rustic scene for a meal in the painting studio in either season. In summer, you open the carriage doors, line the long table with flowers from the garden, and in winter you light the fire and scatter pumpkins about. Curtains on k-track from the beams on both floors keep the open feeling, but give you a privacy option.

A large part of the budget would be allocated is the post and beam construction, stone wall and FP. I also picture accordion doors like NanaWall in the LR, and of course, that Wolf range.

More to come on this one…it’s a great way to see it before you build it, and ask the question…could I live in a small space? For this couple, planning on travelling part of the year, looking for privacy, who are downsizing, need a painting studio, and run a home based design business, I think so.

the original plan – http://www.backroadhomes.com/tccastine.html

Vancouver Loft - new pictures

 

stump table by John Ross is 40% off right now, and urchin box - Heather Ross

chair – Kozai, Vancouver

photograph and concrete planter – Heather Ross

  It’s definitely time for a website upgrade, so yesterday my very gracious loft client let us in for the day to photograph the work I did for her last year…I have another client’s space to shoot the end of next month, and look forward to a new website sometime this year. Seems no matter how qualified you are, the pretty shots bring in the clients, hence the investment.

Can’t wait to share more of this space with you…and thanks to Heather of Heather Ross in House who let me borrow a few accessories for styling, and took some wonderful professional photos (these are just captures)…do stop by and visit Heather…she is at Granville and 6th (on 6th) here in Vancouver. You will not only see how talented she is, but also professional and kind, it’s a rare mix.

Best, Michelle

Small Case Study #2 Genevieve and David

After they sold the large house, you would think Genevieve and her husband of 45 years, David would be travelling abroad or settling into a nice retirement community, but that is not what they are about. Genevieve worked as a book editor and lived in South Africa, where she met her husband David, an events planner, so they have done their share of travelling. Later, they had three girls and raised a family in a large modern house in Burnaby. A few years ago, they bought a 1400 square foot condo in Surrey close to family and needed some ideas for the downsize.

The reason for the detailed introduction is to be clear about the importance of your lifestyle on your interior space. How will your life change, and what parts of it will stay the same…that is the important design question. A fresh start at any stage of your life can be cleansing, but your style shouldn't be washed down the drain.

Genevieve has lots of books when I met her originally. I was struck by the volume of books…obviously a strong indicator of what is important to her. When I asked what she valued more than anything, it was her library, and she was quite upset about having to get rid of even one. I had different thoughts about her beloved collection. You design around your lifestyle, so I suggested she take the books with her, and build bookcases around the whole perimeter of the living/dining space. They would envelope and hug her like they always have. Besides, keeping your favourite collection in tact tempers the life change of retirement and downsizing. This also meant that the other smaller collections that didn’t mean as much could go. It’s impossible to move everything from a five bedroom house into a 1400 square foot condo.

So, we would work in the books as a design element, and incorporate a library type dining room with wing chairs and lots of light for reading (as I approach 45, I find myself needing more light to read). It’s an unusual formula to space planning, but they don’t entertain formally any more, except for their monthly book club meeting, and are mostly invited to the kids’ homes for holidays. It’s a lifestyle that they are looking forward to embracing.

Two love seats worked much better for the couple, because of the depth of the bookshelves and the symmetry the pair create. The bookshelves are made of walnut, a traditional wood without yellow or pink undertones, and are washed with light from the directional ceiling pots, highlighting their importance. By including a few artefacts from their collection, small lamps and some serving pieces, the primary task of the space is revealed; if only slightly.

Genevieve wanted jewel tones, so we used emerald, ruby and sapphire hues for the upholstery. The sofas are trimmed in nail heads and upholstered in deep sapphire cotton velvet…David loves the texture. A back wall is painted in a deep ruby colour to highlight a lighter work of art, and has a relationship to a couple of smaller items like a pillow and blanket. Hanging your pictures, art and even a mirror on the bookshelf is a great trick for making it read as one surface and two transparent side tables open up the corridor, and provide flexibility.

The couple is moving in the Spring, and have already changed their book club invites to read “David and Genevieve’s Library”.

Written, Illustrated and Designed
by Michelle Morelan

www.michellemorelandesign.com

Schematic Life Rendering Workshop March 10,11,12

 

Looking forward to my first workshop in Vancouver, and have enjoyed talking to those have contacted me by phone and email. Some publication work and some ID projects have been keeping me busy, so I have not done a mass mail out yet, but please give me a call if you are interested in joining us here in Vancouver in March, as I need at least 6 to go forward.

Here is some more information:

Create stunning presentations with minimal effort…leverage what you already create for a project, and win more contracts. Do you ever think…”if I could just show them what it would look like”, or wish you could draw more effectively in front of a client? In this day of “how fast can you get it done”, I have figured out some shortcuts and tricks that free us from those long hours doing a single one point perspective.

As a designer, drawing is an essential tool, and computer renderings can be cold, and timely to render effectively. Hand drawings have been making a comeback, and part of the reason is the conceptual nature of them…clients don’t expect it to look exactly like the drawing…yet, it instils confidence.

The other component of the workshop is the collaborative nature of designers when they get together…it’s important for us to discuss WHY and WHEN and to WHAT extent we draw and render a project. When is a simple sketch enough, and when do we invest the time to create a more detailed rendering with colour?

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Starting with a wonderful meal at the Rain City Grill, then 2 days of drawing and rendering interiors at Kwantlen Polytechnic (near the airport for the last day). March 10,11,12

We will be sketching by hand, mostly, but some 3 modeling underlays as well, which I will provide if you do not use 3D software. I thought we would end early on the last day (Saturday), so you could make it home for that one last day off before the work week starts ;)

I will bring the larger tools, and there will be a small materials list. The cost of the workshop is $1395 plus tax. This includes dinner the first night, use of required larger tools, and two days of instruction. 

You will go home with a current project rendered in full colour…I am looking forward to meeting you!

 

Best, Michelle

Announcement…

Small Case Study: Genevieve and David

Projects of Past…Ucluth Lodge and Spa

I was going through old files, and came across these early SketchUp model renderings from my final year of college. It is an adaptive re-use project of a local fish plant, from working plant to a boat in eco-resort. If you are a student of interior design, and read my blog, please know that this is the most freedom you may ever have, as budget and time issues (not dynamic ones, at least) are not working against you- so push it and have fun. I learned SketchUp in a month; it’s that intuitive.

My favourite part of the project was the sunken glass tide line room where you could watch the tide deposit shell life. The rooms are in the old cold storage building, and the spa was the shrimp room…so much fun. The sushi bar was called Kimoto’s after a local Japanese founding family. I thought it had a real Cannery Row meets Long Beach Lodge feel.

*note, the middle dwg is a process dwg

A Commission, Christmas Greeting and a Hanukkah Wish

A recent commission…Interior Design by Karla Amadatsu, Rendering by Michelle Morelan

 

And for my friends who have just celebrated Hanukkah, this one is for you…Beth, Sam, Joni…

Rendering by Michelle Morelan

Happy Christmas Everyone!

May Peace, Love and Good Health be Yours!

xo  Michelle

Renovation for a Young Family

This recent renovation project has been exciting…a young family, a new open family room space, outdoor deck and entry are the formula for casual living. A built in banquette and new patio doors, a new fireplace facade, millwork and flooring throughout are all part of a recipe for this family’s lifestyle.

Design, Rendering and Planning by www.michellemorelandesign.com

Shush up your Space….

Don’t resign to the sad, typical condo layout of leather furniture and area rugs that are too small…use built in millwork, the correct proportions, slipcovers and a mix of styles to make it YOU. Isn’t that what it’s all about…YOU? Do in once, and do it right…The Moorage…concept dwg of a two bedroom condo.

design and rendering by www.michellemorelandesign.com

shush up your space…see what it’s going to look like first…

Art Sale

Still thinking of a special gift? I’m moving in the Spring, so I thought it may be a great time of year to offer reduced prices on some original art…

here’s what’s reduced…

“Bark Study”, Michelle Morelan, Mixed Media on Canvas, 18 x 24…now $225*

 

“First at the Beach”, Michelle Morelan, Mixed Media on Bevelled Canvas, 24”x 72” now $380*

   

“Dance of the Sun and Moon”, Michelle Morelan, Mixed Media on Linen Canvas (metallic)18”x 24”, now 250*

   

“Into”, Michelle Morelan, Acrylic on Studio Canvas, 18”x 24”, now 190*

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*plus shipping and applicable taxes, paypal payments only…these are bottom line prices, so sales are final. Thanks for you support!

www.michellemorelandesign.com

Best, Michelle

Open Up!!

Article, Design and Renderings by www.michellemorelandesign.com

Lily’s Pad

need help with your small space?

Interior Design, Renderings, Original Art, www.michellemorelandesign.com

Blue on Blue…an e-design in Surrey

Cookie cutter condos don’t have to be boring…we are building the wall up between the kitchen, and infusing this Surrey condo in blue linen, velvets and prints. White stitching on the custom sofa, and tufted panels on the wall create a tactile, layered night time palette, when the client is mostly home. The sconces and pots are all on dimmers, and the banquette and round pedestal table with a curvy bench offers versatility in a small space.

e-design by Michelle Morelan Design, cost of this project: $1395. (includes rendering, floor plan, relevant elevations, shopping list and installation notes).

 

Best, Michelle

Design without Drawing?

I had a discussion with a design professional the other day. He was saying that he overheard a seminar of designers talking about the act of drawing and how it’s attached to the design process. One designer in the crowd said that they don’t draw, and never have, and didn’t see the importance of it. The rest of the room disagreed, and lumped the skill of drawing directly to the process of design.

I personally, don’t know many designers that can sell a concept to a client without some type of drawing as part of the presentation. It’s a designer’s chance to look at the details, work out standard dims to address budget issues, and check proportion. I depend on my hand, experience and intuition, which comes from putting pen to paper.

When you hire a designer, please appreciate all of the hours that go into lining things up perfectly, into appropriate specifications of FF&E (furniture, fixtures and equipment), and perspective drawings that show you how the surfaces will work together.

So, I would say WHAT? Design without drawing? How did you arrive at the design plan? How do you get your client to sign off…and where is the joy in the process? I have just seen too many filler panels between bathroom vanities and bathtubs to be convinced otherwise. Work it out on paper first.

Design and Renderings by Michelle Morelan Design, 2008