Designing with Monaco Blue

Pantone's Monaco Blue

Monaco Blue was one of the popular Pantone colors seen on styles by top designers during fashion week. The color dominated the runways as on of the Spring 2013 top colors for fashion. 

Alfonsina Romero created an eclectic and complimentary design scheme inspired by Pantone’s Monaco Blue.  Alfonsina introduces the color into the room without letting it become over powering, breaking through browns, whites, silver accents and adding muted orange pieces.  Love the well balanced design? Click on the design to look at the individual furniture pieces used in this scheme along with where-to-buy information and prices on ProjectDecor. 

Tribeca Loft Design Scheme using Monaco Blue, by Alfonsina Romero

Reupholster: An Old Sofa Gets New Life

When it comes to design, an exceptional designer sees endless possibilities in what seems impossible.  Alfonsina Romero revived and old vintage couch by giving it a new look with functional fabrics from ARC-com. For the purpose of variety, she selected leather for the base which was also used to reupholster the inside of the attached storage ottoman. The leather surface created contrast with the durable but soft-to-the-touch fabric which has high tech qualities of being impermeable thanks to its  eco friendly inner lining. The new  tufting design steered away from the original channeling to produce a cleaner look.  Having the leather as the base surface makes the cleaning the sofa a breeze as it requires no more than a simple wipe down.

Alfonsina believes that sofas should be functional, comfortable and shouldn't be covered in plastic, as this particular piece was originally. The plastic did protect it from the elements for so long, however, enabling the reupholster to use the original foam of the piece, which was in excellent condition. Fortunately, the new fabrics that Alfonsina selected continue to protect the sofa's core from liquids, providing a shield inside. The original legs were left on the sofa, but can be replaced anytime with legs in chrome finish to create a more modern look.  

The ottoman storage section's lid also got reupholstered with a bonus tab
made out of the same material as the sofa for easy lifting.

Reupholstering old pieces is a great way to hang on to good quality furniture pieces. Older furniture  pieces are quite often better built than newer models that might cost as much as investing in reupholstering an old piece.  Reviving furniture is also an eco conscious practice, because you are repurposing something that might end up in a landfill. 

Are you considering reupholstering your sofa? Perhaps a flea market find? Alfonsina Romero  is the perfect person for the job, she will help you shop fabrics in trade-only showroom, and guide you through various options, as well as ensure that your please gets crafted to perfection.

Contact AR for reupholstering services: info@ar-ny.com

Kitchen Wall Makeover: Before & After

Designer Alfonsina Romero dramatically improved the look of a once very plain kitchen wall with two windows by adding a splash of red paint to the back wall and combining both windows into one with an oversized woven shade. Alfonsina states: "When it comes to adding an intense paint color to a space, I always pick the window wall because the color will have a softer visual effect."