I feel like everyone has this
light and I just don't think you should have this light. Welcome to my series, Make My
Space Work, the show where we gift hardworking entrepreneurs
with a complete office make-over. I'm Alexandra, your host,
and the decore expert, and this series is brought to
you by Shopif, the complete commerce platform to start,
grow and manage your business. Today I'm helping David makeover his
living room slash workspace. David's an interesting guy. He is a surgical resident, so
he's going to be a surgeon. He's a proud cat dad of two,
just like I'm a proud cat mom. Proud cat Mom! And he loves techno music. He's actually such a fan of
techno music that he started his own small business called
techno apparel, where he makes clothes for techno music fans. David has an interesting space. His living room, and
workspace, and kitchen are on, like, a lower level. The main issue in this
space is that it is crowded. He's got a desk, a big
bookshelf, two sofas, a TV. It's like all happening. David really wants a space
to entertain, a space to work, a space that reflects
him and his personality. Before we get started make sure you guys hit that
subscribe button, turn on the bell, so you don't miss any other
episodes just like this one. Okay. I'm trying! I'm so much taller than you. Hi, my name is David. This is my partner Kennedy. Um, I'm a general surgery
resident in Toronto. I also have a business. It's called Techno Apparel
and it's a lifestyle clothing brand for techno music lovers. My current workspace
is not very functional. It's combined with my
living room, so there's not real separation between my
workspace and my living space. We eat here. We entertain here. This space isn't
working, for me at least. Alexandra! Please help us make
this space work! David's problem is one
we've run into before. He has a space that kind
of has to do at all. It has to entertain, he
has to work in it, and he has to relax and lounge. I think that there's
actually a lot of space, but nothing is flowing properly. He literally has a printer like
beside his TV, and his desk all the way on the other side of the room. And I'm guessing, like
David, so many of you at home watching do this too. You put your furniture
up against a wall. So you kind of have this like
empty space in the middle, and everything's just like
pressed up against the wall. I'm going to show you by just
like, moving your furniture around pivoting a few things, you can
make such a difference in the flow and ,like, vibe of your space. My focus for David is really
creating that separation. I want him to have a place
where he can entertain, lounge, and work all in one. I'm back in this space. It's finally make-over day! And so many things have happened. So we got this entire room
painted this bright white. Xico and I have removed the
bookshelf that was here right when you walked in, because
I'm bringing in new shelf. I picked this, like, sagey
green gray for an accent wall. This stuff is all being
donated, so I'm going to bring this outside and then we can
start bringing in the decor. I feel like everyone has this
light, and I just don't think you should have this light. This space is all open. I wanted to have a
really great accent wall. The TV is actually to be mounted on
this wall with nothing else, like no other art, so the paint kind
of acts as like an art stand in. It's like cool, sophisticated,
but also neutral. So David really wanted to invest
in a new sofa, so I helped him pick one out, something in
a leather that was warm, but again, like brought in that kind
of industrial real feel to the space and I'm placing it in front
of the TV, against the wall. And this is going to create a
really good divide between his living space and his workspace. And it give lots of room back
here for them to walk into the kitchen, walk into the living
room and it doesn't feel closed off, but it still creates that
visual divide between spaces. So now that I've got the
sofa placement I'm going to put down this beautiful rug
that I got for the space. Um, but I'm thinking that I'm
going to have to move the sofa because this rug is going to
look weird if it's not centered. So let's put the rug down. Then reconfigure the sofa. I should have really
done the rug first, but you'll live and you learn! This actually fits perfectly,
and I don't think it needs to be centered in the room. I think it needs to be
centered with the sofa, which it is, it looks great. Some of David's furniture I got
rid of, but then other pieces like this coffee table, we're
in perfectly great condition. I love how a piece like this
kind of breeds new life once you bring, like, other accessories in. It kind of looks like a
new piece that has always belonged in this room. So I know the not centering the
sofa to the TV is going to be controversial down in the comments. You guys, I'm ready for
it, but hear me out. David needs space to walk into
the kitchen, walk to this side of the room, and if you move
it any more in the center of the room, it totally closes
off the flow and walking space. Plus, I'm going to be adding
a little bar kitchenette area here, so there needs to be
space for him to entertain when he has people over. So being in the space right
now, this feels the best. So now that this is done, we are
going to tackle this TV wall. David has a pretty
epic sound system. It makes sense. He loves music. And so there's a lot of cords. And I know that he's not the
only one that struggles with this, I struggle with it too. When you have tons of cords,
it just instantly makes your space look cluttered and messy. If you don't have a Xico in
your life, we all need a Xico, but if you don't have a Xico in
your life, if you aren't able to like feed your cords behind the
wall like David has, go for some chord covers, they are going to
be such a game changer for you. Now that the TV's mounted,
I'm going to move the cabinet back, place the speakers,
and cover this little tiny section of cords with a plant. Now it's time to change the light. You guys know I love a
good light switcharoo. This new light is still a ceiling
light, because the ceilings are quite low, but you'd be surprised. You could find some amazing ceiling
sconces that look industrial like this one, like a statement piece. And I feel like a lot of people
just always think you have to go for like a boob light. You don't. There are so many beautiful
ones on the market. What a step up from the boob
light that was here before. It was like an
interesting boob light. It was not your standard
boob light, but this one is just way better. If you're going to switch
out your ceiling light. I would suggest finding something
with a bit of dimension. This one has lots
of industrial vibes. It has the metals, but
then it also has a bit of warmth with that gold color. So to fill this space behind the
couch, I'm adding this beautiful industrial style bookshelf. This piece is so beautiful
and brings in so much of that character that I feel was
missing from this living room. It just it's stunning. I love it. I want one in my home. You have the industrial
inspired pipes, and then this really warm wood. So again, bringing in that warmth
with the dark wood, and then I'm propping it with all of his books
and a few trinkets layered in. I love open shelving because I
think it is such a good opportunity to marry function with decor,
and really ,like, show your personality through your shelf. I feel like when you look at
my bookshelf, you can kind of get a sense of who I am. Colorful books, candles,
photos of me and my friends. That's exactly what I want to
do for David's shelf as well. Now that I'm seeing these books
on the shelf, I'm realizing that David actually purged
so much from that bookshelf. And now he has books that
like, he actually loves, and that he uses every day. And I think it's a really good
representation of who he is. There's like, Grey's
Anatomy for Students. Atlas of Surgical Operations. It just looks like it really
reflects him and his personality, which is what you always want
to go for in a bookshelf. When you're styling shelves like
this, my tip that I always give is to stack books upright and
then stack them in piles as well. It just creates dimension,
different heights, it suddenly looks like your
books are decor as well. The first thing that I knew we
had to keep when I walked in here were these amazing prints. They are so in line with this
industrial, like vintage style. David works in the medical field. So these are just perfect. Now these were hung
up on this wall. I'm going to rehang them here
cause they looked great, but they were spaced really far apart. I'm just going to bring
them a bit closer together. I love reusing things
that people already have. This is the best. There's an empty corner
beside the TV, so I'm just adding in this lamp. This lamp is a little more
modern, but I wanted to bring in a bit of warmth because
this industrial style can sometimes feel a bit cold. Lighting just brings in
so much warmth to a space. David had this printer
and this filing cabinet shoved in that corner. Wow. Let's go down memory lane. Take a look at the sad, lonely
printer in the corner of the room. I'm obviously going to move
it closer to his desk area. So what I'm thinking is
that this can sit on top of the filing cabinet. There's a plug right behind me. Let's actually take a look at
what this nook used look like. It had a shoe cabinet here, a
lamp, maybe a sofa, can't remember. It was just like
piled high with stuff. But now it's like, Oh,
this is where the desk belongs now that it's clear. I got David a new desk, and I
tried a few different places, but ultimately it felt super
right against the staircase. This way, the filing cabinet
is not like a focal point when you walk in, and the
printer can sit nicely on top. I think this way David has room to
put storage here, or another plant. Now he has room to, kind of
like, grow into the space, which I think is really important. He can look out of those windows. Have the light shining in on him. All the cords are hidden. I also hung this wire basket
and this is where David can keep his printer paper. I kept his desk chair
because it was super awesome. In great condition. And when you have a great desk
chair that works for you, keep it. Now it's time for the
finishing touches. I'm bringing a few cushions into
the living room to add some warmth. This beautiful throw
blanket with these tassels. I'm also adding two
industrial style barstools. Him and his partner were
eating on the coffee table and now they can actually enjoy
breakfast or entertaining in this little kitchen bar nook. Such a simple fix. The makeover is done and we
have literally created three different areas in this open space. A lounge space, a place to
entertain and eat food, and a big open workspace where
everything is altogether. His printer's not on the other
side of the room, it's beside his computer where it belongs. I am really, really
excited to show David. I'm also extremely nervous. I actually had never
met David in person. I have literally based
this makeover off of the inspo photos he showed me,
and a quick call with him. So I'm feeling the butterflies. I am feeling extremely nervous. Before we bring David in, I want
to mention that these makeovers are made entirely possible by Shopify. If you are someone like David who
wants to start a side business based off of your passions,
his is techno music, shopify is a great place to start. So Print on Demand is a service
that allows you to design and sell apparel, or mugs, or
stationary or whatever it may be, from home, from your computer. So you're not sitting at your
desk like pressing logos or designs onto products, someone
else does that for you. They take care of the shipping,
of the packaging, and of the actual printing of the products. If this sounds interesting to
you, Shopify actually has a webinar that explains how to set
up your Print on Demand business. Print on Demand is something
I'm super interested in because it is such an easy way to have
like a hobby, or a side project, that doesn't cost you anything
until you actually make sales. So you're not investing
in product until you actually sell that product. So it's super low risk. I've linked the webinar down below. Make sure you check it out. Okay, so now it's time to bring
David in and his partner Kennedy. I'm so excited to reveal
this space to them. Are you guys excited? Yes. Okay. Um, before you open your eyes,
I want you to picture what the space looks like before. It was a bit crowded,
not very functional. The couches were
like eight years old. Yup. Yup. Printer in the corner. Printer in the corner. Desk in the middle of the room. Okay. Well, I have made it an
office space and a living space, and I really hope you
guys are going to like it. On the count of three I want
you guys to open your eyes. Okay. One, two, three. Oh my God! Oh, my God! It's, it's perfect! It's amazing! I love it. I'm speechless for
the first time ever. Wow. The desk. Oh my God. Oh my God. Okay, so I'll walk you
through what I did. Took away that billy bookcase
situations, so now you actually have space for an entryway. Yeah. You can put your bike. I know you were talking
about hanging your bike up. You have this shelf
,that like, totally, I feel like reflects, I've never
met you, but I feel like looking at this this bookshelf, I'm
like, I feel like I know David. You know, what you're into. It's also decorative. And then we have those awesome
prints that you had in your space before, which I just loved so much. Brought in a rug,
cozy up the space. I really wanted to create a divide
between your workspace and your living space, which is why I
thought the couch worked right in the middle of the room like this. We mounted your TV on the wall. Oh my God yes! Finally! It only took two years. We created a little,
like, kitchenett. So you can have people over,
and like entertain at the bar. Are you crying?! I'm, like, getting all emotional. It's like, it looks so good. There's so much more room. Like it's, I didn't realize
there was this much room in here. I also wanted to leave you
some room to, like, grow. So if you wanted to put more
plants, or like, a console table behind the couch, like,
you have room to add things. Cause you did such an
amazing job at purging. No, you did though. You reall did! You did and, like, not a lot
of people do that, and I think now you have the opportunity
to really make the space, like, your own and fill it with
things that you, that you love. Thank you so much. You're welcome. What a transformation
in under 12 hours. Thank you guys so
much for watching. Make sure you click that subscribe
button if you want to see more make-overs just like this one. Thank you guys for watching,
and I will see you next time. Bye.
