Opinions

How do you feel about this colourful  vignette ?
Are there things you like?
Are there things you would change if you had an opportunity to do so?We all have our own take on a space, our likes and dislikes. That's what makes decorating an imperfect science.

 Amber Interiors

When I glance at this room I am immediately attracted to the bold magenta dresser.  It commands the eye because of its  colour and its size in comparison to everything placed near it.  The chair paired with it is just as commanding for different reasons (pattern and texture). I like the rounded back, but not the pattern or the colour.  Perhaps something in a deeper aqua  with a rounded back would be a better foil for the dresser.   "Breathing space" is important and this chair doesn't have any.   If you needed a chair there  and that was the only amount of space available, a darker aqua chair   would fit better visually and connect with the other elements.  

When I'm adding accessories to a striking piece like this dresser , I always want larger scale pieces  that provide colour contrast and variety in shapes. I like the white box, but I would choose a larger plant and a more rounded third object  and then overlap the arrangement to move your  eye around.


 The artwork would work better with a different chair.

And that's my take! What's your opinion?  Come on, you know you have one. 

Lessons learned

Vivid greens are subtly moving into golds and oranges and there's a bite in the air even on sunny days.  My mind is  moving on to what I want to do to herald the  fall season.   I never go all out in these things because my design aesthetic is very understated. The only vibrant things in my home are paintings which for some reason seem to have a lot of orange!  I guess I'm honouring fall year round.

I was at the dollar store the other day and saw some great deals on fall foliage.  Usually that means pulling bouquets  apart and rearranging them so they don't look like they came from the dollar store.  Follow the arrangement as I move it around my kitchen and dining room to see where it looks best.

 Would you like to see something taller and a little larger here? I feel there is just too much space between the light fixture and the arrangement.  The black chairs are very dark and they demand something larger in scale . Better start looking for more deals and find tall, dark elements and another vase.

This arrangement I keep in my dining room illustrates  what a difference height makes even without the bold colours of fall.

When you crop the picture  the arrangement looks bold and eye catching.

With or without the straw placemats ? Your choice. With the placemats it  is homey, without is more styled and contemporary.

  When you pair the arrangement with our giant red mug it seems smaller and less eye catching.

 The bouquet just can't fight the scale and vibrancy of this painting; therefore, it looks totally insignificant. You need something  taller.  

Enter our trusty arrangement for the sake of comparison. This arrangement works so much better because of its lack of colour and height. There's no way you can compete with the colours in the artwork so don't go there. 

 Nestled on my window ledge the bouquet  looks comfortable, but I've created another problem.  The little art work next to the bottle looks lost, and all the colour is on one side.   The vignette needs balancing with an object more colourful and larger than the painting. Hummmm, what can I find?

Do you consider scale and colour  when you add accessories to your home?

Are you a design rebel?

What's your first instinct if someone tells says you shouldn't do something?

Do you automatically want to do it?  I do! 

 Most people would agree that there are rules/guidelines in interior design. They impact decisions about all sorts of things,  e.g.,  hanging lights, choosing the right scale furniture, selecting colour schemes, etc.   I guess following them is a little like following a recipe - you get a predictable result. Someone else has done all the thinking for you which makes it easy but, you also get a very generic looking space where everything looks controlled.

 I always think about those generic spaces  as the "Pinterest look" . You know  the rooms, all  beautifully organized, cutely accessorized with whatever is trendy at the time, and perfectly matched.   Does that make them wrong?  Definitely not.  I firmly believe we should all live in spaces that make us happy and comfortable.   What I am saying is that there are options in design that produce interesting, one of a kind spaces that are  usually achieved by playing around with design elements and principles. They are not for everyone.

 Take the room below.....

 

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  Have a close look at this space  and decide what you like or don't like about it.  Check out my thoughts  at the end of this post. There are no right or wrong answers.

 How closely you adhere to rules is dependent on what results you want to achieve, how well you understand the elements/ principles  of design,  and how creative you are at applying them.  You can do anything in decorating, you just need to act bravely, and figure out how to pull it off.  But, before you can break the rules you have to know them.

Can you spot which  rules/guidelines were  thrown to the four winds in these rooms? 

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Here are the results: 

 

1. Stick to one style 

 These spaces show that when you mix traditional and modern the juxtaposition draws attention to both.  If only one style was used the various elements would be lost in their sameness. I particularly like the richness of wood and lots of curves with modern furnishings.  Of course art of any style works in any space.  

2. Use consistent finishes (don't mix metals)

This is definitely a good place to start your little rebellion.  You certainly can mix metals. Just make sure you have some of each one in the space.  Think about a piece of jewellery that uses white gold, pink gold and yellow gold. It works. Check out this post on the topic.

 

3. Pay attention to scale when selecting furniture/objects
I have to admit this is the one I have the most difficult time ignoring because  I am so attuned to scale considerations in drawing and painting.  I think I also have a  thing about objects too large bearing down on me. They make me uncomfortable. Large scale objects make riveting focal points. You can also have objects that are too small in scale, and end up looking insignificant and/or cluttered. Scale is usually the issue when a client tells me there is something wrong with a space, but he/she can't name it.

 

 
4. Every room needs an accent colour
Definitely not! Monochromatic rooms are so relaxing and depend on value changes and texture to wow.  If you want a quiet room, forget the pops of colour.

  

5. Keep wood tones consistent
When you slavishly adhere to this dictate you end up with a very boring space.  Check out this post for ways to mix wood tones effectively.



6. Choose light colours for small spaces
That would be your first instinct, but the two rooms in #6 shows that breaking this rule produces distinctive and very different spaces.  Sorry, but I couldn't live in either of them.  I am a neutral colour gal in my own home. This post provides various options for painting small spaces.

How did you do?

And now back to the reflection pic....

 

There's no doubt this space breaks a lot of rules, but it sure is memorable, and no one could call it boring. 

•  styles are mixed freely, moving from traditional to modern;
•  the colour scheme is monochromatic, no accent colours here;
• scale is manipulated big time in the high back chairs, plant, circular light fixture as well as in the smaller lamp shades in adjoining room;
• wood tones are liberally mixed.

And here's another take on some of the points above and few new ones. Modani modern furniture specializes in modern furniture and accessories.  Check them out online or at their newly opened modern furniture store in Toronto. Remember you can combine modern elements with any decor.

 

How do you feel about breaking design rules? 

Adding spice to your decor.

If you've decided your decor is predictable after reading my last post, and you want to spice things up a little this post is for you.

Here goes....

1. Rebel against  over-matching  accessories

If you choose an accent colour everything does not need to be that colour!   Consider breaking up the accessory load with a complementary colour scheme  or by choosing several colours side by side on the colour wheel.

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A lively mix of pattern and colours brings energy to neutral spaces. Imagine this room without the colour.

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And for those who like a more traditional space, here's an adventurous mix of patterns to create a very soft look.  Notice how the orange is repeated in the flowers, and the pink in the flowers on table and the books, but the yellow stands alone. That makes it a 3, 2 and 1 colour distribution.  Subtle but everything counts for interest and variety. Now I want to repaint the walls soft white.

2. Mix old and new together in one space 

Briggs Solomon 

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 3.  Display meaningful objects 

Collections always denote personal interests, and  they are  markers of time and events in the collector's life, e.g.,  when was something purchased, where etc. You are really creating a personal timeline and history when you display a collection of objects. 

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The trick with displaying collections is to come up with a way to do it that looks artful rather than cluttered. 

4. Throw in something unexpected or quirky

I am always attracted to vignettes that tell a story like the one above.  Is the leather saddle bag connected to hobbies or is it random? Perhaps it's for bike riding, e.g., a messenger bag.  What are the tall wooden pieces?  Has the owner seen New York from the air or is it just a visual adventure? 

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Oh, art you have such power to present and question.  Putting this large piece on the floor brings it to viewing level, but it also places it where a foot is usually found in a home.  

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Layering, complementary colours, interesting objects and a bit of whimsey.  Perfectly composed and inviting. 

5. Mix styles 

Mixing styles isn't for everyone, but it always creates comparisons that are interesting.  In this space the hard edged, lucite table  is a total contrast to the softness of everything else.  It is there without being there visually.  

6. Use common objects/materials  in new ways 

IF you like the idea of a clock table there's every conceivable take on this on Pinterest.  Check them out here .

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If you have a thing for rulers, that works too. 

7. Mix patterns and textures to create visual excitement 

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 California Home + Design

8. Break up furniture sets 

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 Furniture sets were conceived for the person who wants a ready made room without the fuss of looking for separate pieces.  With that ease comes predictability.   If you are interested in variety and energy in a space,  take away one or more of your set pieces and introduce something new.  In the room above,  only the chairs match,  but it all works very well together.

9. Go for contrast and drama  

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 Of course black and white is the ultimate contrast.  Add any colour to it and you have instant interest.  How do you feel about red and black?  Perhaps you would like white, black and yellow better.

10.  Play with scale to create a statement 

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Playing with larger scale pieces works best in more minimal spaces where the size and form of objects are highlighted without  the distraction of a lot of objects. 

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If you're  choosing a large painting for a space make sure you have some bridging heights like the plant above to connect all the objects in the space. The range of patterns and number of pillows below the artwork also ads visual weight to balance out the large work.  Manipulating scale can be a tricky business.

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So many ways to create interesting spaces.  Do you have a favourite from this list?