When I walk into a poorly designed room, I react immediately to the negative aspects. I don’t feel comfortable. It could be that the furniture is out of balance, creating an awkward path to follow. The colours may clash, patterns fight each other, there’s not enough light, the mood is jumbled.
It’s often easier to see why a space doesn’t work, than to figure out how to fix it. Interior-design theory is a complicated business, not learned overnight. But fortunately, there is lots of help available in books, magazines, newspapers and online to guide us through some of the most common obstacles.
Our home spaces are created over time.
Being aware of what to look for and how to add and edit as your life evolves is one of my only rules. Learn by doing. Make mistakes and move on. It’s a great adventure.
Dominic Bradbury, author of Interiors in Detail, 100 Contemporary Rooms, has compiled an inspiring collection of rooms that work in all its senses. Each space projects a mood and affords the details that make it useful, practical and inviting. Each room fulfills its role with a flourish.
Bradbury takes a close look at the elements that help to bring about a successful ending and highlights these in captions.
We are drawn to the customized shapes of the furnishings and rich layering of deep colour in the “Midnight Blue” bedroom, designed by Studio Catoir. There is texture everywhere, the woven leather headboard, fabric-covered walls, velvet curtains and wool and silk carpet. These tactile surfaces contrast with the smooth, hard materials in the desk and wood floor to create balance.
The eye is captivated by the sculpted shape of the headboard that appears to be wrapping its arms around the bed. There’s a Midcentury Modern feel to the chair and the kidney-bean desk top. This is an elegant room where midnight blue is the dominant colour. The white window sheers, bed linens and strips of white in the carpet allow the room to breathe and feel fresh.
Another room where blue is dominant has a completely different character. Artist and designer Susan Hable Smith has incorporated her talents as a textile designer to create a look called Cottage Colours in an early 20th-century cottage. Smith combines the soft tones of blues and greens taken from nature (and the garden view just outside the family den).
It’s not surprising that Smith usually starts with the drapery and floor coverings to set the tone of a room. She layers carpets over the wood floor, switching throughout the year. A casual country atmosphere continues with her choice of flea-market finds and some treasures from travelling. The two rows of decoupage birds continue the symmetry of the room’s straight lines. A blue wave, originally a theatrical prop from an opera house, is an unexpected element, while its colour fits the blue theme.
Interiors by Design examines key design principles as a guide to helping you make the most of your rooms. With the current trend of downsizing, proportion and scale have become a challenge. Furnishings that fit comfortably in a house are often out of scale for a small space. Yes, we are editing like mad, but it is helpful to get a new perspective. Start fresh, but don’t try to match up the past. Instead, reinvent. Inspiration is everywhere.
Debbie Travis’s House to Home is produced by Debbie Travis and Barbara Dingle. Email questions to [email protected]. Follow Debbie on Twitter at twitter.com/debbie_travis, and visit Debbie’s website, debbietravis.com.
