{pop goes the room]
To say the least, I am overwhelmed by all the kind words I have received about my latest blog post and my new web page. I am truly thankful for all the support my family and friends constantly supply me.
With that being said, it's time for my next post!
A room fit for a princess... I believe any member of my family could agree with that statement. That's what my bedroom at home truly is (at least to me). It was one of the first major projects my mom and dad allowed me to do all on my own. I could do anything I wanted (on a budget of course). I felt like I was being handed the design world, and I could do anything I wanted with it.
To be completely honest, I had no clue what my design style was at the time. There is a mix of industrial, country, glamour, art deco... it's really a design experiment. It became a habit of mine to rearrange my room at least once a week. I would take every single item out, and then place it somewhere new. This was either an act of pure boredom or an act of obsessive compulsive design.
Now where to begin... Let's start with color. As you see from the picture, that's what I wanted. Spare the sunglasses when you walk in, the fuchsia screamed that I was a carefree, typical teenage girl, and I was proud of it. Now that I have grown older, I would have probably done things differently. I would have thought about the psychology of color, and how a bright color isn't the best for spaces meant for sleep. However, this was the perfect backdrop to my absolute favorite color scheme, black and white. Both the black and white made for a very bold, fun room for for a teenage girl.
Next… let’s talk functionality. Functionality of a space is key. My design professor always says, "If you weren't functional, you weren't successful." A bedroom is obviously used for sleep, but what else? Think about what you use the space for. For me, I love when my girl friends all come over and we stay up until the late hours of the night laughing and chatting about life, or if my mom or sister wanted to chat about the day’s schedule, or if I simply wanted to slip on a pair of shoes. What did this mean for me? This means I wanted a space that was conducive for this environment, which meant a lot of seating. I have a desk chair, a soft, velvet chair adjacent from the bench at the end of my bed, and another chair by my door.
Now… let’s talk texture. To tone down what was this chaotic, bright room, I used a lot of softer textures. To make my room the palace I wanted it to be, I added white sheer curtains around my bed (this had always been a dream of mine) and a chandelier over my bed bejeweled with crystals. I then layered the curtains on my window with simple panels, sheers, and a black, upholstered valence box my dad handcrafted. To add more softness, I added about 30 more pillows to my bed, accent pillows on all my chairs, and a soft throw on my bed.
Finally… let’s add some glamour. To make this my “palace”, I needed to cozy the space up a little more. I did this by adding classic black and white photography all over my room. I also love the look of layered artwork. I layered personal images, paintings, and photography to achieve this look. I also added some sparkle with crystal accented candlesticks, vases, and mirrors to reflect all this light.
Now, here are some things for the road!
- find a color that suits the purpose of the room
- figure out what makes the space functional for you
- soften up a bold, dark room with texture
- add some glamour with crystal accents and mirrors to reflect all this sparkle
Also here is a useful link to discover more about the psychology of color:
http://freshome.com/2010/09/08/20-ways-to-use-color-psychology-in-your-home/
Thank you all for reading, and make sure to come back for more!
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