Morning today I thought we might focus on why particular rooms work, breaking down the elements and zeroing in on them. More specifically I thought we might focus on bedrooms because rather selfishly I would quite like to be back in mine right now snuggled under the duvet with the two M's listening to BBC Radio 4. I can dream right? Also I thought we would focus on work spaces since here I am in mine right now beavering away
So one of my most favourite bedrooms belongs or belonged I should say (as she has moved on) to Jenna Lyons. Why? Well letâs break it down:
MIXING OLD WITH NEW - otherwise known as eclectic decorating. Its the hardest look in the world to pull off because you have to marry together in a cohesive manner different periods, styles, shapes and colours. If you get it right itâs the most gratifying look to pull off but it takes skill, intelligence and a bit of patience because it doesnât always come together immediately. If we analyse Jenna's bedroom she has artfully blended a traditional rug with more modern elements like the light and artwork. It works because she has a limited colour palette, not every single thing is a different colour enabling Jenna to mix far more easily.
STRONG COLOUR AND PATTERN - both of these elements are massive game changers. We all know that painting a room a dark hue gives it an immediate edge, making it cooler, more theatrical on and on I could go. More importantly and many people don't realise this with dark hues it provides the warmest most enveloping backdrop. The patterned rug is the biggest game changer because when you think about it there isn't much else going on and yet it feels quite cosy, luxurious, tantalising and intriguing. Pattern does that, very much in the same way that a spice or herb elevates a dish, pattern elevates a room.
CASUAL ACCESSORIZING - there isn't a lot of accessories in this room but what there is lends a casual laid-back vibe to the space. How? Well because many of the paintings are propped on the floor as opposed to hung on the wall, and also because they are not symmetrically arranged the vibe feels automatically laid back. Perfect for a bedroom!
Onto a home office or studio and more specifically a corner of mine. I don't actually work in this part of the room, this is Sharona's domain but itâs an open plan space so I'm looking at it all the time
UNCONVENTIONAL FURNITURE - I've used a zinc table meant for outdoors indoors, and an African drum as a coffee table - both of which are not normally seen in an office. As odd as this sounds this room never worked until I layered up that huge floor to ceiling window with an Ikea console. It broke up the formality of the room cosiest it up, can't tell you how long it took me to figure that one out!
UNIFIED PALETTE - although I am the hugest lover of colour you will notice that this space is pretty much dominated by sludgy inky hues and a ton of neutrals. Having a disciplined colour scheme dominated by inky grey allows me to mix far more easily pieces that shouldn't necessarily work together.
SOFT TOUCHES - the rug picked up at an antiques market for around £100 softens the space instantly. As I say all the time when choosing rugs if you can plump for a motif no matter how slight it will visually make the room feel more exciting as opposed to a flat block of colour. Faux flowers abound and soften the space further and even though this floor is very much an office or studio it doesn't feel like it, rather it feels like a tactile enclosure in which to work.
So there you have it a couple of rooms decoded, hope it helps. It's how I read a room, looking at individual components seeing how they can be layered up piece by piece.
