Well everyone…
Since technically I am an interior designer, I thought that perhaps it was about time to TALK DESIGN!
Have you ever experienced your taste in style change and evolve? I have. Funny. I used to be so ultra traditional in my design tastes but I’ve crossed the threshold. And I don’t think I am turning back. I find myself developing a tremendous love for transitional and refined contemporary styles. I love linear and curvilinear elements, but simplified and casually sophisticated. I feel more comfortable with furniture pieces that have lower profiles to create visual openness. But I also look for pieces that show ingenious functionality…a sofa with a low back profile that can be converted to a high back for TV viewing through a simple pull-up mechanism, a sliding storage door constructed to be a piece of art. I could go on.
Mind you, as a designer I will always relish the old. Traditional styles and styles of the past (period trends) are the platforms from which new design evolves. And what is even better in a space is causing a bit of angst, a bit of juxtaposition. Splashing a bit of ultra traditional with contemporary styling and vice verse.
Color is yet another element of design that speaks of an individual’s character and personality. I know I used to think that to be contemporary one had to use bold color. However, that’s not true. Contemporary is often finding a saturated color (the truest and most intense form of a color ) and then finding a grayed down version of it. This often is enough to satisfy the most traditional of people when a designer is pushing a client in a new and uncharted direction that they are uncomfortable with.
So with all this said, I find myself again moving in a contemporary-style direction. I have found that a palette of saturated blues, blue-greens, mixed with earthy browns, tans, and grays is what I aspire to have in my own space when I finally have my own living quarters again. Blend in the coolness of metallic and glass-like finishes with the warmth of natural wood elements and plants. Well that is what I will call HOME!
Now I have to know…what do you all think? What colors and style do you call ‘your own?’ Do share.
May 21, 2009 at 1:49 am
Once again I am pleased as punch to see you alive and kicking.
I am crackers for colour. I love lots of it; I have never understood this mania for grays and whites and drab tones. All my homemade shirts are awash with primary colours.
Except brown. No browns for me. I live in the desert where everything is brown.
May 21, 2009 at 3:15 am
We were married in the very early 70’s. Beyond double-knit and disco, the era was infused with themes that evoked a “return to the earth” as well as a recalling of early American heritage (triggered by the Bicentennial). We responded by choosing furniture and style in that theme. Our furniture is dark and massive with very traditional/early American design in a very traditionally designed home.
There are time when I would love to chuck it all for an industrial loft with sleek modern design. Of course such a drastic change would be best enhanced with a drastic “lifestyle” change of my own.
I must confess that I hestiate on the dark bold wall colors that I see touted on many a design show. My thought is that they may briefly appeal, but that the owners will soon tire of them.
I have enough stress in my life. I want my home and its colors to evoke comfort, calm, and warmth. I generally go for earth greens, sky and water blues, and browns.
May 21, 2009 at 8:43 am
I’ll probably be outnumbered here but my life is much more down-to-earth, essentially about surviving. I should be happy with my little place (not mine, in fact), regardless of design. However, it’s always good to hear an expert.
May 24, 2009 at 5:59 am
I’m a design Philistine. I’m definitely about function more than form. I guess if there’s one thing I can appreciate it’s a design that’s elegant in it’s simplicity. I’m dealing with landscape designers at work these days. It’s very difficult at times to get across the notion that this project is about the donor’s vision, not the statement the designer wants to make.
June 6, 2009 at 11:16 am
Honey, I couldn’t decorate my way out of a paper bag. I leave it to the experts like you.