Have you ever felt like you want to dramatically change your space but once you hit a furniture store you are drawn to the same kind of furniture pieces? It’s like your brain is stuck in the look that exists right now and can’t quite wrap itself around the space looking any other way? That is the point where I (aka the interior designer of your dreams) dramatically enter your room and wave my magic wand (aka the measuring tape). So today I wanted to show you how the same space can look completely different with two different design directions!
First up – the room. Here you can see it bare – a nice big, bright room with parquet flooring in a herringbone pattern (always good, no?). I decided to do a bedroom as an example as it is cold outside, a second lockdown is looming in Austria (where I live) and the thought of crawling into bed and pulling the blanket over my head just seems highly appealing right now.
When I work on a design project, I start looking for furnishings as soon as the mood board has been signed off by the client. I put all of the furnishings together in a concept board before I start working on the visualization. So let’s start with the concept board for the first bedroom – a Boho, Chic, Feminine Boudoir.
Whenever I start designing a room I look for an object that will inspire me and pull on my imagination. That can be a furniture piece, a piece of art, a rug, wallpaper or some fabric. For this design I found a piece of art I liked from CB2 and decided to base the design on it. So the color scheme needed to be based around a soft, powdery pink. I found a beautiful velvet bed in the exact color I was looking for and a vintage rug that brought in a bohemian vibe and added more colors. Whenever you use pink in a design you need to add a fresh accent color, so you don’t feel like you have been trapped in a Barbie castle! I really like the light blue color in the carpet and to me, this was the perfect accent color to use to balance the pink. Overall, when going for a boho look, it is important to bring in different patterns and lots of texture in order to have visual depth. So I started adding in furniture pieces that had both pattern and texture to add to the bohemian vibe. I love the xx by Maisons du Monde in particular as it has a beautiful pattern thanks to the bone-inlay! Finally, I added in a little bit of bling with the gold in the chandelier.
Let me show you what our former empty room looks like as the bedroom of a beautiful, successful and charming woman who loves traveling, reading and drinking a glass of rosé wine. And just so you know, the walk-in closet is just out of sight.
For the second look I decided to go with a Dramatically Romantic Bedroom Design (there is such a thing, right?).
The key piece that inspired me for this look was the bed. It is the Hayward buttoned linen bed. I love the traditional French silhouette that is modernized through the use of a dramatic dark blue fabric in the upholstery! I knew I wanted a more traditional chateau look but infused with a modern edge. So I focused on finding a dark blue wallpaper that would add drama while still acknowledging the traditional, romantic vibe of this room. Enter the Twining Vines wallpaper in navy by Rebel Walls (I am a big fan of theirs – go check them out here). I added oak bed stands that mirrored the shape of the bed and a traditional ottoman as well as two wall sconces in black and gold. To balance these traditional pieces I added a modern grey and navy rug with an abstract pattern and two huge black and white abstract modern paintings. To soften the look and add to the romantic flair I added ruffled white bedlinen. The classic sideboard, chandelier and table lamp tie all the elements together beautifully.
The owner of this bedroom loves fashion, rummaging through antique stores (preferably in Paris) and a glass or two of Bordeaux!
Which bedroom do you prefer? Boho or Dramatic? Rosé or Bordeaux? I’d love to hear from you in the comments!