24 Nov Creating a Unifying Interior Design
Many times homeowners have multiple goals in mind for their house. As an interior designer, it is up to me to make sure all of their needs are accounted for in any remodel or redesign. For example, one of my clients in Zionsville bought a house on a fabulous lot with a pond in the back. The exterior had a combination of rustic and contemporary elements. The interior had a rigid contemporary style; hard edges and square cabinetry were everywhere. My clients’ two main goals for redesigning the interior were to 1) create a warm, inviting atmosphere and 2) display their gorgeous art collection. I was brought in to create a unified design that accomplished these goals.
Bringing the Outdoors In
The existing cold, contemporary interior style did not fit well with the house exterior and lovely landscape. For the home to feel warm and comfortable, I decided to bring the outside in. To do this, I brought in organic elements like hard wood floors with warm finishes and stone architectural trimmings. I also expanded the window space so my clients could enjoy the view of their outdoors from anywhere in the house. The result was a clean-lined, rustic transitional style that unified the outside and inside.
The house’s floor-to-ceiling windows let in natural light and provided fantastic views. In order to draw attention to the beautiful outdoors, I kept window treatments minimal and monochromatic, and used few hanging fixtures so as not to obstruct sightlines. We even decided to take out a screened-in porch that was blocking the kitchen view of the backyard pond.
To fill out the organic feel in the house, I picked furniture and accessory pieces that had rough textures and various patterns. The ethnic rugs in the living room had the layered patterns I was looking for that echoed the style of my clients’ Southwestern art and pottery.
Designing Around an Art Collection
My clients loved art; they constantly bought new pieces and moved them around the house. Their collection needed to be front and center; all other décor and design elements would serve as the backdrop for these gorgeous pieces. Fortunately, their collection had many earth-toned, natural pieces that would fit perfectly in a rustic style. But one of the greatest challenges came from making the lighting scheme flexible so my clients could move and replace art on the wall whenever they wanted.
The inside lighting had to be majorly revised. The entire house was inadequately lit, and displaying art requires bright, directional lighting. I chose to add lots of art lights and directional can lights that can be rotated along the walls where we placed paintings.
To give the art pieces no visual competition, I chose accessories from a neutral color palette: greys, browns, clays and blues, nothing too bold or loud. We chose one paint color for the walls, a simple taupe that would look great with any art piece. In the living room, we brought in clay colors with ethnic rugs, and some pops of soft blues and greens in pillows that echoed the color scheme of the art work on the walls.
My clients wanted a comfortable, inviting home that could easily house their amazing art collection. By allowing the surrounding landscape and their art pieces to guide the design, I was able to create a unified, natural style throughout the house, using organic elements and earth tones for a rustic, transitional look while giving their art every opportunity to shine.
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