Before & After story :: Couple's Bedroom Transformation
Sharing our interior design process of how we transformed this visually heavy bedroom into a light, airy and cozy sanctuary from my Pickering Townhouse project.
Lighten walls to brighten
The very first decision we made was to change up the wall colour. We had a dark teal accent wall and sky blue walls to begin with. Together, the shades simply didn't complement each other. They were making the space look smaller and visually heavy. Choosing the new shade, however, was a whole process in itself. As a designer, I'm looking at screening (colour pigmentation), LRVs (Light Reflective Value) and undertones (warm, neutral or cool) very closely. All of these have to work together to help create the intended 'feel' of the space.
Sidebar: If you'd like me to go deeper into what goes into selecting paint, comment with a 👍and I'll start putting together some posts!
Back to our story....
We chose Benjamin Moore's Swiss Coffee for the walls and White Dove for the trims and doors. The screening on these shades were the full 100%. Swiss Coffee is creamy and has a slightly yellowish undertone. That is perfect for creating a warm, enveloping glow that's not too loud. White Dove is more neutral and whiter so it perfectly offsets the warmth of the yellow. Together, they did wonders for this space.
Embrace minimalism to feel refreshed
It was very important for my clients to feel a sense of lightness within the space. Often times, we tend to ignore or not even be aware of what interiors can do for our emotional and mental well-being. Embracing minimalism in our physical environment has an immediate refreshing effect on how we feel. We stripped down this bedroom to the bare necessities but every single thing that we put back was done with a lot of care and attention. Think quality over quantity.
Use natural fabrics in neutral colours
Natural fabrics like linens and cottons were the best possible choices for curtains and bedding to create a space that felt light and airy. These fabrics, in neutral colours enhanced the feeling of openness due to their ventilated weaving. Imagine (or try it out) stretching out any natural fabric, you'll see that it can move easily and has give' to it. That give is exactly what allows air in and out and greatly reduces any damp smells that come with heavier synthetic fabrics. We considered airiness in the literal sense for our clients in this project!
Ground with rugs
Since we went light and neutral everywhere else, the rug was the best place to go heavy and busy. I'm referring to intricate patterns and/or rich colour. Vintage rugs in wool or synthetic fabrics are good for this purpose. A well designed room has a sense of balance and that was achieved here by grounding the room with a heavy rug, while everything else was up lifting.
From what this bedroom used to be, it has made a complete 360 in terms of look, feel and functionality. And makes me very happy and my clients happier!
Hope you enjoyed this short Before & After story, if you'd like to check out more of stories like this, click here.
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