Community News for Scottsdale, Paradise Valley, Northeast Phoenix, Carefree, Cave Creek and surrounding areas.
CITYSunTimes Web Exclusives March 2011 | Read the full SECTION
CITY LIFE: HomeStyle
Small Objects Can Make A Room Singularly Yours
By Barbara Kaplan
When decorating a kitchen for a client, I created a small sitting area in her large eating area. We decided to add a chair with an ottoman. For a little oomph, we found a wonderful fabric in a great color to pull it all together and used it for a pillow on the chair.
Recently, I received a call from that client saying that this pillow needed to be re-stuffed. While the pillow was being repaired, she called again to say, “I miss my pillow! The energy of the room has changed. Without the pillow, everything feels different.”
This is a good example of how small objects can be missed and can change the feel of a room. Conversely, we also feel the shift when something new is added. This often happens when I install new furniture and accessories in a client’s home. Because we have become used to what we have around us, it’s a shock when new objects are introduced.
Clients often say, “I’m not sure how I like this new look.” My response is always, “Wait, live with it and see how you feel in a few minutes, hours or days.” It may take time to welcome something new into your home and “bond” with it.
What are your favorite objects in your home? Which did you select because they caught your eye and you had to have them? What gives you a feeling of comfort every time you see it and you’d miss if it weren’t there? Is it a chair, a picture or a piece of jewelry?
Often I ask clients these questions, and they tell me that it’s something in a drawer or packed away, which I suggest we take out and make visible. First, we decide what room it should be in and then how to make it decorative.
If it’s a picture, you can frame it. An old chair can be reupholstered. A scarf or a tie can be incorporated into the design of a pillow. A piece of jewelry, such as a pin, can be attached to a pillow and taken off when worn and reattached afterwards.
No one else can pick these pieces for you. Those special objects create a feeling only you understand. This is your imprint, your monogram for the world to see.
The most fun in decorating is feeling that you have created something no on else has – that it means something to you that cannot be explained. It’s having a secret that no one else knows or understands.
Living in a home that gives you a sense of your taste and style empowers you to take this to all areas of your life. This includes your wardrobe, choice of stationery and flowers – even the car you drive. This personal identity you’ve chosen for your home continually reinforces your sense of self. Celebrate who you are in all that you choose!
This is what “Rooms have no feelings – YOU do!” is all about.
Barbara Kaplan, IFDA, ASID Allied member, helps people express their “interiors” through interior design and is the author of The Bajaro Method: Rooms Have No Feelings, YOU Do! To contact Barbara, call 480.998.5088, send an e-mail to barbara@barbarakaplan.com or visit barbarakaplan.com.