A Bedroom Sanctuary Inspired By The Sea
Journal Entry 3, Sanctuary Inspired By The Sea
Make Your House Your Home
A house is just a house until it becomes a home and that means personalizing those spaces just for you. It is an understatement to say that since 2020 the word home has taken on an entirely new meaning. In the past few years, it has quite literally become the center of our lives. Out of an emergent necessity, home transformed from traditional spaces like kitchens, dining rooms, and living rooms into new spaces like the office, day care, school, spa, gym, play area, entertainment room, and even in some cases, a place of worship. The latest home room trends to come out of the living and loving of home are the pet room, the pajama room, the spa room, and the extended butler pantry.
I am in awe at the resiliency of the human spirit to adapt in the most adverse situations and I admire the creativity, tenacity, and endurance of those whose lives have been changed in immeasurable ways during the pandemic, post pandemic, and at present with a nation and world in conflict and turmoil.
It is a journey to make a house a home and a more difficult one when you are in the midst of crisis. Life is precarious and we have all at one time or another found ourselves in the midst of the unexpected and have experienced the need to retreat, rest and rejuvenate. It is a hallmark of my design philosophy that everyone’s home should have that place and space we know as a sanctuary. It is essential now and then to step away from life and give yourself a reprieve. It is an old cliche to say that “every day is a gift”, but given the past few days, weeks, months and years, ne’er were truer words spoken.
Gift giving is a wonderful tradition and a joy in the completion of a client project. I am grateful for the many clients I have had whom have allowed me to share in the creative process with them. In turn, many have offered trusted business referrals for which I am most appreciative. I am also grateful for the plethora of industry partners with whom I am affiliated and who are an essential part of my design process.
Redefining Work From Home
Following the pandemic the design industry shifted to accommodate the many who to this day continue to work from home. The home office evolved, the need for a “spaces away from work” also developed and continues to evolve. The concept of sanctuary became an important design buzz word. More importantly than ever, is the sense of well-being, the desire for cozy and comfort and the need for safety and security all which are essential to soothe the soul in challenging times. There has been an increased awareness in the need for functionality, productivity and organization throughout the home from the laundry room to the closet, to the finished attic or basement.
Design, a Harmonious Lovely Layering of Elements
Design is a lovely layering of elements and a masterful mix of components. In A Design Consultancy, I emphasize “harmony in the home.” As designers, we use a strategic skill set that encompasses mood, harmony, scale, balance, and symmetry just to name a few to create the proper flow in a home. These elements are particularly important in achieving that must have space that I highlight as the sanctuary which in essence could be anywhere in a home. It is that anywhere space that can easily be transformed into that desperately needed quiet, restorative, rejuvenating oasis that affords tranquility and serenity. We realize more each day the need for calm at night amidst the chaos by day.
Some believe that brighter, uplifting and invigorating colors are better at enhancing mood, and in fact they may be suitable in the right location, but in an effort to achieve that spa or zen-like setting I personally feel that the quieter colors are essential. I am almost always an advocate for a calm, serene, understated palette for which I am known. I have always said that, “If I could add a dollop of whip cream to every color I use, it would be more suited to my design aesthetic and to my ideal clients.”
Color is an intensely personal design element. I focus on softer, less intense variations of a hue in shades and tints. I find nature is a terrific source of color inspiration such as this soft blue akin to the sea or sky.
I am a designer who adores every shade of white and begins every design concept as if it is a canvas. I do leans slightly to the warmer whites but love as well a crisp whiter white They are clean, and pure, yet warm and inviting and are always a perfect beginning for all the other design elements added to a room.
Understated Elegance Inspired By The Sea
Many of my clients are often busy spouses and mothers, and most have professional careers as well. They are engaged in family life, find time to entertain with friends, and maintain an active life often including travel. Throughout their busy activities which may include home schooling, day care, perhaps following children’s activities, socializing, and philanthropic events, at the end of the day they yearn for calm. Softer shades of off-whites, and a soothing palette, as well as subtle pattern on pattern set the stage for the understated elegance which is my signature.
Neutrals, much like an artist’s canvas, is what I define as the foundation for my design compositions especially in a place of rest. My aesthetic is to establish beautiful silhouettes, utilize brush strokes of color, carefully selected patterns, and fabulous textures which are all layered into the composition.
This ideal became the exact plan in designing a master bedroom sanctuary for my busy professional, work-from-home nursing executive client. The ultimate was to create a bedroom sanctuary providing the necessary respite and rejuvenation much needed at the end of her busy day. Nature was the source of inspiration for her as it often is for me. I presented design concepts and together we chose ideas utilizing the sea as the source of inspiration. She had once lived on the Pacific coast in California and had a great fondness for the ocean.
What exactly goes into a dream master bedroom to create a sanctuary? I listened attentively to her to formulate the concept. We retained some of the cherished things that made up the room and she chose to maintain the warm sand-like colors of the walls. She wanted to retain the richly stained and beautifully carved king sized bed, and a black armoir and a semainier. Apart from that she was open to my vision and one of the things I knew I would want was to infuse a sense of femininity into our ideas to balance the space.
The seaside color palette was a perfect choice for this lovely sanctuary. Rich in texture, warm in coloring, and soft on pattern it was a dreamy, relaxing concept.
The wall color was the perfect neutral back drop, but in order to allow the chosen colors of the concept to to pop, that neutral symmetry was wrapped around the room in a lovely diamond-patterned wall to wall ivory carpet. This calm foundation to the layering process allowed us to then introduce the analogous colors present in the sea and sky. The result was a magnificent spectrum of blues and greens in a variety of tints and shades. I chose an ivory diamond patterned comforter and shams to continue the neutral palette and ground the room, and introduced a lovely seafoam painted beside chest to complement the furnishings. I then used accents of raspberry, a beautiful shade of purple, to complement the colors in this tranquil, subtle, serene ensemble.
Lovely fringed pillows and this textured roll pillow (I love roll pillows) as well as the beautiful floral patterned linen fabric added dimension, interest and luxury. Pillows are like jewelry in interiors, and are a perfect accessory to pull a room together.
The Designers Trained Eye Insures Design Excellence
Design excellence takes a trained eye to achieve a harmonious effect. In most cases repeating colors, adding coordinating fabrics and continuing the layering process enhances the design aesthetic. Each angle of this stylish room is a pretty vignette suggesting loveliness all around. What a welcome reprieve and fabulous space to begin and end each and every day!
We borrowed the client’s artwork from an adjacent room which perfectly coordinated with this concept and added a slight nod to modern in an otherwise traditional room.
Drapery adds luxury to any room and frames a window for added beauty. It serves as an artistic element, can be used for added warmth in a room, and in this case the added silhouette shades beneath the drapery allow for light filtering and privacy.
Window treatments, a favorite aspect of design for me, can add enviable drama to a room. Not only do they frame the picturesque view, they amplify the window itself creating a luxurious and opulent detail. I chose a seafoam colored faux silk for its subtle nubby texture and understated sheen. The decorative trim was chosen to mimic the undulating waves of the sea as well as the curves of the oak bed, an heirloom of the client’s. The windows were furthered adorned with soft sheer Hunter Douglas window shades called Silhouettes, which have a tilt in fabric vane to filter light and add privacy. This added a streaming glow to the room by day, served to close off the outside by night, and they were also functional to protect from intense sun in warm seasons and the cold of the winter months in New England. Decorative rods completed the window grandeur.
The room was donned with a beautifully upholstered swivel arm chair and ottoman, and carefully selected accessories to layer in luxury, and when completed, it became exactly the sanctuary that we had envisioned. This bedroom is now multifunctional as it serves many lovely purposes beyond just sleeping. It is also place for rest, a place for reading, or a respite to enjoy a glass of wine or a favorite movie, or even engage in quiet casual conversation.
Every home needs a space and place like this. It is essential in these trying times, and in coping with the many challenges of life to create that oasis of restoration, that escape, that place of serenity and tranquility. If you find you don’t have that, please feel free to reach out to me so that we can collaborate on a beautiful space just for you. We can work together to address all the element that will suit your home. We will embrace soothing colors, exquisite textiles, proper lighting, soft furnishings, subtle patterns, and just the right accessories to create a custom designed sanctuary just for you.
