Turn that Empty Room into an Enviable Room
Think there's no way to fill up an empty room? Think again - here's some ideas that will make the most of any space
If you’ve just bought a larger home, added on to your house, or are redecorating an existing space, you’re faced with the exciting yet daunting challenge of filling an empty room. With patience and a little planning, you can avoid costly design errors and comfortably furnish your room in a way that reflects your personal style.
Follow these suggested steps to creating a functional, comfortable and appealing room:
• Define the room’s function. Typical activities in a living room might include entertaining, reading, listening to music or watching TV. You also might want to display collections. A family room might have all of these functions plus toy storage and a study or work area. A large master suite might be a place to do paperwork or watch TV.
• Determine your furniture requirements. Once you know exactly how you’ll use the room, list the pieces of furniture you’ll need to perform those activities. Be flexible and creative. If you seldom entertain, there’s no point in spending a ton of money on seating for 10 in your living room. If you plan to watch TV in the room, consider an armoire or modular entertainment center, which also can store hobby materials or toys. Jot down specific pieces of furniture next to each of the functions.
• Make a floor plan. Carefully measure the dimensions of the room, noting doors, outlets, window widths, etc., and create a scale drawing of the room. Make copies of the plan to experiment with.
Cut out the furniture shapes and begin arranging the furniture on your plan. Try every option, even the outlandish ones. You may come up with several arrangements that work well, or you might have to delete or add furniture. Sketch out at least two possible plans.
• Mock it up. Armed with your possible floor plans, return to your empty room and do your best to recreate the plans in three dimensions. Drag in furniture from the other rooms or position stacks of cardboard boxes to see how things will look. Make a final floor plan based on this exercise.
• Define your message. Write down all the adjectives, feelings, and thoughts that you’d like to be present in the room. Spend time going through catalogs, magazines and books collecting images of rooms that show the concept you want the room to communicate.
• Select a predominant style or theme. A visually peaceful room tends to have furnishings that are in the same style, but it’s possible to create harmony with an eclectic mix of furniture, just as long as you stay true to your clearly defined message.
• Select a color scheme. It’s easier and more restful to the eye to focus on one, two or three colors, plus neutrals. Create visual peace and cohesion by clearly defining which colors will predominate and plan to carefully place them around the room.
• Incorporate existing possessions. Go on a treasure hunt in your home. Is there anything you already own that would work in the new space? Do you have a family heirloom or special gift you want to incorporate? Put these items in the room now, and take pictures of them. When shopping you can refer to the photos.
• Build the room around something you love. I suggest doing lots of research and window-shopping before committing to any major pieces of furniture. When you least expect it, you’ll run into the perfect chair, sculpture piece or striped fabric that expresses exactly what you want the room to communicate. Build the room around this object. Once you’re committed to something that makes your heart sing, it’s easy to make other decisions and purchases.
Kit Davey, an interior designer based in Redwood City, Calif., helps clients redecorate their homes through the creative use of their existing furnishings. E-mail Kit your questions: kit@ctwfeatures.com
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