Opposites Attract
Blend design styles and décor sentiments to create the unexpected bedroom your dreams
The bedroom may be for sleeping, but that's no reason to settle for a decorating style that makes you yawn. This personal space deserves a personal look – one that fits your individual taste rather than one strict style. And that makes the bedroom the perfect place to try out the eclectic look. But what exactly does this design buzzword mean?
"Eclectic really just means a marriage of more than one style," says Sarah Barnard, of Los Angeles-based Sarah Barnard Design. "Any visual contrast that works is successfully eclectic." That might mean mixing contemporary and modern, different wood species, or dramatic lights and darks. If it works, it works.
It's also the chance to mix-and-match in service of a personal vision. "I think it's the ultimate freedom of expression," says Jackie Glisson, a Memphis, Tenn.-based interior decorator. "It's a reflection of me. You don�t necessarily have to please other people." This freedom, however, does come with one big catch: You have to figure out how to create a unified look with dissimilar elements.
"It's not about anything with anything," Barnard says. "It's about deciding on some chic style that's individual to you." To avoid crossing the line from eclectic to hodge-podge, she suggests starting out your bedroom with a phrase that describes the look you want to achieve. You might settle on library chic, for instance, and start writing down an informal list of how you envision the style's look and feel. Then use these notes as a cheat sheet to help figure out what to buy and what to leave at the store.
Glisson also believes patience is a virtue as you acquire furniture and textiles. "For me, eclectic looks like a room that was pulled together over time," he says. "That you just didn't go to the furniture store and buy a display." If you have a black and red Oriental bedroom, for instance, you might make it eclectic by adding in teal and ochre. The overall color palette works together, but it�s unexpected.
Adrienne LaBelle, of New York City-based Adrienne LaBelle Design, believes the most important part of eclectic is not being afraid to use any one thing, which gives you permission to bring home a funky chair you fall in love with at the flea market. But Barnard cautions that you need to think through those bold choices. "Being brave is not enough," she says. "There needs to be some intention behind that bravery."
To keep an eclectic look pulled together, it's key to choose a unifying element. �"I think it's always important to ground the eclectic-ness and make sure there's a central theme running through the room," says Vinitha Watson, Belmont, Calif.-based creative director of home décor and textiles company Kaaya. You might choose a neutral color, a common fabric, such as silk, or a common pattern to make the room feel cohesive.
One good strategy: Start with the bed and slowly add layers to the room. The bedding itself, for instance, is a good place to begin experimenting, especially if you don't want to spend too much money. If you're drawn to patterns and colors, you might mix three to five different fabrics on the bed – perhaps a Moroccan fabric with an Asian one and a few contrasting textures. These textiles can be unified, Glisson says, with a common color that appears in each one. For curtains or chair upholstery, consider picking up that same solid color rather than adding in another pattern.
Want an even easier way to help keep an eclectic room unified? Cut down on all the stuff. "Clutter is a huge thing," LaBelle says. "I think it's good to have some closed storage space." A hutch can do the job, but don't choose something so big that it dwarfs the other furniture. She's also fond of a chair in the bedroom, where you can dump discarded clothes, or even a few wall hooks to hang those shirts and slacks.
On the style front, LaBelle is a fan of adding a few vintage pieces to a room. They bring character and detail into a space, and the craftsmanship tends to be better than new pieces. It's also a completely green decorating choice, because you're recycling an existing product rather than buying a new one.
Mixing and matching styles also requires some simple math. If you add one contemporary chair to a traditional room, for example, Barnard says you're basically putting a big spotlight over that seating spot. She believes a true eclectic look would mean making about 20 percent of the pieces in a traditional bedroom contemporary. Then the two styles truly start to co-exist.
If you want to start slow, LaBelle suggests adding a large headboard to your bed. You can pick out the fabric and find an upholsterer to put the whole thing together without spending a fortune. Try taping some kraft paper behind the bed and sketching out the shape and size you want, but it's a good idea to make it a little larger and higher than you might think necessary. After all, you may want to lean up against it while you read a book.
The real beauty of the eclectic look is picking out things you love. If you stick with items that really grab you, Barnard says the common denominator in the design becomes you. "You're not re-creating a style we've seen a hundred times before," she says. "You're creating your style."
 |
CATEGORIES
CONTACT 
|