What brings us joy? For me, if I were to choose one word I would say bubbles! I remember when my daughter was about 3 or 4 years old, she had just finished a temper tantrum and was sitting pouting. I began to blow bubbles. She tried to ignore them, only to start grabbing at them angrily, but eventually the pout turned to a smile, the smile turned to a giggle, which soon turned into full blown laughing and joy as she chased and popped the bubbles.
I love the crisp, clean look of the white and grey trend that we have been riding for years now in kitchens, bathrooms and quite frankly all spaces of the home. But I have to admit, when a client asks for colour and natural wood, I get extra excited about that project! Bringing some colour and textures into a space can add joy to that space through its warmth and individuality. Houses are boxes, full of straight lines, full of more boxes and more straight lines, which is why one of my signature moves I tend to work into all my designs are circles! Whether in the form of art, a table, lighting or a mirror, the soft lines of circles will help break up the hard lines of your home, just as bubbles bring joy to a child, circles can infuse some joy into your home!
Now that we are spending so much more time at home, working from home, physical distancing at home, really living in and using our homes, take a good look, do you feel joy in your home? Colour has a huge physiological impact on our moods, so why not play on the positive effects of that? In addition to colour, shapes also affect how we feel in a space, so it is just as important to consider shapes as part of your design and decor. There is a great Ted Talk where Ingrid Fetell Lee talks about “Where Joy Hides and How to Find it”. She talks about her early design project in school and how it brought Joy. https://youtu.be/A_u2WFTfbcg , It took me 2-3 watches of this to really take it all in. Taking the ideas and concepts discussed in this talk can be translated into your home so easily.
Colour, when it comes to your forever home, why not infuse some colour into your spaces!
Introducing colour into a space can do so many things;
- Reflect your style and personality.
- Add a punch of excitement and make the room feel energized.
- Give space warmth and make it welcoming.
- Make a space feel calm and relaxed.
- Define areas of the home without the need to put up walls.
Why do we choose to live in a home with grey floors and walls, white cabinets, trim and countertops, furniture that is grey and white? Yes it looks crisp and clean and appeals to the masses! But imagine a room with colour, it too can look crisp, clean, and it doesnt need to appeal to the masses, it can be done tastefully and appeal to you!
How do you do this? It depends on you and your level of comfort with colour and how far you will stretch your boundaries.
Are you afraid of colour? Or maybe you love colour, but are not sure how much or how little to introduce? Or you have in your mind what you want, but just can’t figure out how to make it reality? A good place to start is by deciding on what colours you like and want. One tip to get started is to go to an accessory or fabric store, find a throw pillow or sculptural piece or swatch of fabric that really speaks to you. Maybe you have a piece of artwork you love? Colour can be pulled from that. From there you can reach out to someone at your local paint store, they will often have a keen eye for colour and help you sift through the hundreds of options. While colour on the walls can be great, you don’t have to paint your home in bright colours, you can still have grey walls and light furnishings, but add the colour with accessories like a rug or drapes, or add a large scale art piece. If you are really unsure or feeling apprehensive about introducing some vibrancy into your space, then working with a professional is a great idea. An Interior Designer or Interior Decorator can help you!
Once colours are established, let’s also play with shapes. In Ingrid’s Ted talk she shows images of items people find Joy in, bubbles are one, introducing light fixtures with glass spheres like globes that mimic bubbles. Artwork organic lines and shapes, plants and flowers are other ways to bring those Joy inducing elements into the home!
There are many ways Simply Design helps…
- With a shift in how we do things to have physical distancing and everyone’s safety in mind, Simply Design does have Physical Distancing Consultations, an email with some photo’s and a phone call to talk more, we can help get you on track to bring Joy into your home!
- In Home consultation, if you want to really get into the details of your home, and are looking at getting some advice and tips to get things started, we can walk through many areas of the home together and create a check-list of idea’s and suggestions to work with, which can be especially useful among DIY’ers. Together, you and your designer/decorator would walk through the spaces you’re working on, chat about what you want & like, weed out what you don’t want or like and then sift through the options to create a sense of direction for you to move forward with.
- If you need help from beginning to end, then you can also work all the way through the process with your designer or decorator, they can either shop with you or for you depending on your time, budget and love or hate for shopping. Maybe you know what you want and just need some validation along the way, or maybe you have no idea what you want and need someone who can decipher that for you. A trained professional is a great idea in any situation when you feel overwhelmed about the planning and implementation process, especially when it’s a big commitment item like the choice of colour on kitchen cabinets, choosing wall paper or purchasing of any big ticket items for your home!
Thanks to the internet and social media, there is a wealth of information to help guide you to create a joyful space, but if you seek help, Simply Design, like most Interior Designers and Interior Decorator’s will customize the consultation package to help as much or as little as needed. Whether you need some “Design Coaching” or want to be completely hands off, we are all here to help! Remodeling and redecorating are costly endeavors and you want to have no doubt it’s the right choice before you spend your hard earned $ on that item that will be adding Joy to your Functional Space with Style for years to come!