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Inspired, personalized, creative interior design by Carla Aston
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Image via:  Home Bunch

Image via: Home Bunch

Forcing the Typical On an Atypical Room

August 19, 2013 in Designing
Click for more info ;-) 

Don't put a square peg in a round hole just because you think “you're supposed to.”

What do I mean by that? I mean don’t design a space by using finishes, objects, design elements, etc. that you think should be there just because “everyone else has it”, or “it’s typically done that way”, or even if it’s just your knee-jerk reaction.

Image via:  Lonny Magazine

Image via: Lonny Magazine

Right: Bathrooms are supposed to have wide mirrors right above the sink, right?

Not necessarily.

Left: Kitchens are supposed to have upper and lower cabinets, right?

Not necessarily.

Image via:  Home Bunch ; Photographer Brandon Barré 

Image via: Home Bunch; Photographer Brandon Barré 

Image via:  Mrs. Howard Personal Shopper

Image via: Mrs. Howard Personal Shopper

Left: There needs to be a sofa in every living room’s seating group, right?

Not necessarily.

designed_in_a_click_logo_carla aston_coral_500_500.jpg

There are all kinds of unique ways to address the functionality and design of a space that might not be considered “typical”.

if you’ll stand back, look at the space with eyes wide open, and put the round peg in the round hole, instead of forcing your square peg to fit, you just might get the outcome you want - or, better yet, an even better outcome.

Ultimately, just do what the room beckons you to do with it. Capitalize on the attributes of the space.

So, instead of thinking a kitchen has to have a row of upper and lower cabinets running around a room that has lots of gorgeous windows on one side, perhaps it might be better to have one wall of solid cabinetry, and the other one with no uppers.

Perhaps this works better with the architecture of the room and creates a more unique, beautiful, and more appropriate kitchen layout that gives you more storage than before.

Image via:  Better Homes and Gardens

Image via: Better Homes and Gardens

Image via:  Traditional Home Magazine

Image via: Traditional Home Magazine

Or, in a perfectly square, smaller living room, perhaps it would be better to have four upholstered chairs centered around a cocktail table or ottoman.

That way the sofa won’t be pushed up against the wall or cut the room in half.

Or, it might mean you install a very tall, slender mirror above a vanity in a bathroom that has an extraordinarily high ceiling.

This way, you’ll be able to celebrate that luxurious extra space in your tiny room that would otherwise be ignored if it featured a shorter mirror. 

Do you see what I mean? I’m not simply talking about a kitchen or a bathroom or a living room...

I’m talking about letting an interior space dictate how you design it,  just a little bit. I’m talking about looking at the geometry of the space -- the cubic sq. feet -- to see how it can be toyed with to maximize it’s functionality and celebrate it’s own special volume.

Designer:  Steven Gambrel

Designer: Steven Gambrel

Designer:  Carla Aston

Designer: Carla Aston

Right: Got a huge space with high ceilings?

Explore and utilize those upper areas by fashioning suspended light fixtures and/or art up there that will draw your eye skywards.

◆

 

Right: Got a vertical space that’s tall and slender?

Accentuate its height, along with the narrow feeling it provides, with tall, linear elements, such as the tall mirror in this powder bath.. 


Before you force your square peg into a round hole, stand back for a moment and ask yourself:

What would enhance the unique qualities this space already has?

Because forcing something into a space that doesn’t fit looks like something that's been ...well... forced.

 ◆

In the spaces below, see how their special features are embraced, celebrated and accentuated ;-)

Left: Got a dark room?

Take it darker for a feeling of cozy intimacy.

Designer:  Kay Douglass , via:  Coastal Living

Designer: Kay Douglass, via: Coastal Living

Designer:  Carla Aston

Designer: Carla Aston


GALLERY
✓ Click here for this post's image sources. Click each image to enlarge full screen.
Image via:  The Style Files

Image via: The Style Files

Designer:  Tillman Long Interiors , Image via:  Design Chic

Designer: Tillman Long Interiors, Image via: Design Chic

ARTICLE + GALLERY: Embrace A Room's Unique Attributes When Designing A Space
McAlpine Tankersley Architecture Lakeside Tudor »  McAlpine Tankersley Architecture

McAlpine Tankersley Architecture Lakeside Tudor » McAlpine Tankersley Architecture

Image via:  Deco-cool blog

Image via: Deco-cool blog

Image via:  Remodelista

Image via: Remodelista

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Image via:  Home Bunch

Image via: Home Bunch

Image via:  Interiors , photo: Eric Roth

Image via: Interiors, photo: Eric Roth

Designer:  Denai Kulcsar Interiors , Image via:  Desire to Inspire

Designer: Denai Kulcsar Interiors, Image via: Desire to Inspire

Designer:  Caden Design Group , Image via:  Remodelista

Designer: Caden Design Group, Image via: Remodelista

Maison Cote Sud, Photo by: Bernard Touillon, Image via:  Beth Webb, Aesthetically Thinking

Maison Cote Sud, Photo by: Bernard Touillon, Image via: Beth Webb, Aesthetically Thinking

Image via:  Aesthetic History

Image via: Aesthetic History

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Tags: interior design, interior designer, Carla Aston, kitchen, cabinets, cabinetry, bathroom, wide mirror, mirror, thin mirror, sink, bathroom sink, sofa, living room, design function, window, chair, ottoman, upholstered chair, small living room, tall mirror, high ceiling, small room, tiny room, lighting, art, vertical striping, striping, sconce, tall cabinet, 08.24.13 DESIGN REFRESH
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Disclaimer / Comment Policy:

The advice and comments I offer here on the blog and in the comments section are free and are done for sharing and discussion. I am in no way taking responsibility for your decisions on your projects, I am simply offering up some advice from my distant and limited view of your situation in question. I try to answer as time permits but cannot get to all of them. If you want to hire me personally, there are ways to do that by clicking on my Services page.

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