Design Relationships

February brings to mind love and relationships and often when people are creating spaces with their partner, one will have a different vision than the other.  With that in mind here are some tips to not only help relationships with people but also to help blend two different design ideas together to create a cohesive space.

Take turns leading

The first tip is a great starting point but often, depending on the personalities, is the biggest hurdle.  Picking a dominant vision.  Rooms that have an equal amount of two different visions often tend to continue fighting for our attention leading to overwhelming, busy, confusing feelings.  It’s best to pick one design and then supplement some of the details with the other style.  Below is a picture of a classical baroque room with some modern details.  The art, table, chandeliers, and colors are all pretty modern.  Even the chairs appear to be in a high gloss lacquer finish which although ornate makes them more modern.  The ornate design of the room is actually the dominant part of the puzzle with great modern design choices in the details supporting the overall vision.

Continue to find things in common

Like Brangelina, Billary, Bennifer, Kimye & TomKat.  Finding the things that overlap can make it much easier to design a space.  For instance, Japandi. Not to sure when or who coined the design movement but Japandi which combines Japan & Scandinavian design is born from what they have in common.  The commonality they share is simplicity and functionality, a love of natural materials, and a deep respect for craftsmanship.  Not much to explain here, the beautiful work speaks for itself.

Appreciating the uniqueness & differences and supporting each other

Often times there is one thing that one person just loves and there is no changing their mind.  You might think that it doesn’t seem to fit in with the rest of your look. That’s where sometimes you just have to let that freak flag fly and let it stand out.  Let it be the focal point and use other things around it to help point it out and support it being the main focal point. The example below of the light fixture being the focal point is supported by all the items in the room.  It’s all low and grounded so that the fixture has space to breathe.  The furniture is angled towards it and even reflects all to help bring the importance of the lighting fixture to our eyes.