It is easy for our interiors to feel cold and uninviting, especially considering the large volume ceilings in todays popular home construction. People also seem to purchase a lot of small furniture and decor items that seem to float around a room. “Postage Stamps” as I call it.
It is important, even in large-scaled rooms, to create a sense of intimacy and warmth. A place where your eye can relax and enjoy the space and not wander around the room without a place to rest.
This can be achieved in several ways. Recently I have discussed the impact of art, both framed and dimensional. Window treatments can also assist in filtering our harsh sunlight that can distract your decor.
Wall paint can help in warming up a space. Whether you use a warm color on all walls, or use a bold color on an accent wall in the room. This can help create a dramatic effect and assist by giving you an opportunity to hang art and invite your guests into the space.
But let’s not forget the great comeback of wallpaper and let’s not assume we can only place wallpaper on walls!
Wallpaper comes in a variety of forms. Some are thicker than others. Some are peel and stick, making it easy for the novice installer.
Consider the commercial application I installed below. The original bar space was cold. It sat along one wall in a dining space and just floated there and had little personality. It was not inviting and certainly was not a grounded space. The dining space was light and airy, and the bar needed to feel a little more segregated.
The little cubby holes built into the chaise at the ceiling was poorly designed. To place small decorative items in those small cubicles would have been horrible. Cute, but horrible. I found a vinyl wallpaper that I applied on the chaise and over the holes. I chose a dark leather look vinyl paper. It gave a masculine feel and really cleaned up that busy architectural detail.
Next I selected a wallpaper that looked like an old tin ceiling. It made the space much more segregated and intimate. It set the entire space apart from the attached dining room. It allowed the pendant lighting become more dramatic.
I hung a couple of candle sconces and added conical preserved greens in the space that added a little more detail and freshness.
After the installation the bar became a lot more popular. Creating this darker, smoky feeling was the perfect cocktail mixed for this establishment!
