OF WALLS, INTERIORS AND OTHER THINGS

It all starts with seeing it for what it is. Really seeing it. Understanding it. Knowing it’s every curve. And then, only then, asking yourself what do you want it to do? How do you want it to function? How should the space serve you?

Staying in one place for an extended period forces you to see it for what it is. How it looks. How it works or doesn’t. What features exist in the space. What do you like, or don’t? You become aware of how the light changes during the course of the day. How it makes you feel. Why does it make you feel that way? What would you change if you could? Why would you change it? What didn’t you notice before?

Really seeing interiors for what they are, is a skill. It requires you to be completely honest with yourself. Not only not to be biased but also have the ability to see what works.

So often in interior design, one element pulls the entire design off, and simply eliminating or changing this one thing will make all the difference in the world.

As an interior creative, seeing every aspect of the design means understanding what the individual value is of each of these elements and then understanding the complete sum of the whole.

A good interior design simply sings; where one element bounces off the next so that your eyes dance effortlessly across a space and return to where you started.

The effect should be more than simply putting beautiful things together, they should be more beautiful because they are together.

From frustration to dreams
I used to lie in my bedroom and stare at my four walls frustrated that I could not change my space the way that I wanted to. I used to see all the things that I didn’t like about it. Why the colours didn’t work. The horrible white steel elements. The rough plastered walls. The handles on the wooden cupboards. The white cheese light fitting. The same cream colour that our entire house was painted in.

Then I would read. Read, read, and read. To escape into another world. Where the heroine always finds her hero. Where wars were won. Where the hero comes back. The leaders rise. People finding within them their superpower to make a difference in their worlds. Where everything was beautiful, and everyone was beautiful. Where intention was good and overcame.

I would sometimes read two to three books a day. I absorbed everything like a sponge. And in between, I would look at my room. I would compare my fantasy with my reality and somewhere in all of that I began to dream

Building awareness of my space and its purpose.

I started understanding that in this small space when my bed was in a certain position, I either could feel the sun on my face or not. I could see who was coming into the room and get a different perspective depending on

where I lay. I didn’t have to be limited to the traditional way a room is laid out, and I came to the conclusion that if it felt balanced, it could work. I saw that I could change the colour of things depending on where it was in the room.

People also moved in and out of my room. Always sitting on my bed or bringing me something to eat or a cup of tea. I realised too that this didn’t always work for me; sometimes my body felt more sensitive when they sat on my bed and it made me uncomfortable.

I also hated dishes piling up next to the side of my bed. I learned I liked things in their place. I like things to fit together. I wanted everything to have a purpose.

Learning about function and space
I was learning about function and space. Getting to know it like a new friend. Understanding what it wanted from me, and how to improve my environment because we were friends. I asked it questions. I studied it. I absorbed every single detail of that room until I could visualise it so clearly in mind it felt like the picture in my head was real. Because it was.

Every detail of that room was so imprinted on my mind I began to really own it. To feel it and to move with it. We became pals.

This was one of the most important learning moments in my life. The power of pausing and just getting to understand the space you are in. Not to just criticise it or change it. Just to understand it. To see it. To feel it. To know what you want from it. What it wants from you. How you can help each other.

This COV-19 lockdown experience has taken me back to these experiences. It has probably created them for you too, some of it good and some of it not so good.

I had a laugh with a friend of mine this week, when she said her partner who is more introverted, said to her that he has been in training for this his whole life. We laughed and laughed because I think I have been too.

Being in one space for an extended period shows you things you would not have seen because you would have been busy doing something else.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think being forced to be in one place for such an extended period is good for anyone, but what I am saying is that looking at your walls and space will give you new insights you never had before.

It all starts with seeing it for what it is. Really seeing it. Understanding it. Knowing it’s every curve. And then, only then, asking yourself what do you want it to do? How do you want it to function? How should the space serve you?

Pause in the moment and just understand.

Love from my yellow room.