Tag Archives: pink

Pink can be Sophisticated

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girl's_bedroom_montageFor most of us, when we hear that a girl’s bedroom has pink in the color scheme, it sounds cute and pretty, but not very sophisticated. But don’t limit your thinking. With the right accents and style, pink will surprise you. Let’s take a look at how this girl’s bedroom makes that happen.

The right accent colors: One quick and powerful way to add sophistication to any room is by throwing black into the mix. Used judiciously, black makes other colors pop and grounds the space. By mixing a light ballet-pink and black together, the final feel is daring and interesting, and definitely more than cute.

Using metallics: The bold gold on the bedding and poster make everything in the room pop. This is a risky choice and you can’t have a sophisticated look without taking some risks.

Mature fabric choices: It’s easy to go with a juvenile fabric when working with pink, but these fabrics pull you away from that. Adult patterns and moods in the fabric help make this room more grown-up.

Unusual artwork: The Wizard of Oz theme on the poster over the bed says it’s a children’s room, but the retro illustration combined with images from the book itself in the background make this poster worth more than a glance. Really, this piece feels like the inspiration for the entire room.

Eclectic furniture choices: The vanity has an old-fashioned style but the white paint makes it feel up to date. The small chest gets its personality with the different designs on each drawer, which are echoed in the canvas above. Once again a risky mix-and-match mood adds a chic feeling to the space.

Altogether, this room works for a young girl, yet opens up a glimpse of what kind of grown up she will eventually become. Visit Oasis at Queen Creek for a closer look.

Design Grammar: Nouns

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12283909_SIn the second blog about design grammar, we’ll consider the nouns of writing a room. These define what the room or the story is all about, and in the case of design, they are the larger upholstered pieces: sofas and chairs.

The two photos here involve a pink sofa and pink chair. From a description standpoint, there isn’t that much difference, but in reality each one sends a completely different message.

The sofa is bright pink and very contemporary. It would work well in a commercial environment such as a beauty salon or women’s clothing shop. In a home it would feel bright and exciting and young. This sofa as a noun is vivid and almost demanding. Think about the message a room built around this sofa would send.

11898370_SThe pink chair, on the other hand, has a traditional style and a soft color that almost looks faded. It’s quiet and comfortable. There are no demands from this chair. It would sit quietly in a corner until someone needed it.

These two pieces of furniture need very different spaces. They tell very different stories and send very different messages. Ask yourself, if you could get either piece of furniture for free, which one would you choose?

In a sentence or a story, nouns set the stage. They can be simple vanilla words such as flower or boat, or strong words that draw your attention such as pendulum or patisserie.

Because of their fundamental position in a room or a sentence, upholstered furniture and nouns give you a good place to start designing or writing.