Today was one of those great days when I love being an interior decorator. I had an appointment with a client whose house we’ve been working on for well over a year.
Our design consultation this morning covered several areas including the “man cave”. It was suffering from an identity crisis. The man cave (aka the living room) is where they watch TV but it’s really the only place in the house (besides the garage and that’s not IN the house) my client’s husband can call his own.
Typically I find that the home is a woman’s domain. I believe God places in each woman a desire to create a home so she can care for her family. This can sometimes lead to the house feeling more like her space than “their” space. I know you know what I mean.
So today’s design challenge was to help resolve the identity crisis. My client kept trying to put “her touches” in “his cave” and it just wasn’t working. They had gone thru several wall color changes and when I arrived today I found test patches of two different shades of taupe on the walls. Thing was, neither one worked. You know a husband is desperate when he asks for the designer’s help!
A big reason my client (the wife) doesn’t like the room is because of the rather large rust-colored sectional she bought for the room. It eats up a lot of space and is more like a barrier than an invitation. I was thrilled when they told me they were going to reposition both it and the entertainment center. That would help a lot. However, there still was the issue of wall color and dealing with the room feeling a bit overwhelmed by the sectional. Because it was a lot of money and relatively new [I was not consulted on this piece as I reminded my client ;o)] Moving it to another room was not an option because it is definitely NOT my client’s style. She bought it because it’s perfect for watching TV.
Her hubby told me one of the pieces in the room that he really liked was a cool abstract print of an airplane. It’s in a big black chunky wood frame and the print itself is sky blue and orange. She kept taking the picture down and he would hang it back up.
I suggested we use the airplane artwork as our inspiration since he loved it and, as we determined during our consultation, the room was basically designated as HIS (un)official man cave. Bottom Line: We needed to embrace the room’s identity and celebrate it. We needed to put things in the room that he loved. No more hanging “her” stuff in “his” room. “Feminine touches” in his space often lead to a room identity crisis, so resist the urge! Just say NO!
Because the man cave is a relatively small room, I suggested that we paint the walls copper – similar to the color of the sectional. This would help create color harmony and would make the space look and feel bigger. Combined with repositioning the furniture, the new paint color would completely open up the space.
My client’s husband asked if perhaps he could somehow display his guitar collection in the room. Absolutely – we’d have a travel and entertainment theme. It will look smashing. He was so thrilled with the results of our consultation that he gave his wife a big hug. Then, to my surprise he pulled me into the hug. WOW. That’s a successful design consultation.
My client said she hadn’t seen him that happy in a long time. He was excited about the room and the design direction. It’s February and it’s already been a long winter. I think he’s got cabin fever and the prescription will be fixing up a space he can call his own.
SW6323 Tigereye
When I left he was planning on going to Sherwin Williams to pick up four gallons of SW 6323 Tigereye. This is a deep, rich hue that will envelop the small space. It will make it feel cozy yet spacious. Sometimes people are afraid of richer/dark colors. They think it will make their rooms look dark. Truth is, it’s not the color but CONTRAST that makes a room look smaller. If you have dark walls and light furniture – the room will look smaller. If you have light walls and dark furniture (this is what I find in most homes) it will look smaller. When you have similar tones on the walls and in the furniture, it blends which minimizes the separation between furnishings and foundation.
Another design dilemma resolved. How devine!
{ 1 comment }
Make sure to post an after picture if you get one. Would love to see the man cave. LOL!!
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