Meshing Design Styles.

Until I entered the Apartment Therapy "Room for Color" contest, I never paid much attention to my design style. I always thought I just have a thing for mixing pretty traditional pieces with modern. But one comment on my entry page really stuck out at me. Whether it's true or not, I think they hit the nail on the head:


"What a charming bathroom! It's so hard to know what to do with a little bathroom and yours is wonderful! Great job blending a masculine and feminine look! I just love it.I wish AT would feature more small but beautiful bathrooms!

posted by heatherdazy on October 6th 2009 at 2:23pm"

I thought it was a lovely compliment, but I reread that bolded sentence a few times thinking "really? DID I mix masculine and feminine in this space?" So I stopped and thought about the room, and it made sense. I used a pretty feminine shower curtain and a dark, clean lined vanity with stainless steel feet. I used a traditional, rounded pattern tub and a clean, simple, no frame mirror. There's quite a mix of clean lines and traditional styles, but those two things can also be classified as masculine and feminine. I'm no design expert, but I decided to compare apples to oranges in the rest of the house.

Our living room in this picture is pretty basic. This doesn't show any of the recent accessory additions, but it shows the bones. I took a color from the Ralph Lauren Urban Loft series called "Stone" because it was a little cooler than a beige neutral and a little more modern. But I combined it with some ornate damask drapes to soften the stark color. For the tables, I wanted those sexy curvy legs, which reminded me of traditional Beauty and the Beast furniture, but I got them in a deep espresso color with clean lines on top. For the rug I wanted a soft color to break up all the dark furniture, but got one that had a square pattern all over it. For the sofas we got reclining for him and a warm camel color for me. The lamps are really feminine, and fairly popular, acrylic ball bases, but I used plain jet black frames. But when I stop and think about it, I pretty much nailed a mix of feminine and masculine:




For the master bedroom, the bed and dresser were purchased within 2 months of us dating. They're Ikea Malm in Black Brown. Very sharp lines, very masculine color. But we used soft blue/green sheets and a branch/bird theme comforter. The walls are (of all brands) Martha Stewart blue but I hung a grungy, vintage horse picture. I hung flowy sheer and linen curtains next to the real camplight lamp. There's A LOT more to add to finish off this room, but so far, another mix of masculine and feminine:

The office has since been turned into an "Xbox Command Center" but when it functioned as an office we mixed an aubergine paint with a very generic, simple lined desk. A leather office chair with some Ikea flower pictures. The curtains are a mix themselves: sheer and flowy with a very modern, clean lined box pattern:


So although pretty much everything in this house is simply a mix of my own love for modern and traditional, it shows as a mix of masculine and feminine. A way of meshing his style with mine.

Whenever a friend decides to change the look of something, and mention what they like and what their significant other likes, my mind starts racing on how to effectively piece their likes together and make it work. Although I may never tell them what, in my mind GENIUS, idea I come up with, I think maybe I just have a thing for mixing styles.

If you or someone you know needs help, I would love some more free-time brainstorming to do ;)