In my last post I talked about how to achieve successful DIY design. The first step is to have a design plan, and this is the part I’m often asked to provide by my clients. A design plan includes a furniture layout, color palette, and ideas for accessorizing and finishing the room. The DIY project I’m sharing today is a design plan I did for 9-year-old Jake. Jakes’ parents hired me to come up with ideas for their son’s bedroom, but they were willing to handle all of the implementation. They did a great job! Here’s what the room looked like before I arrived:
As you can see, they were having a hard time settling on the right shade of green to paint the room. As it turned out, I recommended they paint the room deep blue instead, and let all of those great green accents in the bedding and accessories really pop. But I did add one green element – we painted the exterior door bright green! Jake’s parent’s wanted to keep all of his existing furniture, but I did recommend a new furniture layout, and suggested adding some reading lamps . Here’s how the room turned out:
AFTER: The bunkbed is better balanced on the other side of the room, where it nestles between two windows. The walls were painted deep blue, but I recommended leaving a 10 inch band of white around the top, to simulate the effect of a generous crown molding. And the door to a back porch got a fun new color.
AFTER: Looking back toward the room’s entry, see how those green accents stand out!
Here are the before-after images side-by-side:
It’s amazing what a big change they made, mostly with paint and some organizing and re-arrangement. And now Jake has a great bedroom that will take him into his teens in style.
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Tamara Leicester is a licensed interior designer and owner of Tamara Heather Interior Design, LLC. She designs casually elegant interiors with an artistic sensibility, often drawing upon the talent of local artists and craftspeople in her work. Dreaming about updating your space? Learn more at tamaraheatherinteriors.com.