Every room in your home should evoke a feeling of well-being. Whether it's because the room is filled with items that remind you of great vacations you've had or the colour palette in the room is soothing, each room should have what I refer to as its own personality.
Thinking in terms of a room having a personality may help you with your décor choices. So, if you find that the rooms in your home don't make you 'feel' something, then you have a bit of work to do.
How does one give a space personality? The first thing you have to do is determine what personality you want the room to have. Do you need your bedroom to have the attributes of a good friend who is comforting and supportive? Perhaps you'd like the home office to be like that family member who is always organized and is an encyclopedia of knowledge -- the one you call when you need advice.
Maybe the kitchen could use an infusion of the traits you love about a nurturing parent or grandparent. In a workout room, you might want the space to have a high-energy personality that will get you motivated and inspired.
Once you've determined your needs and desires for a specific room, you can then start to create the room's personality through colour, accessories, lighting and placement.
We'll use our feature photograph as a starting point to see how you can create a room that has an inviting 'stick around a while and relax' persona.
In a bathroom, you most likely want a spa-like feeling of being indulged, soothed and rejuvenated, so you want a room that speaks to those needs. This lovely Moen bathroom fits the bill on all counts. It exudes tons of character and charm. From the attractive vintage-style soaker tub to the country-inspired touches, there's something about this space that is alluring. It makes you feel relaxed and pampered.
The main feature of this room is the soaker tub. If you can indulge yourself with an item like this, it will go a long way to creating a personal spa-like space. If you have to work with a standard bathtub, then indulge in some luxurious towels, spa slippers, soaps and other sumptuous bath products to pamper yourself.
The room itself is large and open and has a great view of the outdoors through the large windows. While this is not your everyday bathroom layout, you can still create the same feeling in a smaller space. Even in a small bathroom with a small window (or no window), where the bathtub may be sitting along the wall instead of floating in the middle of the room, you can still create a personality that is charming and quaint by incorporating spa-inspired accessories, luxurious linens and sumptuous bath mats.
Having two separate sinks and vanities supports the perception of opulence and indulgence in our feature room. The sinks are oversized and grand, furthering the sense of luxury. If you only have room for one vanity in your bathroom, then splurge on a great sink to give your small bathroom a sense of grandeur.
Aside from the lavish soaker tub and dual sinks, the room has a homey quaintness that also offers a sense of casual comfort. This facet of the room's personality is provided by the vintage-style fixtures and faucets, the rough-hewn table vanities, oval mirrors, garden bench and subway-tile accents. The space has an overall country-causal charm that is both captivating and comforting.
If you prefer this bathroom to have a more masculine personality, you could opt for a black soaker tub and sinks, fitted wooden blinds for the windows, a tufted leather bench instead of the white garden bench, square mirrors and perhaps darker linens and richer paint colours.
If your tastes run more toward modern or urban design and you want this bathroom to have a similar personality, you might choose a sleek square tub, stainless-steel vanities, a wall-length mirror versus two oval ones, aluminum blinds for the windows, modern strip lighting instead of two wall sconces and a splash of vibrant colour on the walls.
These are just a few examples of how to give a room some specific personality traits that generate feelings of well-being. If you're stumped by the direction in which to proceed in your current space, then thinking of the room as having a persona may give you a good starting point.
connieoliver@shaw.ca
