Navigating the space between the vintage and avant-garde
Our bedrooms are so much more than just the places where we rest our heads. They’re our own private sanctuaries, a retreat from the stresses of everyday life, and an intimate space in which our personalities can truly shine.
Whenever I’m called upon to reimagine a bedroom’s potential, colour always plays a primary role. By selecting tones and palettes which match warmth with comfort and character, it’s possible to lay down the foundations for a total transformation. In essence, once we decide what the canvas shall look like, everything else falls into place.
This project, involving a family home in Bristol’s stylish Southville region, involved the elevation of a bedroom in a home which had already undergone considerable work. Clients Stephen and Klerwi had clearly put a lot of thought into how the rest of their home would look and feel, and the master bedroom, as is so often the case, would be that final finishing flourish that had the potential to tie everything together.
The Brief
Stephen and Klewri clearly weren’t ones to shy away from bold use of colour and vibrant, elevated ‘modern classic’ design - their personalities were reflected throughout the house, giving plenty of scope for inspiration. It was clear to me that this idiom should be thoroughly reflected in their master bedroom, providing a space which was at once peaceful yet invigorating; a room in which both nestling down for the night and waking up energised, refreshed and joyful were equally accessible.
Careful thought had to go into how the bedroom’s attached bathroom and dressing area should be woven into the overall design. With its awakening black and white slate, it quickly became clear that a complementary palette was required - I’m a firm believer that such spaces should not necessarily match one another, but should highlight the best that each has to offer.
The flooring, too, became a factor in my planning for this bedroom; the warmth of the wood offered plenty of jumping off points for colour selection, and I loved the idea of heightening the space with further hues inspired by nature. As always, I was keen for every accessory, item of furniture and soft furnishing to take the sense of balance, harmony and vibrancy into a realm of sheer delight, resulting in a room that deepened the design-led dimensions of this beautiful home.
The Scheme
I’ve always loved the juxtaposing soothing and enlivening nature of deep and leafy greens, and it was quickly obvious that this would provide the principal colour palette for Stephen and Klerwi’s bedroom. A sophisticated and opulent shade of dark mossy green was the perfect starting point for the bedroom walls, opening up an array of colours which would bring even greater vibrancy to the space.
With a statement wall bedecked in a gloriously-patterned wallpaper (that put me in mind of Henri Rousseau’s rather decadent jungle scenes) I was able to level up the creative credentials of this master bedroom, as well as unlock several other options for colours to highlight. Yellow sage and accents of dusty pink, alongside a stark and brilliant white by way of the woodwork, further accentuated that essence of timeless luxury and contemporary boldness.
With colour schemes playfully reflected between the bed (Joelle by Loaf) and a beautifully theatrical pair of heavy yellow curtains, original artwork by Hannah Brown (a delightfully quirky array of fossilised shark teeth, no less!) and a Cox&Cox mirror, a real sense of drama and glamour took centre stage. Further touches came about via a By That table and a stool and runner courtesy of Next’s home range, crafting a space in which all those important morning and evening rituals could be carried out with ease. These items also allowed for a dynamism between the bedroom and aforementioned bathroom, with flashes of grey providing that all-important harmony between the spaces.
The resulting bedroom offered the ideal counterpoint between safe haven - those velvet textures and warm hues proving particularly successful in this regard - and a room which was playful, fun and deeply characterful. Sitting somewhere between the vintage and avant-garde, the natural and urbane, and classic and contemporary, it is a reflection of two fantastic personalities and their commitment to timeless style.
