Design Style: Urban Modern -Industrial Chic
Budget: $35,000.00
When I was given a chance to turn the extra room pictured in the photos into an urban modern oasis with a hint of industrial elements, I jumped at the chance. The client wanted an overall urban modern design scheme but she also wanted hints of industrial elements to remind her of the city life she left behind. Since she’s a writer, I figured that she would appreciate the addition of quirky elements such as the fun wallpaper we added to the wall in front of the computer.
To deepen the challenge, she also wanted an office that provided a place to write, a library, and a meditation altar. The challenge was on as I set up her online studio and I couldn’t have been any more excited to tackle this design project.
After setting up her online studio on our website, I sent the welcome packet that provided vital homework instructions for making the design go smoothly. It didn’t take long to narrow down the inspiration room choices to decide what the client needed. Strong jewel-toned colors set against warm hues and abstract art created the perfect pairing for what this steampunk writer needed in her home office/meditation style oasis.
For furniture, I turned to some pretty fab new to me brands that I recently discovered and made several new connections while doing so. This mustard colored chair and couch from Joybird created the overall mood for the room. When creating an urban modern design, one has to consider pops of warm colors along with clean lines and a mixture of materials. Mustard yellow or gold (whichever you prefer) makes the perfect neutral these days. I’ve seen this color used in many of the designs used by my friends.
My client whom I’ll call Lisa wanted her desk to face the creative side of her house. After determining both her main and lucky elements in feng shui (fire and water respectively) I set to work creating a plan to balance functionality, mood, and mindfulness towards creativity.
First, we tackled the bones of the room. We removed the old windows, replacing them with custom ordered black-framed versions. This choice satisfied Lisa’s desire to add industrial elements to her urban modern plan. We added one window in the very back to allow the flow of additional light into the room. One thing to keep in mind about moody design is that you’re going to need a LOT of lighting options included within the design scheme. Adding and expanding on the current window plan created an energetic flow of bright light from all directions, an important aspect as the day rolls along.
Next, we chose the furniture and fabric. A mustard-colored couch from Joybird and a matching leather office chair set the mood for this urban modern writing escape. These two items created the perfect combination when paired with PPGs 2020 color of the year, Chinese Porcelain. For art, we chose simple abstract paintings that included a misty city escape in the one work and a pair of horses in the next one. The sculptures were handpicked and chosen to compliment our steampunk writer’s lifestyle. The art gives the room the type of ethereal touch a writer needs in order to produce great stories. What do you think of Mr. Giraffe on the wall opposite the computer desk? He’s quite a dapper fellow, isn’t he?
Our client came into the design with a healthy budget, a fabulous thing when going with custom furnishings. We wanted to create a way for her to have as much natural light as possible given the office’s moody design plan. Overall, we achieved the goal as our client now has a space devoted to creativity, meditation, and space to work with clients.
