Do you invite color and texture to take up residence in your home? Photo: Drew Gray Photography
Orono home embraces a bold fusion of color and texture.
A story is well told when a confluence of different, sometimes conflicting, elements come together to shape a compelling narrative. This also goes for interior design stories.
This Orono home is filled with color and texture and design elements that, on their own, might seem to be in conflict with each other. But when intention meets creativity, great design can happen.
In general, the design space seems to be filling with more monochromatic, simplified décor themes, and those have their space, certainly. But with homes such as this stunner, are we turning a design corner toward more vibrant, saturated colors and texture layers? “I hope we’re going to see more color and more pattern come back in design,” says Brandi Hagen, owner and principal designer with Eminent Interior Design, who worked on the home.
Brandi Hagen of Eminent Interior Design. Photos: Chris Emeott
Regardless of what is in vogue, Hagen says she focuses on creating environments for clients. “What I really enjoy doing is getting to know the homeowners and then creating a home that fits them,” she says. “If you knew this homeowner, you would know that this [home] fits their lifestyle, and they are colorful and full of life and vibrant …”
There’s an art to mixing patterns, for example, with furniture, throws and pillows. Do it wrong, and the home’s story could read tragic, rather than compelling. Does Hagen have tips? “Anytime there’s a rule, someone’s going to break it,” she says. In her experience, Hagen says when featuring several patterns in a room, she incorporates large and small scales, a stripe, a plaid—the emphasis on “a” rather than multiple components.
Speaking of multiples, bringing in coordinating colors with décor pieces, fabric, paint, etc., is not easy. And there’s a retail temptation out there that’s just a click away. Hagen warns against shopping online for these elements. “Online is good for a lot of things, but color and texture are not one of them,” she says, cautioning to avoid purchasing items that can’t be returned. “You [should] have all of the fabrics and the rugs and the wallpaper in front of you, so that you’re dealing with the actual product and not pictures of the product.”
Hagen understands the importance of a cohesive presentation for clients. “When I present to homeowners, I don’t show one thing at a time. I present everything all the same time,” she says. “You can’t choose [elements one at a time] because then you’re not going to know what the end result is. That’s just like if an owner comes to me and says, ‘I really want blue.’ That’s great. We’re going to design the room because you can’t have blue walls, a blue sofa and a blue rug. You can have one of those things, maybe two, but we have to know what the whole room is going to be rather than one piece at a time, and especially when you’re dealing with lots of color or pattern … if you don’t [plan cohesively], it could look like a circus.”
In this home, the kitchen relied on a single color. While white-centric kitchens are arguably a classic look, how can we invite in warmth or open up their visual personality? In this case, the use of gold tones and the stools’ fabric help on that front. “Just because we’re doing white kitchens doesn’t mean it needs to be void of color,” Hagen says. These kitchen cabinets are original but were dressed in gold hardware. A blue valance was installed above the kitchen sink to infuse a shot of color. “The kitchen is still a nice background to pop all the color,” she says. “We could never do all that color if we painted the cabinets [a shade other than white].”
Photos: Drew Gray Photography
There’s several considerations that can go into interior design or décor decisions, including a space’s intended vibe and use, a homeowner’s aesthetic and lifestyle and the tenor of each room as it flows into the next space. In this home’s case, time played its part. Letting a home simmer for a bit can go a long way in understanding how form and function can meld in terms of décor and design. It was about seven years between the time when Hagen first assisted the owners with their home to the latest kitchen and living room project.
“I had designed other rooms in the house, so the advantage of doing this space is I already knew them, and we already had trust,” Hagen says. “Basically, their direction was, ‘We need to make this room look like the other spaces you did.’” That meant drawing in color and vibrance to play in concert with the established tenor of the home. “They didn’t give me a box,” she says. “They let me get creative with pattern and color.” When intention meets creativity, great design can happen.
Eminent Interior Design
11140 Highway 55 Suite C, Plymouth; 612.767.1242
Facebook: Eminent Interior Design
Instagram: @eminentinteriordesign
