Kirsten Krason, designer behind the company House of Jade Interiors, had a real challenge in front of her: Her client wanted a cheerful, whimsical craft room — but it would go in a pre-existing office that offered little in the way of creative inspiration.
It was a drab room with dark wood cabinets, countertops, and floors — though a sizable window offered natural light and the prospect of an airy working environment.
Here’s how Krason’s team transformed the space using color and whimsy.
A sense of play “Our client has a fun personality and isn't afraid to take risks in her home,” Krason said. “We really tried to convey a young and fun vibe.”
To that end, the design team made unexpected and whimsical choices, like painting the cabinets a bold shade of mint, with a coordinating Roman shade on the window, and adding color and bright accents throughout.
Brightening things up
Although the floor and countertops were dark, Krason decided to keep them as is — figuring the mint cabinet paint would be enough to brighten up the room without breaking the bank. Plus, she said, “Our client loves wallpaper and we felt like this would be a great place to do something fun!”
For the wallpaper, she chose a bright white and gold floral print — designed by Oh, Joy! for Hygge & West and available at Anthropologie.
“Because the wallpaper was gold and the cabinets were mint, we knew it was going to be a bold space,” she said. “We went all out by layering the wallpaper with a fun abstract print and doing a really colorful pink rug.”
Spurges and steals
Because the wallpaper was a splurge, Krason said that they kept everything else under a tighter budget.
For instance, the team found a chair they loved to sub in for the room’s original gray desk chair, but it was an unnecessarily spendy pick. So instead, “We found a similar-looking one at a local thrift store and just had it painted,” she said.
The light fixture was a more affordable version of some higher-end designer pieces. And Krason sourced the rug from an online children's shop, the Land of Nod, “It was decently priced as well.” (Indeed shopping kids’ and teens’ lines is an oft-sited budget-friendly design hack!)
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Although that beloved wallpaper was on the high end, Krason explained its visual impact helped the team save money in other ways: “You don't have to do much else to the walls, so you save money on art!"
Alesandra Dubin is a Los Angeles-based writer and the founder of the lifestyle blog Homebody in Motion. Follow her on Facebook, Instagram, Google+ and Twitter.