8 ways to add awesomeness to spaces

1 Insert an unusual piece of furniture into the normalcy of your space: a swing, a cocoon or even a slide, for a sense of fun and adventure.  Used indoors, hanging furniture are not only visually refreshing; they also provide the user with an alternative experience, that of being enclosed in and cradled in their very own personal space.

PHOTO BY IRON ENGINEER

2 Go beyond the glow-in-the-dark star stickers and install an LED starlight system. Aside from providing light, starlight infuses drama. Use a dark moonlit blue color for your ceilings and go the extra mile and plot out the constellations for added interest and information. If you have the budget, you can purchase integrated systems, wherein the lights can dim and brighten according to a preset program. This is perfect for music rooms, game rooms and home theaters. You can set them on walls too!

3 Play with platforms and levels. Although they will seem to make a space smaller, a change of height allows for an alteration of finishes and makes spatial arrangements more thought-provoking and intriguing.  Moreover, they allow multiple spaces to visually overlap while keeping them functionally separated. So what lies beyond those steps?

PHOTO BY INSTALLD

4 Install or commission a full wall   mural. I remember that some time in the ’80s, murals were quite popular. Back then, though, you had to choose between a collection of views that looked like postcards:  from Mount Fuji to a Greek sunset or a North American forest. With today’s digital processes, anything can be put in print. Explore and enjoy the infinite possibilities.  Here, a black-and-white wall mural with a bird-in-flight pattern softens the angular lines of the furniture.

5 Introduce glass walls or a glass floor, or even a glass catwalk. Glazing makes a space feel polished. It adds an ethereal sense when sandblasted or frosted and located where light can filter through. Framed in metal, glass can be used as loft or catwalk flooring. There is some kind of excitement that comes with walking on glass.

6 Give your kids a treehouse. Or something playful for their bedroom: a slide, a swing, or even the deck of a ship on a little loft you can build. When I was in grade school, I had a friend who had a room designed like this.

7 Use the common things differently. A ladder with glass ledges makes for an unusual shelf. The same—without the glass—can be used as a towel rack.

8 Use three-dimensional art; hand wall relief art in lieu of paintings. Use sculpture as your decorative pieces; the larger, the more dramatic. With proper lighting, sculpture and relief pieces have an added decorative element: shadows! Shadows add texture and softness to wall surfaces.

Photo by touchofclass

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