Interior Design with
Julia Luttrell
Nurturing
your creative spirit
Fresh, tidy, organized and comfortable, the understated casual
elegance of an Eastern sense of order is an excellent starting point
for creating desirable home décor. The fundamental simplicity of
this Feng Shui sensibility is the seed of inspiration from which
creativity blooms to nurture the creative design spirit.
We all express creativity in various ways and inspiration is the key
to unlocking creative confidence. Yet, it can sometimes be illusive,
so when you find your natural ability for divine design needs a
nudge, try this exercise.
Sit quietly in any given area of your home and let your eyes come to
rest on a particular location. Relax, free your imagination and in
your mind’s eye, begin with a clean slate, a fresh palette, and
build upon it layer by layer. You’ll start to notice details, the
function of the area, the number, scale and placement of items, and
the colour of walls will become important.
Soon you’ll be able to discern what is ‘too much’ and detect what
elements are missing. You might envision a dramatic accent colour to
act as a backdrop, or devise a unique custom piece to complete the
picture. Some of my best designs have emerged from this exercise,
resulting in several items being added to my repertoire of standby
solutions for stagnant spaces.
For instance, here’s an affordable idea for a unique accent table
that is suitable to any space and can be adapted to become a
pedestal as well.
You start with ‘sono tube’, an inexpensive construction material,
available from any lumber or building supply store. In it’s normal
usage, sono tube is a cylinder, which is filled with cement to
create pillars for the foundation of buildings. It comes in
diameters from 12-18 inches and in varying lengths. Made of a sturdy
composite that looks like very dense cardboard, it can be cleanly
cut with a skill saw.
To create the end table, cut an 18-inch diameter piece into a
24-inch length. Have the lumber store cut you two circles of
plywood, on the diagonal so that they will fit snuggly as caps to
fill the top and bottom of the cylinder, then glue this top and
bottom into place.
The same assembly process can be done for the pedestals, however,
since pedestals look best in a grouping, you should create three
pedestals or varied heights and diameters.
Once you’ve constructed these forms, they can be surfaced in any
number of exciting materials, fabrics, wallcoverings, paints,
plasters, lacquers, faux finishes, or wood moldings.
For a contemporary look, the end table for example can be covered in
burlap, then painted and given a final coat of lacquer. To work it
into a traditional setting, you can apply a vertically installed
bamboo wallcovering, then top it off with a cap of black granite or
beautifully finished wood. Or for a dramatic dash of ethnic chic,
try surfacing it in bright tribal prints before sealing the fabric
in lacquer.
Once you get started with the possibilities, your creative spirit
will run free.
