Interior Design with
Julia Luttrell
Multi-functional furniture key
to quality interior design
Multi-functional furniture key to quality interior design “A place for
everything and everything in its place,” my mother used to say.
A tidy little phrase that neatly describes one of the basic elements of
really fine interior design.
A neat and orderly environment is fundamental to a well-designed space.
In the ancient art of Feng Shui for instance, the well-considered
placement and organized arrangement of furnishings and objects is the
most basic aspect of design.
Form does indeed follow function. I’ve always believed that wherever
one’s eye comes to rest in a room, there should be beauty. And that
while making that beauty functional is highly desirable, to achieve
multi-function is the ultimate measure of a truly successful design.
For design-obsessed beings such as myself, these are the thoughts that
wake us in the night with a jolt of inspiration.
Let me share with you the delightful design result of one such
inspiration I had. It’s a single piece of furniture embodying all the
elements of double duty décor and provides multi-function galore!
Picture this….a beautifully upholstered, oversized ottoman, trimmed at
it’s middle with a handsome, double-band of woven upholstery detail.
This double band is edged top and bottom with a lush rayon rope and
punctuated with an elegant, single silk tassel. The silk tassel
indicates the location of the opening, for what is actually a hinged
lid! The lid opens to reveal a generous ‘storage box’ interior.
The entire unit, 36 by 24 by 16-inches high, rolls around on casters
that are hidden by a simple black toe-kick, which is recessed on all
four sides. This recessed toe-kick creates the visual effect that the
piece is “floating” lightly above the floor, which balances the impact
of its substantial size.
In it’s natural form, this custom-designed piece behaves as a tastefully
oversized ottoman. Put a large tray on it and it becomes a coffee table.
Remove the tray and it provides additional seating for those crowded
holiday gatherings.
Tuck it under a hall table as the perfect element in a well-appointed
foyer. It’s an elegant place for guests to perch while they remove their
boots, with provision for storage of various hats, gloves, scarves and
handbags in it’s interior.
Like the “little black cocktail dress,”’ this versatile little number
can be taken anywhere. You can dress it up or down, according to the
type of fabric used and it can adapt to practically any location in the
home.
Of all its various applications, I have always found that its most
“user-friendly” situation is in a guestroom.
Guestrooms are often rather small in scale and ideally they perform
various other functions (as a study or a den for instance), when not
housing guests. Here is where multi-functional furnishings really come
in handy and the custom-designed storage ottoman can be put to excellent
use.
Store the bedding and pillows for the pullout sofa during the day, then
at night simply roll it off to the side, place a reading lamp on it and
it becomes an instant night table.
Ah, the possibilities are seemingly
limitless!
