Color Texture Pattern: An Exotic Livingroom

home office/guest room from architectural digest india

This room is a dream, impressive in it's balance of elements which manage to be both eclectic and rich, colorful and serene, rustic and sharp. Everything is grounded on a brown/wooden base found in the architecture and case goods.

Most of the surfaces are worn from the tabletop to the metal lamp to the picture frames. The color palette uses a jewel tone (purple) to offset the rich earth tones of orange and read, while the walls are a soft almost buttery shade of yellow. For a small room, this study reads as rather luxurious. 

a splendidly cozy guestroom

If my friend offered me this room to sleep in, I'd insist they take out all those lovely pillows so I couldn't drool all over them. 

It is pretty wonderful to be able to read foreign home magazines now. When I first started I learned that quite often the homes featured were of American homes. That was upsetting. I didn't spend premium dollars just to see a reflection of my own culture. I want to know what's going on across the oceans and seas! An authentic Indian or Moroccan home is what I value. Seeing the authentic lifestyle, not the mass marketed, themed interpretations for sale here. 

the office side of the room: rustic art frames

To whit, this home profile reminds of a sitting room that was posted on HGTV's Rate My Space site a few years ago. The homeowner was trying to design an 'exotic" room that, while certainly themed, leaned toward an authentic look. A cry for help is more than I can resist! I dove in, setting up two concepts of the room in a folder on my Flickr account.  

suggestions for finishing this calm, exotic reading room

Although the homeowner never responded to any of the posts - nor posted an updated room, to my knowledge - the exercise was pretty fun. Given the vast spectrum of interpretations of Moroccan and Indian decor in America, I thought this was pretty good. Her mauve walls were perfect - soothing and rich. That carved mirror is a wonderful piece and situated opposite the window. The silk window panels, also felt like the right thing. The mattress could use replacing, and if she wanted to keep the hot pink cover, well that seemed fine. I suggested a futon cover from West Elm (currently available on eBay). A chair another side table and some strong lighting would have made this little room sing.

Or so I thought. Maybe I'll have the chance to try this out in my own home.