Deco idea Decor Expert globetrotter Walls & Floors

This apartment located in Saint-Petersburg was decorated by INT2. A good example for those who want to structure a large room and keep an open space while creating several different functional areas. This Scandinavian-style apartment is just perfect!

The Main Room: Kitchen + Dining Room + Living Room + Office + Piano

We note:

➨ Spaces delimitation: a wood loggia for the dining room, white bricks and a dark wood bar for the kitchen, a large rug around the sofa.  

1. Kitchen

We love:

• Art on a kitchen wall;
• White bricks that look like tiles;
• Industrial-style lights;
• Stools stored under the bar for a much neater impression.

We note:

➨ Different floorings to show different spaces.

2. Dining Room

We love:

• wood raw material;
• the rear shelves with beautiful tableware;
• the unpaired chairs. 

3. Living-Room

We love:

• the mix of different geometric patterns;
• the vintage style of the furniture.

We love:

• the fox (an original touch in this Scandinavian design);
• the decentred canvas and lamp;
• the unpaired furniture;
• the orange touch (lamp + canvas).

We note:

➨ wallpaper on a single section of the wall;
➨ the mix of geometric patterns;
➨ the mix of pastel colors.

4. The Piano

We note:

➨ the grey wall to create a distinct space;
➨ Frames just put on the Piano and decentred.

5. Office

We note :

➨ The office is isolated from the rest of the room thanks to bilateral bookshelves, that also bring some additional storage space.

Bathroom

We note:

➨ A short band of colored tiles over a white base.

We love:

• the black matte bathtub;
• the whale poster;
• the ladder;
• the two nude bulbs.

We note:

➨ just one section of the wall with blue pattern;
➨ the yellow desk lamp on the wall.

Bedroom

We love:

• blue and orange colors together, a great match of 2 complementary colors;
• the mirror hanged with leather belts;
• the two-colored wall (and the fuzzy delimitation).

Laundry room

We love:

• the geometric pattern on the floor;
• the mix wood, white and natural fibers.

Decor Expert

‘Duck blue’ is a literal translation from the French “bleu canard”. Although you can say ‘pigeon blue’ and ‘peacock blue’ in English, none of them is quite like the duck blue, which is the color this year. It is everywhere this season: on walls, on armchairs and on fabrics, the whole house is dressed in blue! It goes from turquoise to dark green, but we can still pick a trend…

A turquoise-like duck blue on strangeclosets blog and at Eddie Ross’ in NY 

@strangeclosets

@eddieross

A lighter duck blue at Marie-Claire Maison and Agathe Azzis

@agathe-azzis

@marie-claire

The original duck blue, as seen at Guardarte, Mis en Demeure, JNL Collection, Hay or La Redoute

@laredoute

@Hay 

Why call it 'duck blue': the origins

NB: if you want to paint your walls in duck blue, better do just one side of the room rather than the whole room, unless your room has very good lighting. Try also to pick a shade that is not too dark and prefer it matt than shiny (I’ve been there…). 

Decor Expert Walls & Floors

No need to do much for enlarging a room or create perspective. You just have to know how to use paint to transform your interior. Here are some ideas for using optical effects properly:

Light Colored Walls & Floors

Light colored walls and floor would have an enlarging effect and would also enlighten the room. You'd better chose one color only from floor to ceiling: it won't draw attention to the corners, the room will then seem larger. Light teints (wood, white, light brawn) would also perfectly match with colorful furniture. 

Dark floor, light walls

A dark floor would make an enlarging effect and give more character to your interior. That is the reason why it is mainly advised to have a floor slightly darker than walls. Grey or black floors can be very elegant but they would also draw attention on the floor only, overlooking the rest of the room. What's more, pay attention to colorful floor, your eyes might get tired of it very quickly! 

Light floor and dark walls

Dark walls - with light floor and ceiling - would seem higher and deeper but also very tight. You should also have a very bright room if you want to use a dark painting, so that your interior doesn't seem too dark - pretty much like a shady basement. 

Light floor and walls, dark ceiling

A dark ceiling would make the room lower. Nevertheless, if you have a high ceiling, painting it might be a good idea, it will give the space some colorful energy and transmit light from the different ceiling lights. 

Colorful niche

Painting a niche will allow gaze to escape the room and create the illusion of an open space. Use of a colorful canvas or mirror would have basically the same effect. 

Paint one wall only

Paint one or two walls instead of all of them modify the organization of space and contribute to make it larger and more open. Paint the wall at the back with a strong color will enlarge the room. For example use it at the end of a tight corridor. Be careful if you decide to paint lateral walls, it will make the room longer but tighter.

 Play with lines

Horizontal lines will open the room in its width. Vertical lines will extend the space to the back of the room. Then, it is strongly advised to use line perpendicularly to the longest walls in order to enlarge the room. 

Vertical lines on the walls (or curtains) will stretch the wall to the ceiling, whereas horizontal lines will make the walls wider.
  

Pay attention not to select too big lines in small interiors. It will make the room smaller.