It’s no secret that the PrairieMod Squad is in love with books. Last week we explored how the Squad took the opportunity to parlay our love of the printed word into a bona fide exercise in applying the PrairieMod principles, including “Integrate and Unify.” For the last post of the month on this particular principle, we thought we’d examine the all-important finishing touches found in the PrairieMod library.
After the structural elements were considered, designed and in place—the shelves, the built-ins, and the table—it was time to consider the elements that finish off the entire room experience. Things like lighting, trim, upholstery, plants and decorative accessories are the elements that work with the structural items to achieve the overall integrated and unified effect for the room. We like to refer to these nuances as “the finishing touches.”
But how do these “finishing touches’ actually succeed in creating that feeling of integration or unity? Lets take one example from the PrairieMod library to illustrate—the use of trim. Trim work was an important decorative design element that was used extensively by the Prairie School architects. If you’ve ever been on one of the house walks organized by the Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust you’d see an amazing abundance of oak trim used throughout the different homes. Prairie School architects, like Wright, saw the use of trim as an integrating design device that carried your eyes around a room, making you notice all the areas you might not normally look at. It also acted as a unifying motif, tying different rooms together throughout a house. The trim used in the PrairieMod library is no different in its function. It brings all the separate structures together and also helps carry your eye around the whole. It helps delineate door and window openings, framing them like photos or paintings. Finally, it echoes similar trim work motifs found in other parts of the house, contributing to the overall design statement or “grammar” of the home. One small finishing touch can have a tremendous impact on how unified, integrated and ultimately beautiful a space can be.
In the same respect such touches as lighting (how much, how direct or indirect), upholstery (color, texture, pattern), plants (how big, how many, what color and texture) and decorative accessories (pillows, wall art, pottery, etc.) can enhance the final effect a room will have. It stands to reason that not considering these elements, or choosing inappropriate applications of such items will resort in disunity and the disintegration of the overall effect. Little things do indeed make a big difference. So how do you go about making the right decisions? The answer lies in you and principles. Everything about the PrairieMod library was chosen by first examining what my specific individual needs were for the space. With the principles as my guide, I was able to consider, design and finally execute the library successfully. I didn’t design it for someone else’s personal tastes or needs (though one of my considerations was how other PrairieMod Squad members might use the space). Instead, I look to myself (my likes and dislikes) to inform the shape it would take. Principles are the tools to make ideas like this happen. Without them what you end up with will often times be a shell of what it could be.
As promised, please enjoy some photos of the PrairieMod library so that you might get an idea of how one room was shaped by ideas and principles. I hope you’ll be able to forgive my poor photography skills and at least be able to get a brief visual context to the things I’ve been writing about. Who knows, the Squad may need to set up a house walk of their own to be able to do these rooms justice! If any of our readers would like more specific information about any of the elements in the PrairieMod library (or maybe a better photo of some part of it) let us know and we’ll try our best to oblige.
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