I was recently reminiscing about all the amazing things I saw during my visit to the spectacular "House Beautiful" exhibit in Midland, Michigan earlier this month. It made me remember Dianne Maddex's book published a few years ago titled, Frank Lloyd Wright's House Beautiful and so I decided to check it out of the PrairieMod library. As I was perusing, one particular excerpt spoke perfectly to the principle of "Bring the Outside In" for this week's installment of PrairieMod Monday.
"Go to the woods and fields for color schemes," Wright instructed in 1908. The soft, warm, "optimistic" tones found in the earth and the forest greens, golds, and reds of autumn leaves suited him more that the ribbon counter's "pessimistic" blues, purples, and cold greens and grays. Wright liked the rich, natural hues of wood inside and out, from white and red oak to golden cypress and deep mahogany. Brick in tawny gold or muddy tan reflected the earth from which it came.
This made me stop and think about how certain colors, textures and shapes can have an impact on how we think about the mood of a room. To Wright, the natural world held an infinite variety of "optimistic" options to choose from to inspire the design of a house and the characteristics of the decor found within. Rich, warm and natural fabrics, paint colors, woods, etc. can definitely shape the personality of a room and the people who use it. "Bringing the Outside In" is one of the ways to integrate a wealth of design ideas into a home that can lead to a better living environment. It's also easier than you might think. Case in point, my house.
I've tried to "Bring The Outside In" all throughout my home in ways that add to the visual experience of the different rooms. In the living room, I've incorporated a natural slate tile fireplace surround, along with oak trim, all next to the existing raked brickwork. I've also added some green pottery holding twisty branches for added color and texture. The combination of these very natural materials creates a wonderful collection of contrasting visual textures without anything feeling sterile or cold.
Next to the fireplace area is an entertainment center, some wall mounted sconces and a few oak stands. Once again the materials are all warm colored woods, wall paint, honey glass, and art pottery with plant motifs. As an added touch, I've included dried flowers and seed pods wherever I could. Decorating with dried flowers is one of the easiest ways to bring part of the outside world inside for all to enjoy. I also applied the same approach to the entry way inglenook, where metal urns hold dried sticks of rich green and red and an homage to the Winslow house door hangs in all its elegant leafiness. In every aspect of these different areas, I looked toward principles to guide my design decisions. They helped me maintain the vision of unity, simplicity, and natural warmth that I enjoy on a daily basis.
As I finished reading Ms. Maddex's book, I returned it to the library and noted the use of natural inspirations there. I'll end this week's post with some shots of the way the outside was brought into the PrairieMod library so that you can see that with a little bit of nature, you can make wonders happen. Enjoy!
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