Creating a Corner for Some ‘Me Time’ for Solitude Seekers

The dark flooring and unfinished walls put in mind a space that would allow ideas to percolate and bubble to the surface. Since this was a space meant just for you, the most comfortable chair was dedicated to the main user of the room, the element around which everything revolved. Every décor choice needed to be geared towards the comfort, convenience and tastes of this room’s main occupant. This led to the thought of adding consoles to hold books, tasteful accessories, a music player, a bookshelf and a side table for coffee or tea. Another idea was to create a photo wall. Essential to setting the mood and facilitating the function of the space were muted colours and controlled light.

The Visualisation

The design team mined the ever-reliable 3D visualiser for furniture, colours and accessories; the most important piece was the main chair. An important tip for DIY-ers who might choose to go it alone is that visualising through mood-boarding or scrapbooking helps you understand the purpose of the room, which enables you to find a starting point. Here, it was the chair. The visualiser made things easy in this regard because it allowed the designers to see, consider and disregard at a rapid pace.

The Render

The tricky part was that the chair needed to have a strong identity but not one that would overwhelm the space. After overlooking chairs that went from one extreme—too bulky—to another—without a strong identity—the design team finally zeroed in on a piece with the strongest presence. Then came the console, which had a similar pattern as the chair. A mirror was also added to make the small room seem bigger. The bookshelf needed to be one that almost disappeared into the background allowing the books to be the main focus. The side table was a disparate addition that worked well even as it stood out from the other pieces. A darker flooring was chosen to not detract from the solitude-inducing vibe and added a lighter rug to bring in some warmth.

The Final Outcome

In the oft-repeated tradition of there being that uncontrollable element in every project that impacts the most foolproof plan, this space too came with its requirements. Like the amount of daylight, which led the design team to reevaluate some of the choices they had made in the render. The colour on the wall, for instance. (Which is why onsite sampling is key to your design decisions.)

To control the light, darker curtains were chosen, and a Nilaya wallpaper was used to mimic the unfinished textured wall in Deol’s home. The bookshelf, as in the render, played second fiddle to the books. A side console, potted plants and the bench were carried forward from the render. A floor lamp was incorporated to highlight the textured wall and dark tiles were picked for the floor. The mirror was made by the design team, which is available to customise for those with very particular requirements. The final and most important piece was the unique chair. The takeaway here was that sticking to the inspiration is well and good, but it is even more important to listen to what your space tells you—and go with your gut.

And we’re always here to help you get just what you want.

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Wallpaper: ‘Linda Catalogue W112WK62B75’ wallpaper from the Nilaya collection
Paint: ‘Ivory White’ from the Royale Matte range

If you have a space and an inspiration, we can show you how to get the most out of it. Just get in touch