Saturday, December 6, 2008

Princess Rooms!

As a designer, part of my job is to ascertain what it is clients really want . Sometimes they can verbalize their needs, often they cannot. Even more often the Mr. and the Mrs. don't have the same criteria and finding a balance which suits everybody is both the fun and the challenge. It's a great profession, requires knowledge on tons of different stuff, requires "people skills", requires creative problem solving and ultimately becomes volumetric art in which people nurture themselves.



Here lately on the blogs I have recognized there is a need for Princess Rooms!



Might have started with K9's birthday pictures in her "no sex in here " Princess Room or maybe over at Aunty Belle's and her problem about sharing the Buggy Barn with all Uncle's stuff. Other bloggers like Moi and Boxer have keyed in on the idea of a Princess Room and so,



I think we need to define and design the perfect Princess Room.



I need all you bloggers to send me your notions of what would make a perfect princess room?

Tell me about functions you want to happen in your rooms. Is it just one room or a suite with say a Princess Bath and a Princess Closet to rival a Ralph Lauren boutique? Is it a storage room, a craft room, a dance studio, an art studio, a library a media hall a Cheers Bar? Will you sleep there, eat there, tryst there, cry there, watch girl movies there, sweat away your anxieties, soak away the tensions of life, play with your dog, get creative, blog aroound the world in there? Tell me!

Do you like marble floors, wood floors, ultra deep carpeting? Do you want a panorama of windows or no windows. Do you want it to feel like the rest of your house or a totally different environment?

Do you want silk, linen, cotton and bambo natural fibers of ultimate luxury. Do you want corduroy , denim, terry cloth and plushy chenilles to go with your cozy clothes. Do you want an absolutely private to you for you with love retreat of a room or do you want an incredibly sexy Bond girl space for your significants to visit? What about mirrors...do you want any? I am so happy I took mirrors out of my room and yet I noticed the mirror in K9's princess room is ginormous! What about a coffee bar?

Or a wine bar or a place to keep strawberries and dipping chocolates?



Tell me your favorite colors, your favorite furniture styles, window treatments? Tell me your favorite style of window and what materials you love to have around you ...is it stone, wood, upsholstery, logs, slate? Do you want a fireplace, a way to go directly outside from your Princess Room? Do you want high ceilings, glass ceilings, starry starry night ceilings, tented ceilings, exposed beam ceilings?



Once all your data is in I will design a Princess Room which will incorporate the best of the best of all the wish lists and I will post all of the design documents here on the pond blog. You have a week to send as many thoughts on the Princess Rooms of your dreams !



For all you men bloggers, this is not a time out for you, please share the male perspective and tell me what you think should be in a Princess Room





22 comments:

Big Shamu said...

Alrighty, here goes.
My room would be a combo of art/photo studio and experimental kitchen. Heated wood floors, I'm thinking bamboo. Needs a lot of light, natural light so lots of windows and skylights. Maybe a window box to grow some herbs in the winter. Needs shelves for cookbooks primarily but don't forget room for all my computer photoshop books. Need some wall space to hang the artwork I'm lucky enough to obtain or create. Need a combo flat screen tv/computer monitor wall mounted so I can feed my sick obsession with all things Bravo TV. I love the deep blues. Styles of furniture? Stickley, Mission, Craftsmen. Will need a drafting table, deep comfy chair to read my books. No fireplace, wood stove instead. No mirrors, too much flash bounce. Have to go with a fairly high ceiling for photo studio purposes although I hate heating that sucker.
Is that enough to start with?

fishy said...

Big Shamu!
You are an awesome client! Thanks for kicking off the great Princess Room design project.

Jenny said...

First, I already knew there was a reason I like Shamu, but now I REALLY know why. Her room is one of the MANY Princess Rooms I'd love to create and have in my life. First Room: a studio that was log cabin-like on the outside, loft-like on the inside. Hardwood floors with rugs, open floor plan with metal tables so I could have several projects going on at one time. Lots of electrical outlets. Area for sitting and chatting with visitors. A small kitchen, but more mini bar than actually a place to cook because I'm not a cook. I'd want a Day bed, with a netting for privacy, because naps are something I think are under appreciated as adults. I'd want a fire place, but it would be gas, so I could flip a switch and have a roaring fire. I'd love a sun room, complete with terra cotta tiles, panes of glass with tropical plants and a perfect chair.... and that's where I would read.

This is fun! That's only my first room.

sparringK9 said...

this is so cool fishy!! a super sexy bond girl room. i like the sound of that.

i already have fixed up my room as best i can with what i have but here goes my uber fantasy princess room

it would be like an older house with regular paned windows and nice white trim. west and southern face if possible. a soft paint color -never wallpaper - to set of art.

glass doorknobs. wood floor restored ...but not polyurathaned (or whatever) but dry sanded and waxed. nice rugs but with a lot of floor still showing.

the bed would have vintage quilts and charming kind of old timey and homey assortment of pillows and crisp white high count thread sheets. pretty lamps. heirloom lamps. like the milk glass with the little bumps all over it. lots and lots of art books with little or no writing. just the images. there wouldnt be a tv. there would be a wireless modem.

there would be a bedside table with my .380 at the ready and a baseball bat leaned in the corner. (just in case)

my favorite art i have purchased would be in there along with all my framed family photos and the little meaningful things on my dresser. there would be a nice vanity to hold all my make up and creams and perfumes and jewelry and stuff. next to the princess room is a big walk in closet with built in drawers and lots of storage. and a three way full length mirror. the backside must be examined before stepping out!

i would have an ipod stereo thing so i can listen to my archived radio shows while i look at art books. the big dog comes in there to be read to or to listen to the radio with me. all tv and sex happens in the boys room. the princess room stays neat and orderly even if the rest of the house goes to hell in a handbasket. the princess room is a retreat from stress of all kinds. it soothes and offers comfort. dogs are welcome.

i cant wait to see what you do!!!

Karen said...

This sounds like fun. I have so many ideas floating round in my head so let me get myself organised and I will send you some details soon. Thanks Fishy for inviting me to join in. I love stuff like this. You're awesome.

Aunty Belle said...

Youse kiddin' right?

I'll be back. Did'ja heah t hat the GATORS WON???

fishy said...

Boxer,
Can't hardly wait to see how many princess rooms you have within! The perfect reading chair is priceless. I agree, this is FUN ! I can hardly wait to get at the drawing board but am "on-hold" for a week while I await everyones thoughts!

K9,
Bond girl sexy with vintage quilts? I'll have to think on that a tad... maybe I'll have the quilts made from 007's suits with a few of the accent pilows made from his silk ties? Maybe I'll limit the quilts to textiles from his tuxes for elegance and plenty of white to go with those milk glass lamps? I shall have to, research current products, etc. The really awesome thing about you fabulous blogger clients...
NO BUDGETS!

Gypsy, Glad you are on board with this pursuit of the prototype of the perfect Princess Room! I shall love, love, love your input because I got your "quiet" from the photos long before I read the word!

fishy said...

Chomp, Chomp Belle!
Now that youse paid homage to them awesome Gators you can git on wif the seriooos bidness of providing input for this here Princess Room Design Project.!!!! Course I need to tell you right up front I already know it ain't a gonna have them Turkey legs with claws like we seen over to Uncles trophy room!

sparringK9 said...

no no i meant the bond girl idea sounded cool and i think you should design that in its own right not combine with my needs. i am too old to kickbox or seduce spies (anymore ;-)) now i would prefer a cottagey wholesome arty space as described

Aunty Belle said...

I'se recovered from mah crocodillian euphoria, an' can make a few modest PR (princess room) suggestin's.

Enter my sanctum an' find yoreself lookin' out through a pair of floor to ceilin' French doors wif' a Paladian crown what opens onto a wee balcony overlookin' the garden. (balcony has ONE verdigris wrought iron chair wif' foot stool an' a wrought iron "twig" table just big enough fer mah cawfee cup.)

A pale lichen green cashmere throw is folded on the back of the chair. Aside them doors, verdigris carriage lamps -in case I wanna to sit out theah in the late of the evenin' to smell the Sambac.

Back inside, between them windows is The Princess Bed, Queen size, of verdigris "twig" wrought iron covered wif' some simple ivory Millesimo (by SFERRA.) Folded at the foot of the bed thar's a ivory silk and cashmere throw. Mebbe a few accent pillows in softest greens wif bees woven in the fabric.

On the bedside tables, covered in pooling clouds of ivory dupioni, are photos of loved ones in antique silver frames, a small Lalique wood nymph vase wif' a single pale green/ blue hydrangea head. The lamps is old bronze wif' a wisteria vine design.

The bed is across the room from a long wall o' floor to ceilin' bookshelves of Spanish pine, adorned wif' oak leaf and acorn carvin's , this wall of books punctuated midpoint wif' a fireplace at least five feet high (yes, of course the ceilin's is 12', the room is 24 X 18). There is a rail and ladder fer skimmin' along the top of the bookshelves.

On one side of the fireplace, facing the fire is mah lady's wing chair covered in dark moss green silk,tone on tone vines embroidered in it... an' opposite that is a larger wing chair in fawn leather --jes in case Uncle gits an invite to sit by mah fire. Aside the left of the fireplace thar's a small campaign chest on a stand that contains cut crystal glasses and a bottle of aged Amontillado. To the right of the fireplace thar's a bamboo easel wif Hassam's "Gathering Flowers in a French Garden."

At the far side of the the PR is a double French window whar' the long sweep of a branch of an ancient oak tree sways in breezy mornings...at right angle to this is mah Napoleon style campaign desk. The floors are random width pegged oak, thar's a single large Aubusson in ivory, lichen and the palest blues and apricot.

At the far end of the bookshelf wall, push on the last section and the wall opens to a chamber with a slim window overlooking the same oak branch. Here I have prie Dieu, on the short wall thar' hangs an Image of Edessa.

Beyond that is a small dressing room wif' two long batiste gowns and one charmeuse robe, an' two pairs of linen slacks (caramel and black) and two silk Hanro camisoles,two oversize linen shirts ( ivory and fawn) and one pair of camel colored Tod flats. (No wardrobe in heah as this is just a aerie)

The small skylighted bathing room has a single pedestal sink of free form stone. A small bronze twig framed mirror above it is sufficient. A footed shell tub rests on a old stone floor wif' a single bath sized Bakhtiari.

The effect should be of a library bedroom that jes' happens ter hang in the arms of the oak, over the garden.


(An' Fishy, I ain't fooled none a'tall by this ruse. I gits 20% when ya build this room fer a rich lady client --that ya picked our brains fer...heh.)

moi said...

Wow, you're an interior designer? How fun is that!

I'd love to work with you, so here goes:

I envision my princess room as a kind of über bedroom/dressing room, only the one thing I wouldn’t do in there is sleep (I don’t nap). Instead, I want it to be a peaceful, beautifully designed place to house all my girly things: clothing, shoes, accessories, jewelry, make up, lotions, potions, polish, and perfumes. So, first, a ginormous walk in closet, with mirrors and chairs and drawers and nooks and crannies, a clawfoot tub for bubble baths, a high tech, walk in shower for every day, and a huge, well lit vanity.

I also want my princess room to be the place where I retreat to read or do needlework without interruption or distraction. On one wall, floor to ceiling doored book shelves. The other wall is a huge picture window/combo French doors that open up onto a small patio and the woods beyond. The world’s most comfortable easy chair in front of the window it in which to read and stitch. Lamps for when it gets dark.

A fireplace. A discreet wet bar with fridge for drinkees and snacks. No art on the walls – instead, I'm envisioning wall paper (!!), but nothing patterned. No patterns or primary colors anywhere in fact. Objects de art are fine - I want to be able to look up from my book and see beautiful things but I don't want to think about them if that makes any sense. Instead, I want everything smooth, seamless, and streamlined, but also very plush. Warm minimalism if that makes any sense. Like Katherine Hepburn's outfits. Like 1930s Art Deco meets Donald Judd's sculptures.

I don’t like carpet and wood is too difficult to care for, so stained concrete floors with lots of thick-piled wool rugs, no patterns. Colors: camels, ivories, gun metal greys and greens. Materials: blond woods, glass, chrome, silks, velvets, cashmere pillows and throws. It’s all about a retreat from the riot of color and sound that is the rest of my house. Ivan is allowed, but that’s it.

Jenny said...

I woke up this morning thinking of my Fantasy Princess Room. I do have "A Room" in my house - it has the original cedar panels that everyone in the neighborhood painted white, but I left it natural. It has a day bed, chair, fire place. What I've learned from Aunty, Shamu and your post is that I am seriously lacking room for my project/arts de fun and I beginning to correct that TODAY. Also, can't wait for Aunty and Moi to describe their rooms.

Jenny said...

ahahah - Moi posted as I posted my comment. WOOT!!!

Jenny said...

.... and so did Aunty.

fishy said...

Well isn't this fun! I am really enjoying all the thought and detail to your many responses. Most of all I love that you each are realizing what it is you want without compromise. Who says fantasy is albout ....that other feel good thing!

Aunty Belle,
Chile, I thinks you musta had a childhood trauma to be such a skeptic bout your fellow girl! I doan have no clients wanting they's own personal retreat (PR). Your fantasy room sounds awesome and very particular. It doan sound like havin Santa build ya your very own buggy barn is even in the playin field! Youse is an European souled Aunty!
It will be interesting to see how many participants have the same wishes beyond the wish for the PR itself.
Seem lak I remembered from your kitchen remodelin reports youse a coffee snob....no coffee bar in your PR?

Moi,
Yep, I am one lucky woman cause I love being a designer. I recently told Mermaid my favorite thing about being a designer is it is the all time best ever " to me for me with love from me" thing I have ever done. Most of us wear so many responsibility hats as someones child, sibling, spouse, parent, friend .... making it so easy to misplace the part of ourselves which belong just to ourselves.
Design is that for me.
The fact that I am also blessed to earn my living in this profession is a present for which I am really, really grateful.

Now, about your room.....great data and input. I LOVE that you want it to be an environment which reinforces your feminine side.
Needlework and bubble baths and an occassional drinkee with just Ivan sounds....delicious.! Thanks much for the clarity of your wish list.

Boxer,
You woke up thinking about your PR!!!!! That is some very exciting communications to this designer!!!!
I am so looking forward to seeking out all the common denominators from all this input so I can design the prototype PR...adaptable by most of us with ease. Cannot wait to hear what you did today with your room!!!!

Remember, there is a week of supplying data before I start designing so fell free to blog on!

sparringK9 said...

whateveryado dont leave out aunty's "verdigris"
grrrrrrrrrrrherhahahahahaa

Karen said...

Post injection day today Fishy so not feeling all that creative but I PROMISE I will be back in the next couple of days.

h said...

Quilting bench. Sewing machine. Hand-sewing equipment. Canning equipment. Cleaning supplies. Butter churn. Egg-laying hens.

Idle female hands are the devil's workshop!

fishy said...

Troll,
Please promptly revise your avatar to Neanderthal!

K9, you have a point, we need to take a blogger vote on "verdigris" !

Gypsy, sending prayers your way!
Blowfish's son has MS requiring fearsome injections which are a big help. Post injection days are a real challenge for him, he tries to take em on Fridays to minimize work time lost. Looking forward to your PR room input.

sparringK9 said...

you call your mate blowfish? grrrrrrrrherhahahahaa you are funny as all get out. i liked your comment to troll too. he knew that would get him a good one. ;-)

Aunty Belle said...

Troll-Man,
that ain't in yore sola scriptura.

h said...

Neanderthal? I was being enlightened and patriotic. The first distinctive American Paintings were portraits of Women DOING SOMETHING CONSTRUCTIVE.

American women said "NO", I won't be portrayed as loafer hanging out in my princess room. Cause that isn't my life.

Euro-Trash portraits, by contrast, sometimes showed men doing something constructive. But invariably showed the woman just sitting there like a log in her princess room.

The next distinctive American paintings were the Hudson Valley landscape works.

Ha! I remember stuff from Art History 101!