It’s all about the cozy and playful this week with Amy Dalrymple, the Creative Director and Founder of Dalrymple Studio. In our chat, Amy shares tips for personalizing your approach to design, including lessons she’s learned in her own career working with a wide variety of clientele.
Amy also gives some great advice on creating interiors that are both timeless and full of warmth, designing for longevity, and incorporating bold, primary colors to bring joy and happiness to a space.
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- Find more design images like this at dalrymplestudio.co.uk
What You’ll Hear This Episode:
- Amy’s background and journey into interior design, including her childhood exposure to design through her parents’ careers.
- Amy’s design philosophy of personalizing spaces to reflect each client’s unique personality and her playful approach to create warm and inviting spaces.
- How to design for longevity while still keeping things fresh and interesting.
- Advice for starting with a grounding base pattern and adding layers from that.
- Where Amy goes for inspiration when she needs that little spark.
- Tips for layering off primary colors.
- Amy’s emphasis on creating designs that represent the client, rather than just her own personal style or portfolio.
- Keeping it fresh and unique for each project and design.
Decorating Dilemma:
Greeting Ballard Designs Team,
Your podcast has given me a great deal of joy and education! Thank you so much for sharing.
I’m having a lot of difficulty with optimizing this room and was hoping your panel and expert could help me out of “stuck.”
Hoping to make this a more welcoming hang out space for teenagers but also a guest apartment space. As of now the only sleep surface is the twin daybed. When couples or families spend the night, we add a twin and queen blow up situation- which nobody complains about but I’d love more ease.
There is a lot happening in this room with all the wainscoting and mantle and built in armoire (it was the dining room in the 1890’s). Plus this is the room of lost furniture so it has accumulated miscellaneous pieces- like our stand alone armoire which is a nice focal point but possibly gratuitous? I could put another daybed across from the current daybed and move the armoire into the bay window? Is this a faux pas? Or a window seat with a bed inside?
For the teenagers, I would love more seating and a game table… nothing too formal and resist an actual bed because I’d rather have it multifunctional. But I’m open! Would love any and all feedback and very appreciative.
Sincerely,
Meg in Brooklyn
Hi Meg!
Thanks for writing. It sounds like you have a really interesting and unique space to work with, and we love all the beautiful details like the built-in armoire. To help optimize this room for both teenagers and guests, we suggest starting by separating in two distinct areas – a cozy sitting room and more functional game/hangout space.
For the sitting room, we would look at incorporating a sleeper sofa or daybed that can double as a sleeping surface when needed. Layering in lots of soft textiles like curtains, rugs, and pillows will help make the space feel warm and inviting. Adding a pair of lamps on a console table between the two areas will also help define the spaces.
In the game/hangout area, you could look at adding a small table and chairs for playing games or working. Placing an armchair or tub chair in the bay window would create another cozy spot. And don’t be afraid to get creative with the built-in armoire – you could potentially turn it into a mini bar or use it for storage.
The key will be balancing the functionality and flow of the space, while also infusing it with your personal style and the teenagers’ needs. We encourage you to check out Amy’s portfolio, especially her chalet project, for inspiration on layering textures and using color to warm up a space with a lot of wood tones!
– How to Decorate
Also Mentioned in This Episode
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Happy Decorating!
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