Decor decode – Odd one out
That odd and unused space in your home can get transformed into something beautiful and useful with more insightful planning.
When you choose to design and decorate your home, you make sure that no stone is left unturned. But there can be situations when even after catering to the design requirements of the entire house, one part still sticks out like a sore thumb.
An odd corner in your home is enough to ruin all your hard work. Many homemakers and designers are transforming that unused or odd space into something that can provide utility or make it look artistic. A work space, a small library, a bar unit or simply a zen fountain are ideas that can be given shape to give the corners of your home a new look. You can let your imagination run high depending upon the space you have or have that quiet corner for yourself in the house which you always wanted.
Interior designer Chirag Kapoor does not believe in calling any space as ‘odd’. He says, “Actually, for me, there are useable or unusable spaces, aesthetic or ill proportioned spaces but not an odd space. As a designer, converting these spaces is even more satisfying. In most of our architecture projects, the spaces are pre-planned and pre-conceived, so the emerging spaces are never odd or unplanned. However, when working on an older structure or a renovation or restoration, de signing these surprise spaces becomes fun. A client may see these areas as waste of space but when you bring in an aesthetic spin to these volumes, it becomes creativity.”
He laments that when it comes to the choice of doing odd spaces, the utilitari an aspect is given more priority. “Sadly, odd spaces are looked at more with an angle of utility primarily. But these spaces have much more aesthetic potential. It should be approached with a blend of both aspects; a mini home studio can serve both aesthetic as well as utilitarian purpose. Even a small music room, a library or a space depends largely on a person’s lifestyle and requirements.” He says, “The idea is to give options to our clients to optimally utilise the unused space. Their choice might be completely different based on utilitarian or aesthetic purposes. For example, if you have a lot friends of same age group, you might opt for a bar unit. Again, a 60 year old might opt for a storage space.”
However, he explains there are many factors to be considered before finalising the decor for such spaces. “Lighting, passage, the corner of the room and the size of the room matters before deciding upon what to do with the odd space in a room,” he says. Writing den has so much more potential than a wardrobe to store brooms and umbrellas,” says Kapoor.
Vamsipriya chose to put up a small library in her living room. She says, “Due to the shape of our kitchen, it was becoming very difficult to put one corner of our house to good use. I am an avid book reader and thought of utilising the space to build up a small library with seating for a single person beside it. Now, it has become my favourite spot in the whole house and even my friends are deciding to get something done for un used spaces at their home as well.”
S Balasubramanian, proprietor, Zenith interiors maintains that the decision to spruce up an odd.
Source: Times Property, The Times of India, Chennai