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Can music inspire design?

I love music. And I love interior design. I'm constantly looking for discoveries of greatness in both categories. Recently, I was thinking about how people seem to often be inspired by visual elements: art, costume, fashion, shapes, colors... when designing their homes. I got to thinking... how can music (or sound) inspire what you see?

Most definitely when I hear a song, I envision something... a person, a place, a feeling, a time. I suppose mostly because music attaches itself to memories. But now, whenever I'm on the subway listening to music, I start to see colors and texture and... that super cool product I saved in the file folder for "one day when I have a home to decorate".

I thought, for fun, I'd see what happens if I allowed one song to inspire how I'd design a space. I mentioned the idea to Katie and she wanted to play too... So this blog is an exploratory of we'd translate music into rooms. Decaural, if you will.

Erin

PS I'm apparently severely challenged in the blogger arena, bear with me as I learn how to make these postings look like... something cohesive.

"Andrew" by Crystal Antlers

Crystal Antlers - "Andrew" listen

INSPIRATION: plush, futuristic-noir, 70's den

MOOD: dark, blissed-out

I wanted this room to be totally plush, but also dark and moody. The perfect place to wallow while you drink your fabulously expensive liquor of choice out of black crystal and let full blast organ-drenched punk wash over your pathetic little bones. I love the orange, cream, silver-gray, and high-gloss black color pallet - its totally steamy macabre with a touch of softness.

Walls:

Dark Platinum Gray (like in this kitchen) or
High Gloss Black






Floor:

LOVE this creamy sheepskin shag from West Elm or this lower-end version from Ikea.






Furniture:

Inspiration came from from these black-upholstered couches from a 70's decorating mag.





This room totally needs low to the ground, mold-to-your-body, misery-hugging sofas in an unexpected, warm color like this one from Ligne Roset. (and crushing on the mercurial Glaçon block side tables too...)




And of course, the quintessential hanging pod chair, but trade the leather-upholstered seat cushions for some plush sheepskin and sexy pillows.







These low circular glass coffee tables are amazing. The centers can be lacquered any color by the Italian manufacturer - I heart the burnt umber but would keep it clear or do mirrored next to the orange couch.




Also loving these heptagonal pieces from Roche Bobois.





This high-gloss black and chrome console is great for a small bar and for slick display. (Ikea's new Besta series also has some high-gloss, black storage/console options.)





Lighting:

Love these drippy black-glass chandeliers from Ochre - they're more organic than a lot of the cut-crystal black chandeliers but manage to steer away from Chihuly-esque cheesiness.






A little less pricey are these hot little acrylic numbers. A bunch of these hanging together would be to die. The only supplier I could find was in the UK but maybe if you ask nice they can send them stateside...






Art:

Sculpture by Banks Violette








Still from “Earth/body figure” by the Queen of 70's angst - Ana Mendieta









Books:

Sexy alligator folio case with folio editions by Assouline (Last Heroes, Lost Africa, Sculptures of Picasso, Planets by Thierry Despont and Symbols of Judaism.)

Or if the folio's 10k price-tag is a little much DIY-it with some stacks of vintage German Vogue.





Barwar:


Black Crystal pieces by John Rocha for Waterford.





The Noir Crystal Barware Collection from Woodson & Rummerfield.






Vase:

uber-luxe Lalique Limited Edition Turtle Vase
I would love to fill this with some plume-y white feathers for a great contrast of colors and textures...




And top it all off with a little shopping spree at CITIZEN:Citzen. Nothing compliments at dark mood like this black rose made of of ballistic nylon or these pretty little recreational accessories.

"I Like You So Much Better When You're Naked" by Ida Maria

INSPIRATION LYRICS: "What the hell did I do that for? You're just another guy, ok you're kinda sexy, but you're not really special... I like you so much better when you're naked, I like me so much better when you're naked"

MY VISION FOR THE ROOM: good girl gone wild; a traditional cliche, and a few surprises.

LISTEN: I Like You So Much Better When You're Naked by Ida Maria

The bottom 2/3 of the wall behind the bed is a high gloss black paint. Above the paint is this fabulous black & white trellis print from Walnut Wallpaper, oh wait... look closely, those are little fishnet covered legs!

Originally, I'd thought it would be fun to mount a cask of a man's head to the wall above the bed, but instead settled on this friendly wallpapered Deer Head from Ruby's Lounge. I ended up pulling colors from the Deer Head when choosing accent pieces for the rest of the room.

I thought the bed should have a lush, but slightly impersonal feel to it. The vevet headboard from Urban Outfitters fit the bill, and these monogrammed sheets from Restoration Hardware have the formality of hotel sheets to me.

Every girly girl's got a vanity, but I thought this room should have a stronger piece, like this beautiful antique Walnut secretary, and that it would be fun to pair it with a dainty chair, like this one from Summerland.

I like the idea of a clean, somewhat modern wall sconce between the bed and secretary - both practical and a bit out of place. And one like this from Williams Sonoma Home would pop off the black wall.

It seemed appropriate to repurpose a bar cart as a bedside table and I'd stack it with a couple of these Domino boxes, just for fun, and this pretty lamp from Shop Shine Home.

Then, to the side of the bedside table, there needed to be a chair that can hold all those clothes once everyone’s naked. I liked this Marlow style from Zoffany and that the fabric looks (at least onscreen) to pick up one of the colors in the Deer Head. However, it’s hard to tell whether this would totally clash in real life. If it did, I'd find another fabric with that electric greenish/yellow color.

OK, granted, I have a weird thing for birds... but this hanging Roost Bird Cage Light just seemed so RIGHT to me in the corner above the chair.

There are a lot of color accents in the room, so I wanted the floors to be more about creating pattern and texture than color. I like this gray/black runner from Just Scandinavian for the secretary side of the bed and FLOR lace carpet squares by the bar cart and chair.

Since the room is grounded in black and white, the accessories should be little pops of color, primarily pulling from or complimentary to the colors in the Deer Head. A few ideas...


Desk Tray from Global Table








> The pink throw from Rajboori would look great across the end of the bed.






Brightly colored frames and pictures, like these from John Murphy

The End.