Express Your Personality Through Your Home with Thom Felicia!

March 22nd, 2010

I’ve always been inspired by Thom Felicia’s unique way of bringing together eclectic interior spaces with such fluidity. I’ve followed his career on television as part of the “Fab Five” on Queer Eye For the Straight Guy and his current role on Dress My Nest, and was fortunate enough to meet him in person. I’m very excited about his first solo Book Thom Felicia Style which showcases many of his great design theories. Thom breaks down his design philosphy into a list of ten tips which I can totally identify with as an interior designer who loves to mix and match styles and textures to create a personal style for my clients. Most importantly; Tip #1: Lay Out A Plan.

I always encourage my clients to understand the importance of starting with a furniture layout plan. It’s the birdseye view of a floor plan that allows me to look at a space and instantly tell whats right or wrong with how the furniture is laid out. With the use of standard dimensions for items such as sofas, chairs, dining tables, area rugs and smaller items, I can determine how to best group furniture before anything is shopped for or selected. The most important thing to remember is that the furniture layout has to work. By work I mean that it has to allow the right amount of walkthrough space in the traffic flow areas that are necessary. There also needs to be consideration for focal points in a space that will impact if the furniture layout will work in regard to exterior views, fireplace and television locations to name a few.

Thom’s Tip #2: Light Up Your Life touches on points such as using more fixtures with lower wattage to balance light around a room and the use of dimmer switches. The right lighting plan can make a huge impact on your interior space with the correct amount of layering different types of fixtures and bulbs. Even if you’re not starting from scratch on designing a space, it is really worth it to hire an electrician to help you add subtle layers to your existing lighting such as adding dimmer switches, art lights above your existing artwork or under cabinet accent lighting. Instead of going with the traditional overhead vanity light in your powder room or bathroom, why not hang single ceiling pendants centered above each sink?

Here are a few more of Thom’s tips that I completely agree with:

Use just a touch of your favorite color combined with complimentary neutrals instead of saturating a room or space in that color

Mix different materials and textures with the use of fabrics, wall coverings and rugs and never be matchy-matchy

Go big with artwork that is large in size or create a large grouping of smaller photos or paintings that you really love

What a difference it can make to edit your existing furniture, artwork and collectible pieces. A few great pieces that are important to you will allow you to really appreciate what it is you love about them. If you have too many pieces dominating a space it can cause them to get lost and it takes away from their beauty . There really can be too much of a good thing.

If you start with knowing how you want your space to feel and include reflections of your life’s passions

and priorities then the end result will be uniquley yours. See some of my clients’ personal styles and check out Thom’s book for more inspiration!

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