What Makes a Room Memorable?

When Brooke at Velvet and Linen asked me, along with some fellow bloggers, to choose five favourite rooms amongst many submitted for her Mark Sage give-away it got me thinking about my most loved rooms and what it was that made them memorable for me. The ten finalists are now posted here and a couple of my personal picks are in the running - please take a peak and vote for your favourite.

I have come to realise that the sitting rooms that grab my attention have a similarity about them. Decoratively they may not be of the same style or the same period yet the key elements will have something in common. These certain features that I gravitate towards are what I consider to be the foundations of any good room. For me it is not about the size of the space or the price of the content it is that the room has an abundance of warmth, a 'feel good' factor. A room must have ambience and be a place of comfort and protection. A great room demands your attention and it holds your interest. A memorable room is the one that you never want to leave and that stays long in your heart. In no particular order I thought about those 'essentials' that attract me:


*Symmetry, I like a room to have a semblance of balance.
*Furniture placement - conversation is king and I have a preference for furniture that facilitates this.
*Neutral walls (not always but more often than not and by neutral I mean taupe, putty, greys, cremes and a million shades in-between). It is not that I don't love colour, I do but when I analyse the rooms that draw me in it is those that have colour accents rather than an overwhelming use of colour.
*Comfort, squishy sofas and lots of down pillows to nestle back into. 
*Chairs with footstools or chaises for relaxing.
*A fireplace, all my memorable rooms have a fireplace. 
*Plenty of side tables or a good sized coffee table - somewhere to plonk a drink, something to eat and any reading matter.
*A mirror - every good room deserves a looking glass or two.
*Paintings, engravings, photographs or sculpture means never a dull moment. There is always a point of interest to look at and talk about.
*Books - the more the merrier, on shelves, on tables, stacked on the floor.
*Fabric - for the practical and the tactile benefits. I have been a silk, linen and velvet lover forever. 
*Something old and something new, the best spaces always mix the ancient with the contemporary.
*Objects - they tell me much about the owner.
*Lighting - lamps, ceiling and wall fixtures of varying heights (rose pink light globes to enhance the mood).
*An interesting carpet or two.
*And the sensory touches - music, candles and flowers. Flowers, fruit or foliage from the garden - in pots, in vases, in glasses or ceramic containers. My favourite rooms have a variety of potted plants and fresh blooms. 
*The most important feature of all...signs of life.


I must have forgotten something? xv

image - me

tapestry in le cloitre saint trophine, arles