Quick Back Story | The Day I Took Scuba Diving Widow’s Daughters’ Design Call

One day, I received a call from a young lady named Marilyn. Her mom, Pam was recently widowed and had just moved into a new house here in Texas. She wanted to see her mom start her life over in a house that was indeed her. During our first meeting, I rang the doorbell and was greeted into a freshly painted vanilla-colored foyer.

Marilyn gave me a tour of her mom’s current furnishings. We discussed her love for scuba diving, the beach, and all things aqua and gray. Expanding her love of red too, our biggest challenge was incorporating her likes into a home that was all about her. It would be all about what most of us can’t see. Mrs. Newton’s home design would showcase her love for the ocean.opensourcearchitect.co

Whether you’re trying to find your personal style or looking for DIY solutions for your home, you’ll love the thought process of our aquatic ocean dream home. Located right here in Texas, the design ideas we present in the post are now for Mrs. Newton’s daily enjoyment. With this interior design project under our belts, here are the twelve valuable tips that may help you design your home. Decorated for a scuba diver, oceanographer, or anyone who loves life and the deep sea – ENJOY!

Our Design & Planning Phase | Scuba Diver’s Home Design

First, let’s give you the walkthrough of the BEFORE photo and show you the 3-D renderings and floor plans to help envision a small fraction of the process to get to the awesome organic ocean dream room Ms. Pam lives in today.

After our meeting, we began brainstorming, pulling furnishings, fabrics, and calling our trades and putting everything into a 3-D rendering so that Ms. Pam could get the full picture of our recommendations. I won’t bore you with everything but it was something like this:

3-D renderings help us show clients the overview of our furnishing recommendations in their homes.

The beginnings of an awesome organic ocean faux finish technique.

5 Organic Design Ideas & Concepts

1. Use murals or wallpaper on curved walls.

After touring Mrs. Newton’s home and learning all about her need for serenity, calm, and peacefulness, I contacted one of my favorite artisans. Together we began collaborating on an aquatic mural painting to replace traditional art.

Scuba Diving Foyer Design Idea | Texas Interior Designer’s Inspiration by Dee Frazier, Plano, Texas Designer

2. How to balance colors from the foyer, dining rooms, or open areas.

Balancing color in open spaces is critical! Can I say it’s the most vital? Balancing color in spacious rooms like the one below is can dangerous when left in the wrong hands! Notice we use the same gray tones in both places. Next, we pulled the dark blue and teal tones in the chair backs and the modern abstract artwork.

Scuba Diving Dining Design Idea | Texas Interior Designer’s Inspiration | Organic Design Ideas

3. Keep the drapery tones similar to the wall color.

Don’t be afraid of a little texture or pattern. The rug balances the white textured wall hanging baskets going up the staircase. For metals, we chose silver tones to keep the feel of white and neutrality.

4. Accent coffered rolled edge, barrelled or other decorative ceilings.

When you’re blessed with nice curves – show them off! Add a decorative paint finish, wall covering, or anything but leave it plain Jane! Decorative ceilings are not a place to leave the “Texas plains”. In this case, we added a metallic organic pearl finish to resemble coral and organic ocean textures.

Scuba Diving Dining Design Idea | Texas Interior Designer’s Inspiration | Organic Design Ideas

5. Eliminate gold metals.

As much as I love gold, there’s a time and place for it. Yes, we pulled a pop of yellow gold for the glass vase for the dining room ideas centerpiece. However, when it comes to metal finishes, we opted for silver-toned finishes to blend with the natural ocean surroundings. Think about it….if there’s gold in the ocean, everyone will be diving for it because it’s REAL gold! The only other oceanic gold tones are fish, such as yellow tangs.

Scuba Diving Dining Design Idea | Texas Interior Designer’s Inspiration | Organic Design Ideas

Marilyn and Pam liked our creative visions and project managing services so much that we designed her bedroom. I had the opportunity to design one of my favorite consoles ever! Ready to see it?

Click here to see the Scuba Diving Inspired Master Bedroom Suite or the Scuba Diver’s Family Room or even the Scuba Diver’s Kitchen.

P.S. Ready for a home renovation or home remodel? Book a complimentary appointment with our Luxury Dallas Interior Designers or Kitchen Contractors.