I Theme of Jeannie

If I had a nickel for every time I heard the phrase “I want my kitchen to have a diner theme” or listened to the excuse “we were going for a safari kind of feeling in here”, I’d realistically probably have, like, 9 nickels. I know that’s only 45 cents but that’s plenty for me, thank you very much. When it comes to designing your home, that first conceptual portion of the design process is always an exciting one. Grandiose visions of an exact replica from the Titanic fill your head when looking at your blank bedroom as you anxiously await that feeling of old-world sophistication and aristocratic luxury. Well put your shirt back on, Rose. The fact of the matter is that designing with a theme is a privilege, not a right.  My advice: really use your editing eye when you have a theme in mind, people.

I was once on a trip to Paris with an old fling, soaking in the rich ambiance of the city of romance. As you can probably imagine, my first stop was to see the smoky glamour of the infamous Moulin Rouge. To say it was garish would probably be an understatement, and not just because I’m still trying to resolve the genders of some of the performers. I think they were women, but I also think they were men. Anywho, I digress. My point to this ramble is that my then beau turned to me during intermission and declared that he wanted his entire house to look “just like” the inside of the Moulin Rouge. Needless to say, it didn’t last much longer. On the bright side though, this experience taught me a valuable lesson about design:  Nobody actually wants to live in the Moulin Rouge. Nobody actually wants to live in Jeannie’s bottle, either. I mean, do my eyes deceive me or does her bottle look like a Moroccan-style My Little Pony stable? Don’t get me wrong, Jeannie’s pad is fabulous but not for the modern, life-size girl (or boy). When using inspiration from a certain theme, design with the essence of it, rather than the literal translation. Use furniture and finishes that evoke the feeling of your theme and apply them tastefully.

Good news: Jeannie’s moving! I’m going to help her out by redesigning her bland bedroom and make her feel at home. All of my selections below are readily available from retailers, so you won’t need three wishes to get your hands on this stuff. Check the scene…

The utterly fantastic part about a Jeannie bottle makeover is that patterns are so in right now people. Mix all of your patterns together and throw in some Moroccan-inspired accent pieces with a jewel tone paint scheme and people will practically be rubbing your bedroom door. Or whatever.

POOF! There it is.

 

Homeboy.