Craig-Olsen Inc.: Here's an Idea to Unlock Your "Inner Designer"

As the host of an interior design showroom I’m frequently asked questions regarding my own personal design style, clients often ask “How’d YOU do it?”

Aesthetically speaking you could say I’m complicated. I consider my home to be an experimental pallet of rooms where I can try out new design ideas.

I live in a 1926 Spanish Mediterranean home in Los Angeles. Never having been one to leave anything untouched, I started researching what a Spanish Mediterranean should look like and was completely inspired when I came across the book The Orient in Western Art by Gerard Georges Lemared.

My jaw dropped open when I came across the painting The Tiger Hunt by Peter Paul Rubins. I fell in love with the rich colors and the power this painting evoked, hopefully you can see the similarities in my room, if not I suppose you should go on reading a blog about cooking, lol.

In this space I chose sapphire blues, golden yellows and oranges. Transforming my space into the direction of French Morroccan I was also inspired by a 200 year-old historical block print French Zuber wallpaper (shown framed in the photo below.)

In my dining room, which I consider to be a work in progress, I have a piece of this wallpaper framed and it’s called Hindustan. In the dining room I plan to add mirrors on either side of the Zuber, and possibly install sconces, which would be mounted on the mirrors. I’m also contemplating adding striped wallpaper in the dining area as well, any feedback is more than welcome!

Homes are meant to be a work in progress and as new trends come forth, it’s perfectly OK to see if they would work with your budget and your existing furnishings. Besides, it’s a lot of fun to change things around until you are satisfied. Feel free to unlock you inner designer.