Last Updated: Jul 9, 2021
A famous children's book called "The Big Orange Splot" tells the story of a man who lives on a street where all the houses are the same. One day, a seagull carrying a bucket of orange paint drops that paint on the man's roof. This uncanny event eventually leads every homeowner on that street to transforming their homes into distinctive and unique structures that reflect their unique personalities. "My house is me, and I am it. My house is where I like to be, and it looks like all my dreams," say the neighbors about their creative process of creating the home of their dreams.
Today, too many homes reflect the cookie-cutter designs of mass-produced structures that follow market conditions. Contractors and home builders are often more interested in fast building times and cheap building materials, which often translates into repetitive patterns with minimal touches of uniqueness. Changing the exterior cladding on your home is one way to create a different image for your home. However, the way we organize our interior space is where homeowner creativity can genuinely begin to flourish. In this short article, we offer a few ideas for uncommon, yet exceptional interior design ideas that will allow you to put a stamp of individuality on your home.
Traditionally, bathrooms are separate rooms in the house. If the idea of using the toilet in an open place feels like a total lack of privacy, you are probably right. Bathing, however, is meant to be a relaxing and soothing moment. Instead of closing yourself into a tiny, often windowless room, a bathtub in the bedroom offers a sense of privacy while also allowing you to enjoy a cozy, yet more open bathing area. In smaller bedrooms, a small glass divider can distribute the bedroom into separate, yet connected spaces. In larger master bedrooms, a bathtub can be placed next to a discreet window that opens into the woods behind your home, for a biophilic bathing experience.
Adding a tub to your bedroom also enhances the interior design strategy of your room and will create a spa-like effect. Also, for couples, combining bedroom and spa adds a romantic touch to the room. Check out these images on Pinterest of bedrooms with bathtubs to fuel your creative side and encourage you to think outside the box.
Most of the time, closets are small quarters that are shut away from the rest of the house. The idea, of course, is to add a bit of privacy for your belongings and keep them out of sight of guests. But who says that our possessions need to be hidden? Open closets are simply storage space incorporated directly into the wall.
There are several potential benefits associated with open closets. Firstly, closets take up a lot of square footage in homes. Walk-in closets range, in general, from 5 to 17 feet deep or even more for a bonus room style closet. Large walk-in closets reduce the amount of available space in a room. They can also significantly add to overall construction costs. By incorporating open wardrobes or closets, you will free up more space in your interior design, thus allowing for larger, more spacious rooms.
One of the drawbacks of large, enclosed closets is that they act as an enticement for consumerism. The larger the closet, the more "stuff" we need to buy to fill them up. Open closets, on the other hand, encourage minimalism and more responsible consumer habits. Instead of storing those hideous Christmas sweaters that we'll never wear again, open closets help us to live with less. If you do want a bit of privacy, retractable curtains can be added, offering a bit of discretion while not reducing available interior space. Check out these open closet ideas for small spaces.
Most homeowners probably understand that copper piping brings several significant benefits to the plumbing system inside their homes. Not only are copper water pipes extremely durable, but they also offer insulative properties for hot water systems while resisting corrosion and high-water pressures. The look of copper, however, offers a unique metallic warmth to any room. You could consider leaving exposed individual copper pipes throughout your bathroom or kitchen, but what about using that piping for other interior design uses?
Old copper pipes used in plumbing systems of demolished homes can be given new life as the base structure for kitchen stools, coffee tables, office desks, and everything in between. The exposed structure will be an eye-catcher in any room. Also, copper piping furniture allows homeowners to reduce their embodied energy footprint by incorporating recycled materials into their homes.
Recycled copper requires about 90 percent less energy than processing new copper for virgin ore. U.S. recyclers processed 820,000 metric tons of copper for domestic use and export in 2014 alone. Keeping this vital metal out of landfills is an essential aspect of home sustainability. Finding new uses for copper (besides water piping and electrical cables) is one great way to transition towards a more environmentally friendly circular economy.
Changing the actual substances of the interior walls of our home is another way to add a touch of uniqueness to any home. The vast majority of homes in the country rely on drywall for their interior walls and partitions. While drywall is relatively inexpensive to install, it also encourages us to add a fresh coat of potentially VOC-emitting paint every few years.
More modern interior designs focus on exposed brickwork and ductwork, which is certainly more unique than rudimentary drywall. However, natural earthen and mineral plasters can allow homeowners to add a touch of creativity to their homes, as seen in these beautiful homes featured in Remodelista. Earthen and mineral plasters are DIY-friendly and can be applied to virtually any surface. They release zero volatile organic compounds to ensure good interior air quality. Also, earthen plasters can be applied in thick coats, thus permitting homeowners to experiment with sculpting and relief art. Many unique, earth-tone hues come with clay or milk-based paints.
The four ideas mentioned above might certainly not be considered "normal" interior design strategies. And, of course, not every homeowner will want an open closet or a bathtub in their bedroom. Changing how we imagine our homes' layout and interior design can allow for more individuality and distinctiveness in our spaces. Like the neighbors in "The Big Orange Splot," everyone should be able to say with conviction: "My house is me, and I am it. My house is where I like to be, and it looks like all my dreams."
Tobias runs an agroecology farm and a natural building collective in the mountains of El Salvador. He specializes in earthen construction methods and uses permaculture design methods to integrate structures into the sustainability of the landscape.