Elements of Design
with Thom Filicia

FUN!

People tend to overlook fun as an important element of interiors. But if you're a "people person", you'll probably have more fun with friends and family in an easygoing, fun space. I like to see serious historical references as much as the next person, but, since we live in the now, it's just as important to keep things contemporary, light and fresh. Every room should have some fun elements (the things that keep life in perspective), and some rooms should have more than others.

Look for things that are comfortable but not too fancy or fussy to create a space with humor and whimsy. If you choose things that are quirky and unexpected and charming and smart, they'll always pay off. Cover the floor with big, bold awning stripes, like Karastan's Cabo del Sol. You'll immediately proclaim yourself an original thinker. Beautiful wide stripes, such as Cabo del Sol's Chris Craft, lay a foundation for joy.

You can plan the space and arrange the furniture so that it's easy for a group to be a group-to play music, to watch TV and movies, to just hang out and chill. You can also design a classic "fun" room around a game or some plaything, like a billiards table. If you mix the things you love with art or books or even a piano, you can tone down the atmosphere without making it stuffy.

Bright colors and vibrant, informal fabrics always add cheer. So do mixing clean-lined modern pieces with finer or more ornate traditional things: a simple Parsons table in, say, bright canary yellow certainly injects some sass into a room. Oversized floor pillows create great impromptu seating-and the opportunity for pillow fights. Found objects, like driftwood scavenged from the beach, suggest the unexpected. Then there's the wow factor: decoupage or paint a serious piece of furniture, set art on a Lucite pedestal, or dress the lamps in silver metal shades.

Fun design takes a risk, and it makes its own rules. Fun is what allows you to go ahead and buy that crazy antique chair you find on vacation, or to pick up a sculpture that'll make your husband drop his breakfast when he sees it!

Keep the components of the room humble and fresh enough so that they don't limit what you can do there, whether it's playing Twister or having an egg toss. When you know that you and your friends can sprawl comfortably on the sofa, then the room becomes conducive to almost any activity. If you have fun in an interior, you're enjoying it. That's a gift that anyone, of any age, can appreciate.

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