Welcome back to Make It Nice, Defector’s best design advice column. This month: A search for an attractive ceiling fan, a layout for a tricky bungalow bedroom, and ideas for making the most out of a multi-use workspace.
Alyssa asks:
Thank you for this column!! I bought some window film for my bathroom from the site you recommended last month and I’m very pleased with it. To my question:
My house is 110 years old. It’s a sort of craftsman/arts-and-crafts style, lots of dark wood trim, built-ins, etc. I love it so much aesthetically, even though the floors squeak and nothing is level or plumb or square anywhere. Much worse than all that: The living room features what I consider to be a very standard but very ugly ceiling fan.
I do like having a fan in the living room—it gets used often, and it does the job. I just hate to look at it. The fake wood blades! The awful little lamps! That smoky dull color of brass! I’ve done some basic searching but found nothing I like.
Can you recommend a replacement fan that kind of fits into the style of my old home? I feel like the one that’s there is an attempt at that, but it just looks cheap in comparison to the rest of the house. So do I give up on that and just get something simple that will at least not stand out and offend me with its ugliness? OR should I get something that does stand out but in a fun or interesting way?
Ideally, the fan would contain a light, but I’m open to one that doesn’t—we use lamps far more often than the overhead light. Also, ideally, it wouldn’t be completely made of plastic.
My philosophy on ceiling fans is that you should never notice them. It’s hard to get something “unique” that doesn’t also look like it belongs in some sort of steampunk lair.
We have a Minka Aire ceiling fan in our apartment and I really love it. It’s a more modern low-profile model, which basically blends into the ceiling. They make “traditional” style fans too, which sounds like what you’re looking for. If you’re really attached to a built-in light, this one looks pretty good. I think I prefer this one without a light, though. Sometimes I find that the built-in LED lights in ceiling fans can feel a bit cold.
The only annoying thing about Minka is you can’t order directly from them, but you can see if there’s a dealer close to you.
Alex asks:
I’m moving into a new house that I plan to be in for a very long time. This top floor bedroom is going to serve a couple functions: it’ll be my office/craft room/studio, but it’ll also be a place for guests to stay when they visit.
It’s a really big room (basically two rooms) and I’m trying to figure out the best way to configure a layout that makes sense visually but is also practical.
Some constraints/notes:
- The side of the room without the bookshelves is much brighter because there are skylights. This seems important to me.
- I have a dream of getting a big dining table for my workspace so I have a ton of room to spread out.
- The workspace will need to be flexible and contain a lot of different types of activities, including: computer work/video calls, podcasting and video needs, writing by hand, sewing, painting, and weaving.
- There are two pretty large closets with good storage inside that I can use to store ugly things.
- I want to paint this room! I don’t know what color yet!
My big questions: Where should I put my table? Do you have any visions for how to store my supplies in a way that doesn’t make the beautiful shelves look sad? Color recommendations? I’m including one photo of the room from the listing and another I took myself now that it’s empty. Help me make it nice!!
This is such a great space! I actually love the current color of the room because it reminds me of Emily Bode and Aaron Aujla’s apartment, a bookmark I routinely revisit and drool over. Especially this room, which mixes in a warm gold color with dark wood similar to your built-ins. I think you should stick with this color and paint the ceilings and brick wall, too. I know I’ll get yelled at in the comments for this, but I think it would look really good!
I also love the idea of a dining table as a work surface. I’d put the dining table at the center of the room with skylights and anchor it with a rug. Maybe a gold one? My only note on the table is that you might want it to be taller than standard table height if the work you plan to do on it involves sitting and standing. I’ve seen people DIY this to vintage tables by adding furniture feet painted in a different color. Also, I have to say, I think the window nook in that room is the perfect place for a desk! Rather than finding a piece of furniture to fit into that opening, talk to a contractor about installing a desktop there and staining to match the bookshelves.
If you go with the taller table, get an adjustable task chair that you can use at the table and your desk. This one is very good, and absurdly expensive, but I see them go for $200 to $500 on Marketplace. If you can find one near you, I promise it’s worth it.
For the other room, I’d recommend getting what the internet refers to as a “boneless sofa.” I’m thinking of the Teddy Sofa specifically, but Wayfair has a much less expensive option with great reviews if you wanna save some coins. I love the orangey gold color, and you can pair it with a fun rug like this one from IKEA.
You’ll have to do some storage exploration on your own, because it really comes down to what you need to store. My storage strategy is to bring everything into the room and get a sense of what needs to be stored. Then you can decide what can go into the closets and what needs to be on the shelves. The last step is to shop for bins that can hold your stuff and fit on the shelves. I would stick to coated metal and/or woven bins. Please write back with some after photos when you’re done!
Aaron asks:
I have really been enjoying your new column. My wife and I are buying our first home! Exciting, but we are actually downsizing our bedroom from our current apartment and we are having trouble visualizing the layout. Do you have any suggestions for how to lay out and decorate this upstairs bungalow bedroom for two adults? When it is empty it feels nice and airy with light on both ends, but I am concerned that it is going to start feeling claustrophobic once we cram stuff into it. After living with white apartment walls for years, we also want some color but don’t want to make it feel smaller.
The ceiling is seven feet and the side walls come up three feet before they meet the roofline. The closet is good storage space but isn’t practical for clothes because of the roof angle and position of the door. (I have to duck to walk into it, and I am not a big guy.) Positioning the bed is a big question. We have a queen bed on a low frame with no headboard, but it will still block the bottom of the window if we put it on that wall, and we would hit our heads if we put it against one of the side walls. Is there a way to make a bed in the center of the room not look weird?
We will need dressers and hanging storage for clothes. It would be nice to have a makeup desk and a place to sit and work on a laptop. We tend to have problems with clutter, so we really need a place to stash all of our debris. We had the idea of creating a reading space beside the stairs with a comfy chair in the corner and floating bookshelves running along the wall. Open to any suggestions for making the most of this space. Thanks!
Congrats on the house! This is a really tricky bedroom. I tested out a few options, but here’s what I would do. I think the window wall is the only place for the bed. I’d get a super low bed frame, like the Floyd, which is 6 inches high. Ask your contractor to build you a wall-to-wall headboard with built-in nightstands. I’d make the headboard 7-10 inches deep, which gives you a surface for lamps, books, miscellaneous decor, etc. If you have the space, you could make the headboard deeper and build in some shelving for books and other bedside items. Please refer to my messy drawing below.
Now, the closet. This is a tough one. My instinct is to extend the closet and make it open toward the bed, which takes more advantage of the awkward space. I’m thinking open shelving on the right side (you can use baskets for your clothes or use these shelves for shoes) and double hanging on the left.
Based on your photo, it seems like there’s room for dressers by the stairs. I think you should be able to fit some drawers and a very, very small vanity, which can be used for laptop stuff or makeup. It might be too tight though, so you should measure. These drawers from Thuma came to mind immediately. I love them because they’re modular. Each drawer is a separate unit that you can stack up to five high.
I don’t think you have room for a reading nook and the storage along that wall. So you and your wife will have to prioritize.
As for color, I think butter yellow would add a nice warm glow to this space. I love “Disco Nap” from Backdrop. You should get one of their paint sample packs and see what calls to you. Good luck!
I’ll be back next month with more design advice. Need my help? Email [email protected].