From House To Home

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What do you do when you come home to find that your 16-year-old daughter has painted her room bright pink? If you can resist the urge to lock her in there along with the paint fumes, try keeping an open mind—or better yet—call in a professional.

That’s just what one surprised mother did when her daughter, Christine, up and painted her bedroom in shades of fuchsia and hyacinth one afternoon. Instead of flying into a four-alarm-fit, this savvy mom called designer Barbara Tabak of Interiors by Decorating Den to collaborate with her daughter on creating a space that worked for both members of the family.

After interviewing the pair, Tabak learned two important things: Mom felt the room should reflect her daughter’s personality, and Tabak found that same personality to be very outgoing and vivacious. “After talking to Christine, I said, ‘Let’s have some fun with this and add even more color!’” enthuses Tabak. In the end, canary yellow, lime green, tangerine, and turquoise would be incorporated throughout to play up Christine’s original brave color choices.

Tabak found that Christine’s needs included a comfortable place to read, a place to put on her makeup, and a place to store her large (and growing) handbag collection. She found inspiration in Christine’s colorful purses and worked with the candy-colored hues to create complementary pillows for the cozy reading nook and a skirt for the bed and vanity table.

In fact, instead of stashing Christine’s handbags away, Tabak affixed thick pegs to the walls and hung them as art. “Christine’s handbags are now part of her décor and add an additional spark of her personality to the room,” Tabak explains. And since she likes her clients to be surprised with the end result of her design, Tabak added an additional touch of whimsy by laying down a posh leopard-print area rug.

Still can’t decide whether or not to let your child’s imagination run wild on the walls? Tabak insists that embracing color is a no-brainer. “Paint is pretty inexpensive,” she says. “If it doesn’t work out, you can change it for about $50 and a little elbow grease.” If you still can’t see yourself committing to four chartreuse walls for the foreseeable future, Tabak suggests using the desired color in splashes. “Accessories like lamps and throw pillows can make a big color impact but can also be easily changed,” she says.