Blog Entry # 5

The Interior Designer Gahban O' Keeffe uses very simple but elegant design. In his work he uses a lot of natural materials, which is healthy for our environment. For example, if he uses bamboo for a furniture piece this is much more resourceful than oak, since bamboo is able to reproduce itself in such a short amount of time. He also spends a lot of time on detail and making things look extravagant. For example, in this picture the canopy that comes over the bed makes the bed look "rich" or more expensive that it would with out it. O' Keeffe also uses many different kinds of fabrics in his work. Sometimes he uses fabric in places that a non interior designer would think. In the second picture we see that he uses fabric on the walls. The walls are covered in leather and gives unique texture to the room. What impresses me most about O' Keeffe is that he can mix and match different styles and make them all come together in a room. Usually people would stick with only style like country or contemporary and decorate accordingly. In the third picture there is an example of this. The back wall is very contemporary with the square blocks, and the red arm chairs are more formal or old word style. This interior designer uses dominance in a unique but sensible way. He seems to have one focus point in a room and tries to make that point stand out as much as possible. For instance, in the fourth picture the dominant object is the bathtub. Even tho the tub is not big or close to us in the picture it is outlined by panels of fabric. O' Keeffe addressed human form in an unusual way. In most of his rooms his the elements are very tall, whether it be fabric or window treatments. You would tend to think that one may be intimidated by this but this designer also has things at a human level. For example, the bed in the first picture has a very big canopy, but the things that surround the bed are normal height for humans. After looking at his work I have been realized that you can mix and match many different kinds of style and use fabrics in a different way and the design will still look complete. The color that O' Keeffee uses are earth tones. He uses a lot of greens and beige and a few colors that stand out and make the other colors "pop". I like this idea because not every color takes over, but there are a few small pops of color that add great interest to a room. In the last picture you notice that the walls are a golden color, along with the couch, and in the middle of the room there is a red ottoman with oranges. This really makes everything pop and stand out.