Rather than choosing to go in a standard design direction, this room breaks rules and adds its own quirky elements. But in spite of that it works. Let’s figure out why.

The rug makes a powerful statement – really too powerful for the size of this room. However, when you have flooring that doesn’t work for you and you’re not ready to replace it, a large area rug or even a bound piece of carpet that runs almost to the walls is a lower-cost way to claim the space as yours. This rug certainly does that.

To compensate for the rug’s strong color statement, much of the furniture in the room is cream-colored or black. This allows the eye to focus on all of the interesting elements while still having some places to rest. For example, the three figures in front of the piano have a natural focal appeal. The cream table and piano behind them allows you to look without getting overwhelmed by all the other interesting elements in the room. The walls and bookshelves are also white which keeps the room more under control.

Although the two chairs are set too far away for comfortable conversation, their position leaves the room feeling open despite the amount of furniture in this small room. It also creates a natural path to the piano. The left chair is light enough to move closer when needed.

This room is really owned by the people who live here. The design of it almost happened by accident. The space shows that you can break design rules as long as you make sure your rooms hold things you love and use.