This Bohemian Bedroom Went from Cavernous to Cozy

Photo by Michael J. Lee

When a creative, color-loving couple hired Cara Fineman of DAG Design to overhaul their home in Charlestown, one priority was to transform their blank canvas of a bedroom—a cavernous space with bare white walls and a 14-foot ceiling. “The key was finding things that would make this space not feel so enormous,” Fineman observes.

She and her clients, a jazz musician and a super-artsy stay-at-home mom, set out to bring the bedroom down to size. To suit the room’s scale, they opted for a big channeled headboard and heavy drapes, both custom-made by Makkas Drapery Workroom. Color was crucial, too. First, they decided on a deep, dramatic hue—Farrow & Ball’s “Hague Blue”—for the walls. “I think the dark [tone] made this enormous space feel a bit cozier,” Fineman says.

Photo by Michael J. Lee

Next, they discussed the possibility of wallpapering the ceiling. The clients found a bright floral design they loved, but the print was too small and busy for the space. So Fineman reached out to Patina’s Pauline Curtiss, a RISD-trained artist who specializes in decorative painting. “I designed a new pattern with that sort of flair in mind. I made it way bigger, picked some new colors, and did a metallic background with a warm silver glaze,” Curtiss explains. “It’s like an ethereal pond effect, where the flowers are sort of floating on the surface.” She shifted the layers of paint slightly to evoke a sense of movement, making each hand-stenciled flower a little different from the next. “My background comes from fine art, so I’m totally inspired by printmaking and things that are painterly and handmade,” Curtiss adds.

That background is on full display over the fireplace, where one of Curtiss’s abstract paintings hangs. It echoes many of the colors around the room, from the chartreuse of the throw pillows to the kaleidoscopic jewel tones of the luxe velvet bedding by Anichini. “They really did not shy away from pattern or color,” Fineman says of the homeowners. “I’m definitely attracted to a bohemian style, which was a great fit with these clients, who also really like that eclectic mix of different patterns and textures. It’s a really fun space.”

Photo by Michael J. Lee

Decorative Painter
Patina

Drapery/Upholstery
Makkas Drapery Workroom

Interior Designer
DAG Design