Room of the Week: Martina Clymer, Design Stage

Category: Living Room

Designer: Martina Clymer, Design Stage

Location: Seattle

Goal: To decorate a modern prefab across from Seattle’s Judkins Park with contemporary furniture and a bold color palette to reflect the style of the architecture.

Inspiration: “The park right outside the window is full of millions of lush greens, so we played off that as inspiration,” says interior designer Martina Cylmer. “Green and orange are such hip and modern colors that it just made sense to throw that against the crisp white walls for some serious punch. Also, when autumn hit, it was clear that some of the greens in the trees would turn varying shades of yellow and orange, so we wanted to bring those colors in. The house isn't very large, so it was important to play the fool-the-eye trick, extending the interior through to the exterior by extension of color scheme.” 

Breakdown: Playing off the colors found in the park across the street, Clymer used lime green and bright orange against a neutral palette of bamboo floors and white walls. A brown-and-white rug from CB2 adds subtle texture, while a small round coffee table from West Elm provides a place to set books and coffee cups that doesn’t take up the entire room. The iconic Eames lounger from Area 51 adds sleek sophistication, and throw pillows from CB2 and West Elm match the colors found in the painting above the couch—acrylic on Masonite with a hand-fabricated steel frame with exposed screws. It was painted and fabricated by Clymer’s partner Steve to create a cohesive look in the room.

Tips to Get the Look: “The scale and color of working within a small space are most important,” Clymer says. “Often, in smaller rooms we use punchy colors to create impact so that the furnishings become more of a visual than noticing that the room is tiny. Picking smaller-scaled furniture allows for the room to feel more open but complete in scheme.”

Photo Credit: Steve Clymer, Design Stage