When it came to their 10-year-old son Oden's room, Benjamin and Gen Sohr, the creative duo behind the interior design and architectural services firm Pencil and Paper Co., wanted the look to be personal and playfulmuch like the rest of their 1964 ranch-style home in Nashville.
For Gen, the inspiration began with wallpaper crafted by Makelike, a graphic design company based in Portland. After falling in love with a large-scale tree graphic on the paper, she knew it would be her jumping off point. From there, she incorporated color and pattern with contemporary and vintage pieces for a modern-meets-traditional look.
'I think the juxtaposition of clean, white walls and touches of color just feels happy,” she says. 'I want to create spaces that people enjoy living in and make them feel good.”
Gen and Benjamin often pair old and new to make rooms more interesting and layered. In their son's room, Gen mixed a vintage dresser that a friend sourced from eBayshe says such retro finds can bring a room to lifewith West Elm and Ikea bedding topped with a vintage coverlet, vintage lighting fixtures from Amsterdam and San Francisco, and pillows from Jonathan Adler, John Robshaw Textiles, and Hable Construction. She also likes to sneak in more budget-friendly pieces; in Oden's room, she turned a ceramic planter from Overstock into a nightstand and scattered about vintage treasures from Etsy.
Gen Sohr's Top Design Tips:
'Paint your walls a crisp, clean white. It instantly refreshes a dated space and gives the illusion of amazing natural light.”
'Don't be scared to break the rules. We placed our favorite vintage dresser in front of a window because it was the best furniture arrangement for the room and created enough privacy that we eliminated window treatments altogether.”
'Wallpaper instantly adds personality to a small space. We love using a bold pattern in a children's bathroom.”
