WEST COAST STYLE - FIVE DESIGN HACKS

We’ve all walked into a space and fallen in love. If you’ve ever felt a wave of comfortable calm wash over you, and not really known why, you may be under the influence of good design. In the design world, crafting a serene mood and a comforting environment can be achieved through careful consideration of the space and mindful attention to detail.

One such style that evokes this mood is the West Coast style—a Jamie Banfield signature look. To our American brothers, West Coast style bares some similarities to the “California Cool” style: a blend of Boho, Scandi, Coastal, and Mid-Century Modern.

We’ve compiled the top 5 elements and principles of design we use at Jamie Banfield to achieve West Coast vibes. If you are renovating a bathroom or have a new home in need of a killer kitchen, these 5 design hacks can help you achieve our signature West Coast style on any budget.

LINES

From structure to contemporary furnishings, West Coast design utilizes strong, deliberate lines. When intelligently used in a design, vertical, horizontal, or curvilinear lines are meant to guide a person’s eyes through a space. Lines are a simple thing you can add to any design to pull the view in to a focal point, make a space feel larger, pull the ceiling down, or even make a space feel cozy. Some examples are lines directing your eye to a window or down a hallway to a special space—a technique often seen in hotel rooms.

When using lines, think of the outcome you want to active and how this can add to the overall feel of the space. We paid special attention to lines in our Lonsdale Avenue project. Due to the tall, angled ceiling height, we wanted this space to feel wider and more cozy while also directing the eye to the stunning view. We used lines in the form of shiplap by Metrie to pull your eyes from left to right to lead the eye right to the window. To make the kitchen feel longer, we utilized the millwork detail in the BANFIELD counters, elongating the space.

TEXTURE

No West Coast style interior is complete without varying textures. Texture is one of our favourite things to play with in design. When we look out of our office window in Port Moody, we see mountains, trees, and water. As the seasons change, so do the textures! Such an inspiration. Texture implies both tactile and visual texture. Look out your windows at the real elements you see outdoors. West coast style is about mirroring those natural textures indoors through different materials and finishes. Find something you love such as a place you love to vacation to, a spot where you used to camp as a kid, or just a restaurant that makes you feel amazing and pull textures inspiration from these areas.

BALANCE

Symmetry is always pleasing to the eye, but asymmetry is also commonly seen in West coast design. It is often present in architectural features such as a sloped roof-line. However, balance is not exclusively a physical principle. Balance in design is also a feeling of visual symmetry such as in colour, shape, scale, and so on. The use of balance in design is a technique that can create a beautiful impact in a space.

CONTRAST

Contrast showcases changes in value, shape, or scale between different aspects of the design. A contrast in values and shapes can push an object into the background or it can emphasize an object by pulling it forward. Contrast as a principle can intentionally draw attention to a feature by showcasing light to dark, warm to cool, or even the different forms of shape and texture. You also can use many different layers of contrast. In our kitchen renovation in a Langley home (featured below) we utilized contrast by juxtaposing the crafted metal hood fan with the light cabinetry and the Montblanc 5043 Caesarstone Quartz Countertops.

HARMONY

A completed design should feel harmonious. Think of harmony as a way to layer tone on tone, similar warmth or coolness to create a well layered space. In this bathroom, we layered Caesarstone Quartz door and dryer fronts and hand formed subway tiles with a Simply White OC-117 Benjamin Moore painted ceiling! Different scales, patterns, and colours of pebbles combine in a harmonious, cohesive manner. Unity should help a design feel whole by bringing together different elements and principles of design. Take a peak at our Bay View Drive project for more close up details of how we used Caesarstone in unique ways.

Good design is always intentional. There is nothing random about it. West Coast design combines these 5 design principles to create a comfortable yet elegant space.

Made you think? Comment below of a principle or element of design you have notices in a space you have fallen in love with!