Colin and Justin's design revolves around circular bed

AFTER: The bedroom after it was transformed nd after Colin and Justin added their special touches.

Photograph by: Brandon Barre
, Vancouver Sun

In the decade and a half during which we’ve been allaying global-style crises, we’ve employed circular beds on just three occasions. The first was for a French client whose apartment we tackled some 12 years past. A Parisian deejay, our chap demanded a circular nest (an allusion, perhaps, to the discs he spun for a living?) and insisted we dress it with acres of velvet and a bedside fridge to chill champagne, a libation he enjoyed at least three times per day. Finding a round bed, however, proved tricky and in the end, we custom-manufactured a disc-shaped divan at an astronomical cost: approximately $5,000, if our memory serves us correctly.

The second occasion we went round in circles — literally — was much more recently, while tackling a Mississauga bedroom for a teenage Goth, a wiry kid with predilections for all things monochrome.

By that time, fortunately, Ikea stocked round beds (alas, no more) and we dressed ours with acres of black and white linen to create a designer look that’ll shine even if our client finally dispatches her affection for Marilyn Manson.

It’s a funny old thing, taste — in the late ’90s, a round bed seemed, to us, the last word in “niche” but we jogged on, regardless, to satisfy our hard-to-please French paymaster. These days, however, as interior design becomes ever more eclectic, it seems anything goes.

Which brings us neatly to the concluding part in our round bed trilogy: cue spunky Canadian Rob, a bloke with a serious penchant for retro.

A surfer dude, playboy and full-time good guy, he aspired to a new look that would befit his image; late 20s and ready to rock ’n’ roll. So why then, you’re probably asking, did his bedroom have all the appeal of a maximum-security twilight home? Well, simply because he’d “inherited” the whole kit and caboodle (round bed included) from his folks, young-at-heart empty nesters who had made the decision to move — for at least part of each year — to Florida.

Rob, while delighted to “inherit” his parents’ home, also had inherited the dizzying prospect of removing the gloom and adding some much-needed va-va-voom.

His parents’ only provisos were that the living areas should be redesigned with restrained elegance and that the kitchen should be rebranded with functional modern notes at its root.

As far as Rob’s bedroom was concerned, he could do, of course, whatever he wanted; it was his domain and his folks were free enough in their thinking to let him have fun. Which is where we came in.

Sitting on Rob’s parents’ boat (sadly, not while sailing though the Floridian glades, but perched, instead, on its dry-docked bow in the garden, pre-transportation) we concocted a plan. We liked Rob from the moment we met and instantly committed to helping him update his shockingly dowdy home.

Jumping to land from the erstwhile dry dock, we headed indoors to steer our plan. In hindsight, we imagine Rob may have expected us to transport the entire contents of his home into the dumpster sitting beside the boat but, if anything can be saved, we’ll always do so, a practice that allows budget to be stretched elsewhere.

We’re sure Rob winced as we mooted the prospect of remodelling the disc-shaped divan, but we assured him we would afford it a new lease on life with more than a touch of the swinging ’60s — an era that Rob, by his own account, adores.

To set our plans in motion, we prepared to fly the scene. “Get rid of everything,” we purred as we dashed for the door, “except the drawers under the window, the night stands and that crazy bed. Clear the room, sweetie, we’ll be back in a week.”

And with that, we were gone, off to flex our designer muscle while evoking the spirit of Austin Powers.

If you have a room that’s at odds with everything you stand for, we recommend doing nothing, in remedial terms, until you know exactly what you’d like to achieve. We were lucky enough that Rob happily sanctioned pretty much everything we had in mind.

His buzzword was funky, so that’s the path we followed. Here’s the lowdown on our simple transformation.

Gut down

With the exception of the items we’d asked him to save, Rob dispatched everything to either the dumpster or the local charity store. If possible, leave a couple of days’ space between this stage and subsequent work; it makes sense to analyze rooms when they’re entirely empty and it’s also good to play with templates to get the feel of how new furniture should be positioned.

Paint colour, accent wall

Our beloved white — perhaps the easiest colour with which to re-identify space. Be warned though; using too much white can result in flat, emotionless esthetics. Rather than leave all walls with a painted finish, we added brick-effect lay-on panelling, a product that can be easily sourced from most DIY sheds. Installed — and painted white — it adds a utilitarian feel that’s redolent of the whole ’60s vibe.

Flooring

To elicit a mid-century retro mood, we considered repainting the existing floorboards but, sadly, their condition was such that this wouldn’t have been good practice. Linoleum was popular during this period so we opted for Amtico, an updated version of lino and, after screeding the floor to ensure a perfectly flat finish, installed concrete grey product as an easy-care solution.

Drapery

We’ve specified Hunter Douglas Luminettes on countless occasions. We like the slick finish and the way in which the drapery folds into perfectly smooth regimented concertina-type lines. Working, again, with our theory that white schemes need extra texture to bring them alive, Luminettes are a perfect solution. Hunter Douglas offers a wonderful measure-and-fit service and, while not inexpensive, is our favourite drapery supplier.

Bed

Because environmental issues are important to Rob, we happily agreed to reuse the round bed, although we had to have circular covers manufactured to problem solve a distinct lack of round bedding in the marketplace. A hoop-shaped canopy crafted from pliable pine (attached to the ceiling with chain) gave us a “floating” surface upon which to attach a string curtain, a product that’s currently discounted to around $55 per panel, via our resource list supplier.

Rug

Once again, texture was our modus operandi. A little shag does no harm (we smirk like naughty boys when saying this as we don’t really use the word in Britain when referring to carpet) and, this in mind, agreed that our Amtico should be complemented by something softer. Our solution was roll stock shag, which we specified in an organic green tone and, after it had been “whipped and bound” into a circular rug, it made the perfect island for Rob’s new love nest.

Dresser

The mid-century modern dresser that previously sat below Rob’s window was thoroughly updated as part of our design. But don’t panic; while you might consider us heathens to have done this, it wasn’t a top-end piece by the likes of Knoll, rather a mass-produced item which you could easily find in a charity store for around 50 bucks.

Colin McAllister and Justin Ryan are the hosts of HGTV’s Colin & Justin’s Home Heist (weekdays at 6 a.m.) and the authors of Colin & Justin’s Home Heist Style Guide, published by Penguin Group (Canada). Follow them on Twitter @colinjustin or on Facebook (ColinandJustin). Contact them through their website, www.colinandjustin.tv.

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