Music plays a big role in our lives and in our memories. Isn’t it funny how hearing a certain song can take you back to a particular place or time in an instant?
This song from Tears For Fears certainly does that for me. I can recall being totally fascinated by this video and all the imagery when I saw it on MTV back in the early 90’s. The scene with the couple dancing among the sunflowers still sticks in my head. Do you remember this one?
Sowing the seeds of love
The seeds of love
Sowing the seeds
An end to need
And the politics of greed
With love
We all have a song like that by that one special band that we live for. The band or singer you’ve seen in concert multiple times. You know every word to every song and their concert tees are still in rotation in your wardrobe.
For a recent client, her “it” band was Tears For Fears. She was remodeling her home office and wanted to incorporate the memorabilia she has collected over the years.
To get started, we chose a charcoal gray for the walls. I wanted a darker backdrop to make the memorabilia stand out.
For furniture, we went with some rather modern pieces including a small, clear top desk. Many times a desk is the focal point in an office but in this particular case, I chose to direct attention away from the desk and to the wall full of art and collectibles.
Two wood and metal shelving units flank the main wall. I love the modern design of these shelves, they are so much more interesting than traditional bookcases. I left space in the middle of the wall to showcase some hanging memorabilia and the prized possession, a guitar signed by Rolan Orzabal of Tears For Fears.
I needed a bit more height over the guitar so I framed the letter of authenticity and a photo of Orzabal with the guitar. To fill out the space, I added a photo of the singer from back in the band’s heyday. I love how the elements of past and present merge.
Over the bookcases, I chose a few more framed photos of the band. To keep things interesting yet balanced, I chose one large frame for the left side and two smaller frames for the right side. Sometimes asymmetry is the perfect way to keep the eye moving.
A Tears For Fears flag and a decorative microphone round out the top shelves. Moving down, I filled in the space with elements that reflect the interests of TFF and my client. If you look closely you will find some favorite books, photos of TFF and objects representing the elements of sun, moon, rain and wind.
The remaining request was to incorporate sunflowers into the room. The sunflower became an unofficial symbol for Tears for Fears when it appeared on the cover of their Seeds of Love album and consequently, in the Sowing the Seeds video. According to Orzabal, there was a graffiti near their studio that said “I love a sunflower” so he added it to the song.
In the photos you can see sunflowers placed throughout the shelving units but my favorite element of the office is on the wall with the door. This is a gorgeous hand-painted sunflower.
For this stunning artwork, I commissioned Scott Pondrom at thedesigndeli.com out of St. Louis. As you can see, this was not an easy space to work with. Not only does the sunflower frame the door, it goes across the vent. Scott outdid himself with this beautiful work of art!
Typically when decorating a room, the final step is to choose accent pieces that work well with the furniture and colors in the space. In this room, I was tasked with working backwards. I was presented with posters, a flag, guitars, some rather unique objects, and I had to find ways to display these pieces in a way that was cohesive and pleasing to the eye.
The completed design is sleek and comfortable yet there is an electricity when you take a close look at the Tears For Fears memorabilia. I’m truly happy to have created a special place to honor the music that has brought my client joy, hope, and comfort through the years.