
Board Title: Circus Circus!
Inspired By: Sara Gruen's novel Water for Elephants, the movie "The Greatest Show On Earth," and the spectacular circus shoes of a bygone era.
Colors: A base of neutrals including black, brown, beige, and white. Equal parts rich crimson and cheerful yellow. Unexpected accents of dark turquoise.
I loved Gruen's Water for Elephants (it's seriously one of thee best novels out there and it's being made into a movie!) and have always had a interest in old circuses of the 1930s and 1940s. Plus, "The Greatest Show on Earth" was one of my childhood favorite films. Locomotives, big striped tents, "freaks" and curiosities, cotton candy, trapeze swingers, clowns, beautiful performers, and (of course) elephants.
I think it would be really fun to design a room around a circus motif. Not so much the clowns and cotton candy, although those would be adorable for a kids' room. I'm leaning more toward the vintage aspect. Furniture with graceful curves that call to mind the 20s and 30s. Materials like canvas, burlap, and worn metal. Cheery but sophisticated hues in scarlet, goldenrod, and hints of turquoise blue. Light fixtures and candle-holders reminiscent of railroad lanterns.
What is this room missing? A funky little elephant sculpture, a fresh copy of Water for Elephants, and some framed photographs of circuses from long ago...

1 comment:
Water for elephants is one of my favorite books! It certainly places oneself into the circus period of the depression.
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