By Kim Cook| The Associated Press
It was a tough year here on Earth, but 2020 was a bright spot for space exploration. SpaceX sent its futuristic Starship to new heights, three countries launched Mars missions, and robots grabbed debris from the moon and an asteroid.
This year promises more, including theplanned launch of the Hubble Space Telescope's successor in October.
Perhaps it's no surprise then that space themes are having a moment in home decor. When so many of us Earthlings are stuck at home because of the pandemic, space imagery can add a sense of adventure or whimsy to rooms, walls and ceilings.
"I've done outer space, and starry skies," says New York interior designer Patrice Hoban. "My clients love using stars as a backdrop in nurseries. I've also worked with glow-paint to add an extra pop to kids' rooms and home theaters."
She sticks tiny glow-in-the-dark stars to the ceiling; the light can last for hours. "It's the closest thing I've found to being in a planetarium," she says.
Rachel Magana, senior visual designer at the sustainable furniture-rental company Fernish, picked up some cosmological decorating ideas from a colleague's recent nursery project.
"Base your color palette around deep blue tones, then splash in bits of color like yellow, white or red," she says.
"Or create your own galaxy wall," she says. "Paint a blue wall, then use some watered-down white paint to splatter it with fine droplets. You may just create some new constellations."
She suggests adding fun, space-agey lampsand vintage NASA posters.
Outer space has inspired designers for decades. In the 1960s, the "space race" between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, along with the development of space age-y, synthetic materials, led to a surge in futuristic furniture like molded plastic chairs and Sputnik-shaped lighting.
These days, you can download artwork directly from NASA at solarsystem.nasa.gov, or find it at retailers like Red Bubble, Etsy and Zazzle.
Magana also suggests making a letter board with a space-themed quote, like Neil Armstrong's famous "One small step for man" phrase.
Much of the astronomy-themed art in the marketplace would be striking in any room. There are lunar graphics on canvas at Target. Tempaper's got constellation wallpapers, but if you can't do wallpaper, consider Kenna Sato Designs' constellation decals for walls or ceilings.
Galaxy Lamps has a sphere that looks like a planetoid. Charge it up with the included USB and cycle through 16 colors with three lighting modes. There's a moon version, too. And at Beautiful Halo, find a collection of rocket-ship ceiling fixtures.
German designer Jan Kath has created a rug collection called Spacecrafted inspired by imagery of gas clouds and asteroid nebulae from the Hubble telescope.
Studio Greytak, in Missoula, Montana, has designed a Jupiter lamp out of the mineral aragonite, depicting the whirling, turbulent gases of the planet. And there's the Impact table, where a chunk of desert rose crystals is embedded in cast glass, as though a piece of asteroid had plunged into a pool.
Zodiac wall decals and a Milky Way throw rug can be found at Project Nursery. There are hanging mobiles of the planets and of stars and clouds, at both Crate & Kids and Pottery Barn Kids.
A glow-in-the-dark duvet cover printed with the solar system is also at PBK, but if you're ready to really head to the stars, check out Snurk Living's duvet set. The studio, owned by Dutch designers Peggy van Neer and Erik van Loo, has designed the set photoprinted with a life-size astronaut suit.
Creating a night sky on the ceiling of a home theater seems to be popular; Houzz has hundreds of examples for inspiration.
Maydan Architects in Palo Alto, California, designed one for a recent project.
"Our client's grandfather was the owner of multiple movie theaters," says Mary Maydan. "One of them had a retractable ceiling that enabled guests to experience the starry sky at night. When our client decided to build their home theater, this installation was actually fulfilling a lifelong dream."
The ceiling isn't retractable, but it has an eight-paneled fixture depicting the Milky Way and a shooting star.
"It provides very soft light and was intended to be kept on during the screening of the movie and create a magical experience," says Maydan.
Kim Cook writes AP's Right at Home column, which looks at themes in home dcor and home products. Follow her at: http://www.kimcookhome.com
Read the rest here:
Right At Home: Space-themed dcor brings the heavens indoors - The Providence Journal
- Hubble Telescope Image Reveals a Cross Section of the Cosmos - April 26th, 2014 [April 26th, 2014]
- Hubble Telescope - Video - April 26th, 2014 [April 26th, 2014]
- Hubble Telescope Above Earth Motion Background - Video - April 28th, 2014 [April 28th, 2014]
- Hubble pictures show offers Biblical view of space - April 29th, 2014 [April 29th, 2014]
- Hubble telescope's launch celebrates 24th anniversary - May 1st, 2014 [May 1st, 2014]
- Inventor of the camera used on Hubble telescope has died - May 1st, 2014 [May 1st, 2014]
- Designer Uses Hubble Telescope Images For Her Line Of Fantastically Ethereal Silk - Video - May 4th, 2014 [May 4th, 2014]
- NOVA SCIENCE NOW - FIRST PRIMATES, KILLER MICROBE, HUBBLE TELESCOPE - Discovery Documentary - Video - May 7th, 2014 [May 7th, 2014]
- NOVA SCIENCE NOW - THE HUBBLE TELESCOPE, MEMORY LEARNING - Discovery Universe (documentary) - Video - May 7th, 2014 [May 7th, 2014]
- STS-61 December 7, 1993 Shuttle Endeavour Hubble Telescope repair mission - Video - May 9th, 2014 [May 9th, 2014]
- Saturn movie from Hubble telescope 1 - Video - May 9th, 2014 [May 9th, 2014]
- Dr Robert Williams, Director of Hubble Telescope - Video - May 12th, 2014 [May 12th, 2014]
- Hubble Telescope 10 of the Best Images: Alien Worlds as seen from the Hubble Space telescope - Video - May 18th, 2014 [May 18th, 2014]
- Jupiter's Great Red Spot has shrunk to its smallest size yet - May 18th, 2014 [May 18th, 2014]
- UFO Caught on Hubble Telescope - Video - May 19th, 2014 [May 19th, 2014]
- Space-The Hubble Telescope - Video - May 24th, 2014 [May 24th, 2014]
- Hubble Telescope provides best view of merging galaxies in distant Universe - August 31st, 2014 [August 31st, 2014]
- The Hubble Story | NASA - September 4th, 2014 [September 4th, 2014]
- Disappearance of geysers from Jupiter's Europa moon leaves scientists baffled - September 6th, 2014 [September 6th, 2014]
- 78 - Hubble Telescope by Sam Manary - Video - September 12th, 2014 [September 12th, 2014]
- Hubble Telescope - best images - Video - September 15th, 2014 [September 15th, 2014]
- Hubble Telescope Worker Tells All - Video - September 16th, 2014 [September 16th, 2014]
- NASA finds tiniest galaxy has 'supermassive' black hole - September 19th, 2014 [September 19th, 2014]
- Hubble Telescope Time Preferentially Goes to Men - September 19th, 2014 [September 19th, 2014]
- Mysterious "Bermuda Triangle" in Space Affecting Hubble Telescope - Video - September 21st, 2014 [September 21st, 2014]
- Stunning Galaxy Looks Deceptively Young in Hubble Telescope Views (Photo, Video) - September 25th, 2014 [September 25th, 2014]
- New Study Looks Into Hubble Telescope Gender Bias - September 25th, 2014 [September 25th, 2014]
- Research shows gender bias in approval for Hubble Telescope use - September 27th, 2014 [September 27th, 2014]
- Male-led teams more likely to get Hubble Telescope time - September 27th, 2014 [September 27th, 2014]
- Rich Hall, 1998 - Video - September 30th, 2014 [September 30th, 2014]
- Shedding Light- Hubble Telescope - Video - October 3rd, 2014 [October 3rd, 2014]
- Telescopes History Refractor Reflector Hubble - Video - October 3rd, 2014 [October 3rd, 2014]
- Hubble Telescope Ultra Deep Field View 3D - Video - October 3rd, 2014 [October 3rd, 2014]
- Most Beautiful Galaxy? - Video - October 4th, 2014 [October 4th, 2014]
- Spiral Galaxy - Video - October 8th, 2014 [October 8th, 2014]
- INFORMUCATE: HUBBLE TELESCOPE - Video - October 8th, 2014 [October 8th, 2014]
- Week 2 - 20 Years Hubble Telescope NASA Video Cut Down - Video - October 10th, 2014 [October 10th, 2014]
- The explosive beauty of a dying star - October 14th, 2014 [October 14th, 2014]
- Hubble Telescope Finds Potential Kuiper Belt Targets for New Horizons Pluto Mission - October 16th, 2014 [October 16th, 2014]
- NASA's Hubble Telescope Finds Potential Kuiper Belt Targets for New Horizons Pluto Mission - October 16th, 2014 [October 16th, 2014]
- NASAs Hubble Telescope Finds Kuiper Belt object (KBO) Targets for New Horizons Pluto Mission - Video - October 17th, 2014 [October 17th, 2014]
- Amazing Naked Universe - Revealing Pictures from Hubble Telescope - Video - October 21st, 2014 [October 21st, 2014]
- Wow! This Hubble Telescope Photo of Mars with a Comet Is Amazing - October 24th, 2014 [October 24th, 2014]
- BREAKING NEWS - Hubble Telescope Discovers UFO - Video - October 27th, 2014 [October 27th, 2014]
- I Am a Star - Video - October 27th, 2014 [October 27th, 2014]
- Nasa's Hubble Spots Jupiter Staring Back at us Through 'Cyclops Eye' - October 30th, 2014 [October 30th, 2014]
- Hubble telescope caught in staring contest with Jupiter - October 30th, 2014 [October 30th, 2014]
- Ghost Light From Distant Dead Galaxies Detected By Hubble Telescope - October 31st, 2014 [October 31st, 2014]
- NASAs Hubble Telescope Spots Ghost Light From Dead Galaxies - October 31st, 2014 [October 31st, 2014]
- Hubble Telescope makes a 'ghostly' discovery billions of light years away - October 31st, 2014 [October 31st, 2014]
- Best 100 Hubble images of cosmos - Video - November 1st, 2014 [November 1st, 2014]
- Its Complicated: Hubble Survey Finds Unexpected Diversity in Dusty Discs Around Nearby Stars - November 7th, 2014 [November 7th, 2014]
- The Hubble Telescope Operator - Video - November 8th, 2014 [November 8th, 2014]
- Hubble Telescope Operator - Video - November 9th, 2014 [November 9th, 2014]
- Hubble Rumble in the Hood Happening November 20 at Lilly's Bistro - November 11th, 2014 [November 11th, 2014]
- Kelly-Hubble Telescope 11.09.14 - Video - November 11th, 2014 [November 11th, 2014]
- Hubble telescope runs on ___ power - Video - November 11th, 2014 [November 11th, 2014]
- Lead Appointed on Proposed Wide Field Space Telescope - November 15th, 2014 [November 15th, 2014]
- NASA's Hubble telescope finds young galaxies on track to becoming 'red and dead' - November 15th, 2014 [November 15th, 2014]
- Ever Wondered How the Hubble is Operated? Three Engineers ... - November 15th, 2014 [November 15th, 2014]
- Eyes On The Skies - November 17th, 2014 [November 17th, 2014]
- Hubble Telescope - Library Trailer - Video - November 19th, 2014 [November 19th, 2014]
- Atlantis Captures Hubble Telescope - Video - November 21st, 2014 [November 21st, 2014]
- Hubble Space Telescope: Merry Christmas from the Hubble Telescope Images and christmas songs - Video - December 1st, 2014 [December 1st, 2014]
- This Day in History - December 2, 1993 - Hubble Repair Shuttle Mission Launched - December 3rd, 2014 [December 3rd, 2014]
- St Albans astronomer investigates mysteries of universe using Hubble telescope - December 4th, 2014 [December 4th, 2014]
- Hubble Telescope Images: Eta Carinae Supernova Fantastic astonomy photos NASA Hubble Space Telescope - Video - December 4th, 2014 [December 4th, 2014]
- Awesome NASA/ESA Hubble Telescope Hi Res render! (HD) - Video - December 5th, 2014 [December 5th, 2014]
- HUBBLE TELESCOPE PICTURES - Video - December 5th, 2014 [December 5th, 2014]
- Is NASA Going To Let The Hubble Telescope Burn Up? - December 8th, 2014 [December 8th, 2014]
- Workaholic Hubble Telescope Will Eventually Burn To Death: Report - December 8th, 2014 [December 8th, 2014]
- The Hubble Telescope - a brief summary in 3 minutes - Video - December 10th, 2014 [December 10th, 2014]
- PHY112 Hubble Telescope - Video - December 14th, 2014 [December 14th, 2014]
- Ave Maria 2014 December - Video - December 15th, 2014 [December 15th, 2014]
- NASA VIDEO ADMITS HUBBLE TELESCOPE IMAGES ARE ALL PHOTOSHOPPED - Video - December 15th, 2014 [December 15th, 2014]
- US Navy Reveals Laser as Powerful as the Hubble Telescope! - Video - December 15th, 2014 [December 15th, 2014]
- "Ave Maria" (Bach/Gounod) 2014, Anne Milligan. - Video - December 31st, 2014 [December 31st, 2014]
- Hubble's high-definition panoramic view of Andromeda galaxy - January 6th, 2015 [January 6th, 2015]
- Hubble Telescope Captures Spectacular New Views of 'Pillars of Creation' - January 6th, 2015 [January 6th, 2015]
- Hubbles Pillars of Creation, as spectacular as ever - January 6th, 2015 [January 6th, 2015]