Accessories

Picking The Perfect Throw Pillows

June 21, 2019

How many times have you read, “throw pillows are a simple and easy way to add color/pattern/texture to any design…” While this is entirely true, shopping for throw pillows isn’t as easy as it sounds. There is an amazing range of quality, shapes, colors and sizes to choose from. Ultimately, I always advise “taking the long view,” whereby the largest percentage of your selections can be used in versatile ways for years to come, while keeping more stylized choices to a minimum.

Tips For Choosing Throw Pillows For Any Room in the House

Here are some of the tips I use when selecting throw pillows – also called accent pillows – for my clients’ designs.

Invest in quality. By saying you should invest in quality, I’m not saying you should never buy your accent pillows at bargain stores. However, there is a distinct difference between a high-quality and low-quality pillow. The upscale versions are filled with durable filler materials that don’t lump up, bump up or scatter to the perimeters within a year or so. Higher-quality options will also be covered with higher-thread count covers that can hold up to wear and tear. While you might cringe a little at a higher-priced pillow, keep in mind that it will last for multiple years and can be recovered over and over again. So you will wind up with multiple pillows for the price of one. If you opt for cheapies, you’ll be replacing the throw pillows much more frequently.
Opt for pillows with removable covers. I recommend investing in pillows that have removable covers. This makes them much more versatile. Standard square pillow sizes are about 18-inches, larger pillows will be closer to 24-inches. You will be able to purchase pillow covers online or a local seamstress can make custom covers for you using fabric of your choosing. So, for one set of pillows and a little extra for customized covers, you have limitless aesthetic options.
Pay attention to your fill options. Throw pillows always have feather and/or down fills or synthetic fill versions. The former are pricier than the latter but are also softer and squishier to sit or lay on. Thus, pay careful attention to the pillow’s use. If it’s for looks only, save yourself a little money by selecting pillows with synthetic fill. If you plan on resting your head on it, you like to mold your pillows to your back or you use them to prop your arms as you read/work on the couch, pay a little extra for feather- or down-filled versions. If the pillow will be used to prop you up in a reclined position or will be used as a back rest for kids or adults who prefer to sit on the floor, a firmer synthetic-filled option will be preferred.
Think about color, pattern and texture. If you are at all shy about using bold colors or patterns in more permanent interior design features, accent pillows are a worthy tool. They offer a chance to try out bright colors you’ve been afraid to utilize via wall colors or larger furniture pieces. Pay attention to color and pattern – and let the pillows be practice for pattern layering! Also, think about texture. A little fur, embroidery, sequins, beads, tassels or shaggy texture on the pillows will help to round out your design.
Be odd. While there isn’t a rule about this, odd numbers of pillows are usually preferable to even numbers. The two-and-two or three-and-three balance can look a little boring and dimension-less.

10 Ways to Add Gold to Any Room

April 26, 2019

Gold metallic accents add warmth, light and elegance to a room. While some people are just fine with ornate gold furnishings and accents that rival those of Marie Antoinette’s Versailles, others shy away from adding gold accents to their interiors for fear of overdoing it.

There is, indeed, a fine line between the right and wrong ways to add gold to your living spaces so these 10 ideas will help you to do it with grace and style.

10 Ideas for Adding Gold to Any Living Space

Accent pillows. If you’re wary of using gold, start small and then add piece by piece. Accent pillows are a good place to start because if you don’t like the look, you can always switch the pillow shams. In this contemporary living room design, which lends itself towards shabby-chic, we used gold-accented pillows on the couch to help increase the impact of the chic.
Use gold upholstery. You can find beautiful upholstery fabric in various shades of gold as well as varying degrees of shimmer. Use an old chair(s) or couch, or look for a used one with good bones, and reupholster it. It won’t overpower the space and provides the foundation for adding other gold elements as you want to.
Picture frames. Gold gilded frames will help your art to stand out from the wall but also adds a hint of shimmer and formality.
Gold art. You can purchase a 3-D wall hanging that is already gold, or spray paint one yourself. Either way, you end up with an eye catching piece that can stand alone or complement other gold accents in the room.
Go(ld) all out. For the middle of the list, we recommend embracing your gold inspiration and designing an all-gold room. If you haven’t done it before, you may want to enlist the assistance of a professional interior designer to make sure all of your golden hues work together. The result can be stunning.
Mix it with silver. Gold and silver can be blended well when done with foresight. Metallic furnishings are popular in other cultures so finding the balance between gold and silver in my clients’ living room allowed them to display a variety of pieces they had collected on their travels without clashing or becoming too “blingy.”
Use it in an all-white space. If you are taking the plunge and designing an all-white space, gold is the ideal accent. It adds warmth and enhances the ethereal quality inherent in all-white designs.
On the ceiling. As long as we’re discussing the ethereal, take a look at this gorgeous formal living room that used metallic gold stencils on the ceiling, along with an absolutely unique and perfectly ornate light fixture. The blue backdrop only adds to the appeal. Even without the tasteful gold accents in the room below, this ceiling would be worth emulating.
Light fixtures. And that brings us to light fixtures; because gold reflects light with a warm glow, it makes a desirable finish for lamps, chandeliers and other light fixtures.
Highlight wall trim and molding. Take any crown molding or decorative wall trim and paint it gold and you will see it in a whole new way. The gold is rich and lustrous and it also helps to highlight the light and shadow of the patterned wall trim relief so it is better displayed. This works even when there isn’t a single additional gold accent in sight.

8 Ways to Create a Warm and Snuggly Living Room

April 19, 2019

While it’s true that spring is on the horizon, most of the country will benefit from a warm and snuggly living room for months to come. That’s certainly true for those of us in the Bay Area. Modern and transitional designs often need a little boost in that direction since the tenets of these design principles can lead to cooler design motifs.

8 Ways to Make Your Living Room and Little Warmer

The following items can help to soften the edges and add warmth and comfort to your living room space. Don’t forget you can always consult with a professional interior designer to get a few extra ideas or to provide approval of your design ideas.

Add a fireplace. If your home wasn’t built with a fireplace, you may want to look into a modern fireplace insert. Fireplaces have long been the heart of the home and while the kitchen may have transcended that in some ways, it’s hard to pull yourself away from a beautifully lit fire. Modern inserts are easy to install and an efficient way to add warmth and ambiance to your room.
An abundance of throws. Have at least one or two throw blankets at the ready. With the simple addition of a chest or an ottoman that includes storage you can house an abundance of soft, colorful throws that can be changed from season to season.
Implement natural wood finishes. Natural wood finishes add instant aesthetic warmth. This home was created from an old fire house. What could have been a cold and austere interior, due to exceptionally high ceilings and open living space, is instantly warmed with the addition of natural wood.
Make a slight change in color. Did you know there are warm whites and cool whites? Warm whites have undertones of yellow or pink – just enough to add a warmer element to its finished appearance. Other whites have blue, green or gray undertones, which add a cool aesthetic. Revisit paint samples and see if your walls couldn’t be warmed up with a slightly warmer shade of the same color.
Change your window coverings. Windows are a major source of heat loss in the home, regardless of how efficient they are. They just can’t compete with solid, well-insulated walls when it comes to keeping the heat in. Use honeycomb blinds for extra insulation and consider using drapes made from a heavier material to prevent heat loss.
Throw a slip cover on your leather couch. Leather couches are gorgeous but they can also be quite cool to the touch. Consider adding a stylish slip cover on your leather couch during the coolest months so it will feel softer and warmer when you first sit down.
Go natural with your design. Over-designing is often the biggest mistake homeowners can make. In an effort to get that magazine-worthy look, you can mistakenly design a room or home that nobody feels comfortable in. Yikes! To prevent this, make sure there are elements of home occupants’ personalities in the space. Shy away from entire furniture sets that have that matchy-matchy feel and find ways to incorporate family heirlooms, antiques and the occasional kitschy piece you love anyway. These simple additions can ensure your well-decorated space balances the Wow! factor with homey comfort that welcomes your guests.
Throw another area rug on the floor. Hard surface floors can be absolutely freezing on bare or socked feet. Use area rugs alone or in layers for a fresh look and extra warmth.

Brightening Up Your Whole Home

March 3, 2019

Have a room or corner that looks a little dark or neglected? Perhaps it’s been a while since you took an objective look at your home’s interior. Are the walls a bit scuffed? Are certain furnishings looking a little shabby?

It might be time to brighten things up. A bright home is a cheerful home, welcoming you back from a hard day’s work or inviting guests to come in, relax and stay a while.

If you’re in the process of planning a remodel, you can take more expansive measures to brighten your home, like adding windows, skylights or solar tubes, or redesigning your home’s lighting plan. However, structural changes aren’t necessary to bring some bright cheer into a specific room or to the entirety of your living spaces.

The following are some ideas – some of the grand and some of the quite simple – in order to brighten up your interior design.

Give it a fresh coat of paint

Over the course of time, paint is dulled by pollutants, scuff marks, sun fading and general wear and tear. Because you live in the house, this dulling can go unnoticed. Refresh your paint, however, and you’ll realize how dulled it really was. If you like your current color scheme, your task is easy. If you are ready for a change, do some work with a color wheel or spend time in a home design center to choose a color palette that will give you a fresh new start. Consider using pastels on accent walls, doors or a piece of furniture here and there to add a bright pop of color.

Reupholster, repaint or refinish old furniture

If a chair or sofa has ‘good bones’ you’ll never need to replace it. Well-built furniture from high quality materials lasts for generations, but it’s up to you to give it that new fabric cover, a new coat of paint or to sand and refinish it so it looks it’s best.

My mother had a kitchen table and chair set that had grown downright grimy over the years. She was going to replace it, I advocated simply cleaning it and refinishing it. Getting rid of those layers of sediment that had affixed over the years brightened it up immensely, and brightened that area of the kitchen as a result.

Perk it up with patterns

Rather than repainting or reupholstering, you may find you can perk up a bland space by adding another pattern to the mix. You can do this by adding or swapping your accent pillows with versions that add a new burst of color or pattern into the room. If you’re a little wary of pattern layering, read, “How Many Patterns Can Fit in One Space,” for basics on how to mix and layer patterns without overwhelming a room.

Go light and monochromatic

There is something so soothing about monochromatic designs when they are done well. They are restful but at the same time, the variations in shade and texture create enough depth and interest that they aren’t boring. Lighter shades give a room a brighter and airier feel – Nordic designs are known for this. They can be minimal and yet still manage to convey warmth and comfort.

The kitchen in this Palo Alto home is a prime example of how shades of white and natural wood finishes combine for a light and bright kitchen that is in no way stark or cold.

Redesign the lighting plan

Are you living in a tract home? Odds are you don’t have the benefit of a custom lighting plan. Or, even if you are lucky enough to live in a home with a thoughtful plan, it wasn’t customized to your particular design or collections.

The right lighting plan will keep your interior free of dark corners or harsh shadows. It will provide both task and ambient lighting and it will feature your personal art pieces and collectibles. Even the addition of a few, directable recessed cans or the switching out of a standard light fixture for a customized suspended version can change the way a room looks and feels.

You don’t have to employ an interior designer to benefit from brighter living spaces. Instead, consider consulting with one as a means of gleaning expert tips that you can apply in your home on your own.

Displaying Your Fabulous Collections

January 25, 2019

I once had a wonderful client who collected pigs. The last time I visited her home, she had more than 350 different porcine replicas of all shapes and sizes. When I met her, the bulk of them were jam packed into an entryway curio cabinet, while the rest were scattered about her home or stored in boxes.

While the curio cabinet was fascinating to study, it really wasn’t the best way to display her prized pigs because:

It was overcrowded.
They were mostly the same, small-ish figurine size.
None of the pigs, some of which were old, beautiful and/or valuable ever got to live in the limelight.

She has since passed on, but the lessons I learned while creating different ways to display her abundant collection have served my client roster for many years now.

10 Ways to Let Your Collection Shine

If you aren’t careful, the word Collection can become synonymous with Clutter. Here are 10 ways to make sure that doesn’t become the case with your prized collectibles!

Whittle It Down. There is a danger in letting anyone know you “collect” something; friends and family inundate you with apropos collectibles every holiday, birthday or as souvenirs from their recent travels. This makes for many (maybe even dozens) of items you never would have chosen on your own. Don’t keep a single thing you don’t really like. Go through your current collections and eliminate the ones you think are tacky or just don’t really jive with your preferences. This will keep your collections more stylish.
Use a divided case. Using a divided case is a good way to highlight individual pieces or a few pieces that share a theme. The segregated sections create a literal “frame” around the pieces, making it easier for the eye to take them in one at a time.
Go bonkers. The antidote to eliminating clutter is to display your clutter with style. Build shelves or cubbies to show off every single piece of your collection from floor to ceiling and wall to wall. Have a hat collection? Make a hat wall. All those baskets? Hang them all over the room. This is a particularly successful method in an office, a long foyer or entryway or down a long hallway.
Use cabinets with multiple shelves. If you choose to use curio cabinets, select versions that have different shelf heights or depths so the pieces don’t run into one another – creating a featureless sea.
Install upper-wall shelves. If your collectibles are on the bigger side – think lunch boxes, globes, antique hat boxes – create tasteful displays favorite pieces in one or more living spaces. Then, have upper-shelves installed just below the ceiling to display the rest. They end up creating visual interest in an area of wall space that is normally devoid of décor, while elevating the items up and out of the way so they don’t create clutter or take up valuable square footage.
Find a vintage display case. Display them in a case meant for displaying. Scour antique stores and flea marts and keep your eye out for a vintage or quirky display case, like the ones used in old general stores.
Rotate them. One of the ways we improved my aforementioned pig-collecting client’s collection was by rotating them. We cleared out about 75% of her entryway curio cabinet. She culled some of the lesser-loved and just-plain-faded or falling apart members, and then she kept the rest in a closet. Every few months, she rotated the figurines, which kept the collection fresh.
Donate your collection to each room. Rather than having a single space or two that’s devoted to your collection, create small displays in each room of your house, using whatever display method makes the most sense for each room. Perhaps those high-wall shelves make sense for the family room and kitchen, while a sideboard cluster makes sense in the dining room and the kitchen can enjoy an antique spice cabinet used as a display.
Don’t forget the bookshelves. Rows and rows of vertically aligned books are boring. Instead, break up your book collections by stacking some of the books horizontally. Then leave a nice sizable gap to display collectibles before resuming another run of books.
Use corner collections. Keep an eye out for tasteful corner shelves that suit your décor and fill them with your collection. Corners are notorious for being interior design “dead zones,” so move that houseplant elsewhere and create more room for your collection instead.

Do you feel like your collection has grown beyond your ability to display it attractively? Never fear. I firmly believe that “where there’s a will, there’s a way!”