Kristina Wolf's House of Design

Interior Design, Accessorizing, and DIY Tips

decorating

Making A Student-Centric Study Area In Your Home

making-a-student-centric-study-area-in-your-homeTime flies doesn’t it? One minute you’re helping your baby learn how to walk, the next minute she’s in Kindergarten and before you know it – homework becomes an everyday event. One of the best things you can do to foster a reverence for learning is to create a customized study area for your children.

Not only does this begin to build an academic culture in your home, when done right, it also creates a soothing and distraction-free area where children can focus on their studies.

Your study area can arise just about anywhere, as long as there’s enough room for an uncluttered working space. Perhaps you’ve decided to add a message center or small home office space in the kitchen, or maybe you have a corner of a living room or the child’s bedroom that you can carve out.

I’ve found that creating a small work or study space in a guest room space can be a good idea. Getting the child out of their room and into a quieter, “special” space can help them focus on their work. In any case, here are the basics for making a study area where your child can get to work.

  1. Study your child. We are all very different when it comes to how we work and study best. Make sure you create a study space that is tailored to your child’s needs, and not your own. For example, some people work best in absolute quiet and silence, while others actually do best with a little background music or hubbub around them. Some need to sit still while others (kinesthetic learners and higher-energy children) need to wiggle a bit. Your child’s learning style and studying preferences should lead the way.
  2. Choose the space. Obviously your home will be a great predictor of where this space will be. If you have a small townhome or apartment, using a spare room is probably out of the question. But your goal should be to find a space that can accommodate a small desk or work surface, an appropriate chair or yoga ball (more on that later) and the essential work tools. You also want to take things like sound and lighting into the equation.
  3. Choose the furniture. Make sure the workspace is ergonomically comfortable for your child. Typically, the work surface should be about waist-height and the chair should be one that fits your child well (no dangling feet!). If your child likes to wiggle, consider using a yoga ball or swivel chair, so they can move a bit as they work. Motion anchors thought for kinesthetic learners and many younger, active children – so if they can’t more or wiggle a bit while they work, they’ll have a difficult time concentrating and staying on task.
  4. Eliminate clutter. Clutter is the enemy in any home design. It’s distracting and confusing. It tires the eyes and the mind. Your child will be particularly susceptible to clutter so a designated homework station should house only the necessary items – paper, pencils, pens, dictionary, and the homework at hand. Even markers, staplers, tape, glue, etc. should be stored in an accessible drawer or cupboard until they are needed.
  5. Keep supplies stored close. If you use a table, rather than a desk, make sure the cursory homework supplies are stored within arm’s reach, if possible. Every time your child has to leave the area to get something, or get up to ask you where something is located, takes his/her mind off the task at hand.
  6. Create space for organization. For the most part, organization is a learned skill. You can facilitate that skill in your children by teaching and implementing organizational tricks. Use a large wall-calendar to track and organize homework assignments and test days. If the homework area is in a family room or living room, you can use a desktop calendar instead so it doesn’t take up wall space. Make sure there’s a large, easy-to-read clock somewhere close so they can keep themselves on schedule. In and out boxes can help both of you keep on track of what needs to be looked at and/or signed and what is ready to be returned to the teacher.
  7. Sanctify Homework Time. Finally, you lead the way and set the tone, so do your part by making homework time a sacred time in the household. The TV should be off, cell phones should be placed on silent (the child should not have access to their cell phone until homework is complete), social media interactions are put on hold, older or younger children should be equally beholden to respecting the homework space and quiet time, etc. The less distractions the better so you child can really sink into the work and do their very best.

The Perfect Chandelier

the-perfect-chandelier

The dining room chandelier is like icing on the dining room design cake. In addition to providing lighting and ambiance, it also adds visual focus and a stylized design element. So, selecting the dining room chandelier is an important step. The wrong chandelier can make the room fall flat, while the right one will be noted and serve as a conversation piece for all who sit at your table.

Tips for Choosing a Dining Room Chandelier

The following tips will help you select – and then hang – your chandelier so it makes for a picture-perfect dining room.

The empty room. If you are just moving into a home, having a room built, and/or haven’t yet purchased a dining room table, you will want to size the chandelier in proportion with the dining room’s dimensions. In this case, the designer’s “rule of thumb” is to add the length plus the width of the room. The resulting figure would be the rough size of the chandelier’s diameter. So, if your dining room is a 10 x 12 space, you would keep your eye out for chandeliers that are roughly 22 inches in diameter.

The furnished room. If your dining room is already furnished, you should size the chandelier according to the table’s dimensions. In this case, designers typically choose a fixture (or two fixtures!) that is about one-half (no less than one-third) of the table’s width. By taking these dimensions into consideration, the chandelier will be in proportion to the space.

The table shape. The shape of the chandelier is also of importance. In most cases, you’ll see that a well-chosen chandelier mimics the shape of the table below. So a round table will have a round fixture while a square or rectangular table will have a similarly shaped chandelier. Of course, this is only a guideline. If you find a chandelier you love and it doesn’t fit this rule, go ahead and install it to see what you think. You can always return it if it doesn’t work out.

Complement your existing design. Your chandelier should complement the existing interior design. In a separate, formal dining room, this means keeping in line with the existing style. If you have an open floor plan, it can be fun to use the dining room chandelier as a way to tie in color, pattern, shape or other visual elements that may be visible elsewhere in the living space, while still holding true to the dining room design elements.

If you are someone who likes to change things up more frequently than most, consider purchasing a chandelier that uses a shade – or shades – as part of its aesthetic. This gives you a little flexibility because you can change the shades over time rather than having to change out the whole fixture.

How to Hang the Chandelier

If you are the first homeowner to install a chandelier in that space, or if you have chosen a particularly heavy chandelier, I highly recommend you hire an electrician who can make sure your ceiling is reinforced properly so it can withstand the weight of the fixture.

Typically, the chandelier should hang about 30-inches from the table top for an 8-foot ceiling. If the ceiling is higher, add 3-inches to that distance for every additional foot of ceiling height. So a 9-foot ceiling would leave 33-inches between the bottom of the chandelier.

If your chandelier doesn’t come with a dimmer option, I recommend installing a dimmer switch so you can control light quality and ambiance.

Making Your Home Fall Fabulous (…or Fallbulous!)

making-your-home-fall-fabulous-or-fallbulous Yes, summer is a wonderful season. It’s warm, we get to be outdoors and it’s often the time of year we all get to take a much needed vacation. But, there is something magical about fall. We enjoy the distinct pleasure of warm days,  interspersed with chilly nights that allow us to don our favorite sweaters and celebrate the return of the down comforter.

Honor the Change of Seasons in Your Home Decor With These Interior Design Tips for Fall

For interior decorators, fall signals a shift in how we think about our interiors. While outdoor areas will still be used, you’ll be spending more time indoors and will have an influx of guests to observe traditional holiday feasts and rituals. Changing your home with the season means bringing the outdoors in, honoring the changing leaves, colorful gourds and other natural elements.

Here are 8 ways to make your home fall fabulous, or Fallbulous!

  1. Start your leaf collection. Falling leaves are the quintessential symbol of fall and there are so many lovely ways to add them to your interior. Besides leaf-printed accent pillows, dishware or artwork, I recommend using real fall leaves. You can Mod Podge them onto complementary or contrasting pillar candles or the outside of mason jars with a votive tucked inside. The candle glow through delicate leaf tissue is gorgeous. Kids will love stringing autumn leaves on thread so they can be hung across doorway, shelves or book cases. Consider replacing flowers with leaves in your bouquets. Get creative and have some fun.
  2. Don’t neglect the porch. The porch serves as the your home’s initial “Welcoming Party” for guests so use the space to add a little fall cheer. Even a simple autumn wreath will set a more festive tone.
  3. Paint your pumpkins. If you are tired of using the traditional pumpkin displays, change it up by painting your pumpkins. Depending on your desired effect, you can have fun and paint them wild colors or you can be more demure. Using metallic paints is a wonderful way to infuse a little autumnal interest while still maintaining a more stately effect.
  4. Natural vases. Put your glass vases away and carve out pumpkins, gourds or even butternut squash to be used to house floral displays or as candle holders.
  5. Infuse it with scent. Part of the thrill of autumn is the yummy scents that go along with it. Make your interior a multi-sensory experience by using potpourri, essential oils or natural candles that infuse your home with cinnamon, clove, pumpkin pie, vanilla, or other homey scents.
  6. Consider your lighting. Since we “fall back” this season, we’ll have an extra three hours of dark and that requires a lighting adjustment. Beef up your supply of candles, twinkly lights and dimmable fixtures so you can add ambiance when desired.
  7. Display fall branches. From branches of maple leaves to bare branches adorned with acorn ornaments, you can use fresh-cut branches collected on your morning walk to adorn your home with fall inspiration. You can use some of those leaves you collected and thread them with a simple loop to hang on your branches as well.
  8. Top candlestick holders with pumpkins. Haul out every candlestick holder or pedestal and even your cake stands, for that matter. Put them to good use using a mixture of decor from small pumpkins and gourds to acorns, leaves, pine cones or whatever else symbolizes the return of fall for your family.

Updating Your Pantry

updating-your-pantryDoes your kitchen pantry look like a pantry? Or does it resemble a post-tornado disaster scene? Like the guest bedroom storage closet and the kitchen junk drawer, pantries tend to go from tidy and organized, to a big jumbled mess, faster than you can say, “Hon? Have you seen the rice vinegar?”

Kitchen Pantry Update 101: How to Achieve a Sustainably Organized Pantry

Sustainable is a buzzword these days and I’m going to use it here in terms of organization. It’s not just about “organic,” “green,” or “eco-friendly.” The definition of sustainable is, “able to be maintained or continued.” When thinking of it that way, all re-organization projects should strive to be as sustainable as possible.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if closet and kitchen and pantry organization didn’t have to be annual events? Instead, you would come up with a sustainable system, one that’s easy for you to maintain or continue. When you achieve that lofty goal – ritualistic, wide scale, weekend-long organization projects become a thing of the past.

Does that sound appealing? I thought so – let’s get started.

Remove everything and set it all out on the counter

The first step, as you probably imagined, is taking everything out of the pantry and getting it out on the counter. Once everything is cleared out, it’s time to wipe down the shelves. If your pantry is old, grimy and just plain gross – you may find it worthwhile to repaint the walls and shelves using leftover paint from your kitchen cabinets or the most recent paint project you’ve tackled.

While the paint – or the freshly sudsed and scrubbed interior – is drying, begin going through the contents on the counter.

Get rid of anything that’s expired or just plain gross

Now it’s time to toss anything that’s expired or just plain yuck. If your pantry is in desperate need of reorganization, you’ll find a fair amount to get rid of. If you find you have an overabundance of pantry items, donate unopened items to your local food bank. Our local grocery store has a bin out front that accepts items year-round, and homeless shelters are usually receptive to unopened food donations as well.

Re-envision the pantry space

Contemporary cabinet and drawer designs have come a very long way in a short period of time. Pullout shelves, spice-racks, custom-designed drawers – all of these have made kitchen spaces more functional and better organized than the kitchens we grew up in.

Take some of these same cues for your pantry project and evaluate where pantry-specific tools – available at big box stores and organization-centered retail shops – will be helpful. For example:

  • Forget about cutesy wicker baskets – you can’t see what’s in them unless they’re over-full. If you like the idea of removable containers, opt for clear, plastic containers so you can see what’s inside at all times. Plastic organizers are also easier to clean when needed.
  • Purchase affordable wine racks to keep your back supply in the pantry in space-efficient and wine-happy, horizontal stacks. You can put a smaller, higher-end version out on the buffet to display a few bottles for show.
  • Are there certain staples you ALWAYS carry “in stock?” Things like 32-ounce boxes of broth, 15-ounce cans of tomatoes, cans of soup, etc.? All of these are pretty darn standard so establish reasonable, product-specific widths and divide shelves into cubby-like spaces using vertical dividers. This keeps dry goods in their own, designated spots. It also makes it easier to do quick inventories before heading to the grocery store.
  • I also recommend installing pull-out, stainless steel wire racks and bins to hold potatoes, onions, fruit and other items that prefer a little air circulation. I use mine for bags of chips, bagels, rice cakes and other items that slip around or get squished when they’re stored on shelves. Pull-out drawers also work for paper goods, like paper towels, plates, and napkins.
  • Use wire helper shelves to divide tall pantry shelves into more efficient spaces. These allow you to use up more of the available air space and prevents cans from being stacked into towers that block the view of what’s behind them.

Organize it in a way that’s logical and accessible for your household

Now that you have the right equipment, you have the opportunity to install it all – and replace pantry items – in a way that makes the most logical and accessible sense for your household.

  • Have younger children? There’s no need to be their servant. Foster independence and put kids’ go-to snack items, fruit, easy-to-prep foods where they can easily reach them.
  • Put things you use the least at the way-top, the way-bottom, and back corners. Likewise, things you use most should reside in the front-and-center spots.
  • Evaluate the lighting – is it bright enough? Too bright? Change the light fixture(s) if you need to and replace light bulbs with energy-efficient versions, bright enough to allow you to read labels, but not so bright that it’s harsh or glaring.

If you spend the time on the front-end, re-thinking how you use the pantry and what additions make the most sense, you’ll wind up with a pantry that is organized, neat, and stocked with just enough – but not too much. Finally – make a vow to cleanse the pantry on a regular basis, throwing away stale, old or expired food items monthly – instead of annually.

When all’s said and done, your newly organized pantry will be a joy to use and should never require any major re-organization ever again.

8 Misconceptions About Interior Designers

8-misconceptions-about-interior-designersI’ve worked as a professional interior designer for more than a decade now, and throughout my work, I’ve come across a multitude of misconceptions pertaining to the interior design field. Typically, these misconceptions make themselves known at a first consultation, as clients begin to see that they are getting much more than just a decorator or trend guru. However, I also face them as I work with contractors or suppliers who are surprised to see how much I know about their trades, in addition to my own.

Here are 8 of the most common misconceptions about interior designers that I find prevalent as I go about my work each day:

  1. They Just Decorate Homes. Nope! That’s the job of an interior decorator. Interior decorators are for homes what style consultants are to people and their wardrobes. An interior decorator comes into a space that is already finished or built, and works to dress it up in style – using colors, fabrics and accents. Interior designers can do all that and more. An interior decorator is educated in trained in architecture, the history of design and basic construction tenets – as well as all the fundamentals of colors, patterns, lighting, lines, texture, and so on.
  2. You Don’t Need One If You Have a Good Contractor. Unless your contractor is also an interior designer, this one goes out the window as well. While there are “design-build” firms that hire in-house interior designers to work with their clients before the build-out takes place, most contractors are just that – contractors. Their job is to build a home or remodel according to the plans they’re presented by the architect and interior designer. Read, Why Use an Interior Designer For a Remodel or New Home Construction, to learn more about this topic. If you rely too heavily on your contractor for design expertise, he’ll probably tell you to go hire an interior designer!
  3. They’re mostly women. There was an era when interior decorators and interior designers were predominantly women. Those days are over. Today, there is an increasing number of men entering the field each year, especially now that the remodel and renovation realm is so much a part of pop culture. This gender balance will continue to even out over the next decade or two.
  4. Interior Designers Are Too Expensive. There are interior designers for every budget. Sure, some interior designers only work for the high-end clients, but most strive to work within their clients’ budgets – regardless of the clients’ net worth. In cases where prospective clients don’t have enough money to pay for an interior designer’s full attention, we can always be hired to work on a consulting basis, providing suggestions, advice and input for clients along the way. And, in fact, many homeowners find that investing a chunk of money on an interior designer at the outset actually saves them money because everything is done right the first time around.
  5. It’s Their Way or the Highway. Unfortunately, this can be the case for some interior designers, but not most. It’s important to meet with three to five interior designers before you hire one, so you have a chance to get to know them and can select the one with whom you feel the most comfortable being yourself, expressing your opinions and who you aren’t afraid to say, “no thank you,” to if they suggest something you don’t like. While an interior designer may help to broaden your design vision – the finished product should reflect your personal taste and lifestyle.
  6. Interior Designers Live in Picture-Perfect Homes. Remember those old adages about the cobbler whose children walk around in broken-down shoes, or the contractor who lives in a home with a leaky roof? Well, sometimes when you spend all day and night doing something you love, you don’t always have time to apply that passion to your immediate life. Most interior designers have nice homes, but they look pretty darn normal if you catch them unawares.
  7. If You Have a Good Eye, You Can Do It Yourself. Yes, those who are creative and artistic and who have a solid understanding of basic color and design principles may not need an interior designer to create their initial design. However, interior designers have something the average person doesn’t: connections with artists, design houses, showrooms and vendors, so they can get rock-bottom prices that independent DIYers don’t have access too.
  8. Your Home Isn’t “Fancy” Enough For an Interior Designer. There is no home too modest or too small for an interior designer. In fact, the attention from an interior designer can help to take your “modest” home and transform it into a showpiece of sorts. We can make smaller rooms seem larger, we can increase light availability and we can rearrange the furniture and accents you have now to better showcase your home’s best features.

Hopefully this helped to dispel any potential myths you had about interior designers.