design

The Couch Is For More Than Just Sitting On, It’s A Statement

May 12, 2018

The primary job of your home’s furnishings is to serve a function; the bed is for sleeping, the dressers are for storing clothes and your couch is for sitting and relaxing while you watch television, read or converse with your family and friends.

Even though these furniture pieces are functional, interior designers view them as an opportunity to make a statement. We feel their form is almost as important as their function since they add style and visual appeal to living spaces.

Tips for Selecting a Couch That Enhances Your Living Room’s Appeal

The couch is one of the largest furniture pieces in your home. It often takes center stage in your living and family rooms. As such, it’s important that you spend time finding the right size, shape, color etc., so that it enhances your interior design. There’s no way to hide an ill-selected couch.

Here are the things you will want to keep in mind when selecting a new couch for your living room, family room or great room. By taking the time beforehand to get particular about your needs, you’ll be able to invest in a couch that will be at home in its space for years to come.

Consider the size. Perhaps the first item of business is to determine the correct size and shape for your couch. You want your living room furnishings to be proportional with the room’s dimensions, as well as with each other. If your room is larger, opt for an L- or U-shaped couch, which often includes a chaise lounge-like section for relaxing. These are also good for open floor plans as they help to create a division between living areas. Choose one that can be set up with the small end of the L on either side so its arrangement can be changed if necessary. If you have a smaller space, you will want to look for linear couches that can be integrated into a corner or form a low-profile along a wall.

What’s the couch’s function? How does your family use the couch? If you often relax at the end of that day with your DVR line-up of favorite shows, you’ll want to make sure it’s in front of the TV. If your family enjoys reading, see if you can get it somewhere with ample natural daylighting and then have floor and table lamps on hand for nighttime.

Material options. If you have little ones or pets, we recommend choosing leather couches for their easy maintenance and clean up. You can also look for couches that are upholstered using indoor/outdoor fabrics, which are very durable and easy-to-clean, or you can find a high-quality used couch and have it reupholstered. Another good idea is to select a couch with removable and washable covers so you don’t have to hire a professional upholstery cleaner every time an unavoidable accident occurs.

Choose a couch that suits your style. If you’re a modernist you can choose something sleek and contemporary or have fun and go a little eclectic. Traditionalists will appreciate couches with curves, including sculpted legs and feet. If you fall somewhere in the middle, opt for a transitional couch that will look at home regardless of your your accents and accessories evolve over time.

Color or Pattern? If you have major reservations regarding a colorful or patterned couch, I recommend choosing a neutral couch color and changing other furnishings to get the pop of color or pattern you want. However, re-upholstering is easy and affordable so be brave and know you can always go back to conservative if necessary.

Accessorizing With Antlers

May 9, 2018

Antlers have been used as tools, weapons and accessories since humankind began decorating their homes. From wall mounted sculptures to candlestick holders, they can be used in a variety of ways – enhancing rustic decors as well as both modern and traditional interiors.

Contrary to what many think, antler-bearing animals do not have to lose their lives for an impressive set of antlers to grace your home. In fact, the males species shed their antlers annually, growing a new pair for the following mating season. If you’re an avid hiker, you may have even seen the occasional antler set dropped here or there along your way. This is how many of my clients have begun to collect their antlers, and then desire to find attractive ways to display them.

Here are some ideas for using antlers to accessorize your home:

On the wall. Yes, if you are a hunter or appreciate the beauty of taxidermy, antlers can be mounted on the wall in the traditional manner, resting atop the head of the animal. However, we see a rising trend in antlers mounted on walls alone, or connected to the skull from an animal that has died naturally. There is great beauty in the different shapes and patterns created by each antler set as no two are alike. The antler on skull motif works well in Southwest and modern designs.

In the man cave. Even if you wouldn’t describe the man in your life as a “hunter gatherer”, the mounted deer, elk, moose, etc., head on the wall is a distinctly masculine tradition. This is why the man cave can be the ideal place to display a family heirloom or a high-quality piece you find on the market. Or to mount an impressive set of antlers, sans the head and fur.

Light fixtures. There are some stunning light fixtures, both large and small, that are made from assortments or arrangements of antlers. This ethereal white antler chandelier is right at home suspended above a lodge-style living room. Antlers’ shape combination – long, curved and pointed – make the the ideal framework for chandeliers as well as overhead vanity lights or candle holders, and the shadows cast by the unique shapes add additional interest, especially when the sun goes down.

As art and accessory. Finally, there are subtle ways antlers can be used as an artistic accessory in your home. For example, the gold-painted antler draws the eye and adds a little extra sparkle in this tabletop display. A single set of antlers looks wonderful along the top of a fireplace mantle, in a display case, or along the top of a bookshelf. Or, in one of my favorite displays, branches and twigs were used and mounted on wooden pieces that are reminiscent of a skull, creating the illusion of real antlers.

Whether you are interested in creating a more rustic look or are simply fascinated by the stark and unique beauty of antlers, there are all kinds of ways you can add them to your interior decor.

The Wonderful World Of Wallpaper

May 8, 2018

Tired of the same old paint? Wish your walls, ceilings or architectural features were dressed up with little bit of pattern? Then it’s time to reacquaint yourself with wallpaper. For some reason, wallpaper fell out of favor with interior designers and I’m not sure why. It allows a form of creative expression that is impossible to accomplish with paint unless you are an incredible artist in your own right.

For example, look how the addition of floral wallpaper transformed this small powder room into a whimsical and beautiful space. That simply isn’t possible with paint unless you purchase a bunch of colors, have unique artistic abilities and/or are very precise with stencils. In other words, wallpaper opens creative doors for your interior design.

Modern Interpretations for Wallpaper in Any Room in the House

Here are suggestions for modern wallpaper applications – it doesn’t always have to go on the walls.

Look for metallic prints and accents. Look for wallpaper with metallic accents. It adds elegance, shimmer and a little reflective light to any space. Some papers are 100% metallic, which makes a bold statement. Others are lightly laced with metallic stripes or accents that add just a hint of glamor and interest.

Use it for an accent wall. One of the most powerful uses of wallpaper is for an accent wall. Papering an entire room is a bold move; you have to like that pattern a lot because stripping the wall again to re-paper or paint is fairly labor intensive. So, if there is a bold, bright or wildly stunning pattern you love – but feel won’t last forever in your taste book – use it on a single wall. It will achieve the look you want and will be easy to re-move and re-do when you’re ready for a change.

Try a wallpaper backsplash. There are plenty of attractive tiles out there, but without getting into pretty cost-intensive mosaic work, it’s not easy to get the colors and patterns you envision for a stove’s backsplash. This is especially true in smaller kitchens where a window wall, or cabinets and the fridge, prevent you from gaining a burst of color or pattern elsewhere. In this case, look for wallpaper that is heavy-duty and designed for bathrooms or more moist environments so it can handle steam from the pots and the occasional wash down with a sponge.

Use it on the bed wall. Wallpaper can make an excellent backdrop for your bed. Rather than covering the whole wall, simple measure, cut and apply wall paper in the shape or dimensions that suit your room and bed. If you’re feeling bold, it’s a fun way to play with color and pattern layering, combining the print from the paper with the patterns on your bedding and accent pillows.

On the ceiling. There is something stunning about the right patterned wallpaper on the ceiling. In bedrooms, it gives you something interesting to look at while you lie in bed. In the dining room, it can provide an echo of the table’s shape or highlight a stunning chandelier. In the living room, it’s a place to add a print or color that you may have felt was too overpowering for a wall.

On architectural features. Finally, you can use wallpaper – or leftover scraps to decorate architectural features that aren’t normally decorated. These include the back walls of book cases, the risers on your stairs or the sloped ceiling of a stairwell. Use eye-catching patterns and colors.

Creating The Perfect Breakfast Nook

May 6, 2018

If you’re planning an upcoming kitchen renovation, odds are your “Wish List” is filling up fast. If I may interrupt for a minute, however, I’d like to talk about one of my favorite features in a well-designed kitchen: the breakfast nook.

Breakfast Nooks: The Kitchen Design Feature That Keeps on Giving

Whether you’re designing a traditional farmhouse kitchen or are a modernist to the extreme, a breakfast nook will enhance your kitchen experience in multiple ways. In addition to being a cozy place to hang out, breakfast nooks provide added seating for social functions, extra ambient and task lighting and a great place for kids to do their homework while you prepare dinner.

Use an available corner. Typically, breakfast nooks encompass a corner space if you have one. The 90° angle of the walls makes it easy to design comfortable seating, and the open space on the other side can use a space-saving bench (in smaller kitchens) or attractive chairs for additional seating. If possible, I also recommend adding a window if you don’t have one already. It’s a great way to gain extra natural light in your kitchen – always a bonus – and will provide a view outdoors, providing hours of contemplation as you watch the seasons and the world go by.

Avoid the permanent seating option. Typically, breakfast nooks are built into the corner, as I mentioned above, or can be added to the backside of a kitchen island or peninsula. In these cases, at least one of the sides includes bench seating that is permanently attached to the floors below. I recommend avoiding that option and using temporary bench seating options instead. Your interior designer can help you look for portable bench seating that fits your space or can design custom seating to fit. Either way, you have something you can take with you when you leave and more flexibility during social functions.

Make those benches a storage space. As long as you opt for bench seating in one or two sides of your nook, I recommend making them storage space. You can either use hinged seats that open up, or create cabinet spaces on the front side of the lower bench. Either way, extra storage is always appreciated, keeping serving platters, seasonal dishware or specialty cookbooks out of the way when not in use.

Match the table with the space. If your nook will be rectangular, use a rectangular shaped table, or go oval if you prefer curves. If the nook’s a square, make the table a square as well. This makes for a cleaner and more congruent look. Your nook can take an arched shape, which will lend itself to an oval or circular table. The only exception to the matching shape rule would be in smaller kitchens or nooks, where a round table will keep exterior corners from bumping thighs or little heads as they pass by.

Splurge on cushions and accent pillows. Another reason to design custom furniture for your nook bench seating is that you should have full control over the plushness of the cushions. The more comfortable your cushions and accent pillows, the more you and your guests will enjoy the space.

Adorn it with a stunning fixture. Make your nook a showpiece and then top it off, literally, with a stunning light fixture. Pick something that draws the eye – like a chandelier or an eclectic sculpture-esque light and then add a dimmer switch so it can serve as both task and ambient lighting.

What’s Your Design Style?

April 29, 2018

There is a wide gap between having a design style and realizing it. The having and knowing are the first steps. However, I’ve worked with plenty of clients over the years that had oodles of scrapbooks or online ideabooks with very specific examples of what they wanted, yet their current design reflected little – if any – of it.

This is a common occurrence for younger homeowners or homeowners that have done such a good job of being frugal and non-wasteful that their house becomes a hodge-podge of free hand-me-downs, thrift store finds and items that are in “decent enough” shape to keep around.

5 Tips For Making Your Design Style a Reality

Does that sound familiar? Then perhaps it’s time to turn over a new leaf so you can bring your coveted design style into fruition.

Know what your design style is. Do you even know what your design style is? Sometimes, I peek into an ideabook only to view a mish-mash of “tastes”, rather than a consistent or cohesive theme. This could be a sign that you’re eclectic or a transitionalist OR it could mean that while you appreciate great design, you haven’t really found your own, personal design yet. If you suspect you suffer from the latter, read, What’s Your Interior Design Style, and begin honing in on the colors, styles, textures, shapes and finishes that inspire you at the core level.
Consult with an interior designer. Consulting with a professional interior designer does not mean you have to hire one. You can pay a professional designer as a consultant while you narrow your style preferences down to one that exemplifies your taste and lifestyle. If you’re new to this process, an interior designer will also help you come up with a realistic budget, i.e. XX-dollars for new furniture, XX-dollars for new textiles, XX-dollars for new furnishings and accents, etc. If you choose to work with the designer now or down the road, great. If not, your money will have been well-spent helping you to solidify your tastes- and creating proportioned budget – so you can implement a new design on your own.
Out with the old. If you suffer from minor-hoarding tendencies, an inability to get rid of anything with sentimental value (even if you don’t like it), or an aversion to discarding items that are functional (but not stylish) – it’s time to buck up and purge your home of anything that doesn’t serve you. Typically, de-cluttering involves making three separate piles: trash, donate, sell. In this case, you are going to start by making ONE pile – the discard pile – and you can sort that out later. Move through your home and put anything you don’t LOVE in the discard pile. FYI: I’m not joking when I say this step may require sleeping on a mattress on a floor and sitting in a virtually empty living room furnished by camping chairs and a card table for a month or more. The point is, you now have a clear, free and unencumbered space in which to begin realizing an interior design style that truly represents who you are.
Start exploring. Now it’s time to begin exploring stores and online sources to find the big-item furniture pieces that will comprise the “bones” of the design. If you’re re-doing your kitchen, you’ll be looking at cabinetry options as well. Now that you know your design style, it will be easy to speak with customer service reps, who can steer you towards options that fit your niche. Just make sure you stick to your budget. Take digital picture of everything you genuinely adore. After a while of doing this, you’ll have a stock pile of photos you can review to whittle down to your favorites. These will be your future furnishings and accents.
Have fun with paints. Don’t rush into paint colors. Yes, it’s true; walls can be repainted. But who wants to go through the trouble if you don’t have to more than every handful of years or more? Better to take your time, paint huge swatches of cheap plywood or wall patches and live with them for a while. This will let you know how they your color options hold up to different lighting, or on this wall/room versus that wall/room. It will also help you to learn how very different a wall of paint looks than a small sample of paint appears. Not rushing into paint colors will be the best gift you ever give your newly designed homeself, because the reward will be a new paint palette that you love, one you won’t regret in a day, a week, a month or a year.

Once you’ve moved through these five steps, you’re ready to start taking your new interior design process in earnest. Again, never hesitate to enlist the help of a professional interior designer along the way to lend an opinion, to provide recommendations or to orchestrate your remodel for you so you can enjoy a stress-free process.