home design

Arranging Living Room Furniture

February 25, 2018

Arranging furniture is often a process of trial-and-error and, odds are, if you’ve moved into a new home or planning to remodel the one you’re in, it will take a few different arrangements before you land on the living room furniture placement that suits your family or household best.

Helpful Tips for Arranging Your Living Room Furniture to Enhance Style, Function & Flow

It’s impossible to give you a set of rules because every living room is different – and every family’s use of that space is different as well. However, there are a several tips that can get you started.

Get out the ol‘ fashioned graph paper. If lugging furniture back and forth doesn’t appeal to you, and/or you are good at envisioning two-dimensions in your head, I recommend getting out a sheet of good ol‘ fashioned graph paper and start drawing, cutting and shuffling. Your first item of business will be to outline your living room’s exact perimeter measurements to scale. Mark windows, doors, the fireplace and other architectural features that will affect furniture placement. Then, use another sheet to draw to-scale shapes that mimic your furniture and furnishings, and begin placing your “furniture” in different spots to see which arrangements seem to work best.
Consider traffic flow. Think about how people enter and exit your living room space. You want your furniture to facilitate, rather than hinder, traffic flow. Also, try to prevent traffic from bisecting those who are seated and their view of the television.
Think about your focal point(s). What is your our living room’s focal point? Is it the television or a large picture window? Perhaps it’s your fireplace mantel or a gorgeous work of art. In any case, your main seating area should be placed such that the eye is easily led to an attractive landing point.
Get furniture away from the walls. It’s so common for people to place couches and/or chairs right up against the wall, thinking it will make the room seem larger. In fact, this tactic can make for a boring interior design and can also yield a great deal of dead space if you aren’t careful.
Create a balance of high and low energy. If your living room is big enough, try to create separate areas for entertaining and higher-energy activities – like movie nights – and quieter, low-energy areas – like a corner or fireplace-oriented furniture arrangement that facilitates private conversation or a reading nook.
Think about surface placement. Make sure that every couch or chair has a hard surface nearby, whether it be a coffee table, end table or a nearby credenza or book case so you have a place to set drinks, snacks, magazines or books, the remote controls, etc. If you are in the process of remodeling, this is a good time to think about lamp placement too, as well-placed floor outlets prevent trip hazards created by exposed electrical cords stretched across the floor. Figuring out your future furniture arrangement now will allow you to be more precise with your new electrical plan.
Don’t forget the benefits of area rugs. Area rugs are used often to help anchor living room furniture and/or to create a visual sense of different areas in a single space. One rug, or two layered rugs, can be used to anchor your main seating area while another smaller rug can create the boundary for a small play area or reading corner.

Flooring: Choosing The Right Color

February 20, 2018

Whether you’re choosing carpet, hardwood or laminate flooring, there are color choices to contend with. In the case of hardwood and laminate options, colors will be lighter or darker wood stain options. In the case of carpet, the color world is you oyster.

The following guide will help you select the color that will look best now, and that will also blend with future design changes or potential remodels.

Choosing the Right Color For Hardwood or Laminate Flooring

For the purposes of this post, we are going to treat wood and laminate flooring the same. As a general rule, darker wood finishes show dirt, pet hair and other debris quicker than lighter floors. If you have a busy household, filled with kid or pet activity, you may want to keep your flooring options on the lighter side.

With that in mind, here are the steps I recommend for selecting hardwood flooring:

Visit the showroom with a few samples. When you head to flooring showrooms, bring a few samples of textiles and paint chips that are exemplary of your home’s design and color scheme. This will help you and the sales rep settle on a better selection of flooring samples. Choose your three favorites and stick with them. More than that and it becomes harder to make a choice.
Take the samples home. Once you get the samples, take them home and begin shuffling them around the perimeter walls, cabinetry or key furniture pieces they’ll be making contact with. See how different finishes and tones bring out different colors or aspects of your existing furnishings. Just like paint samples, you want to look at them in daylight, dim light and artificial light. Discard your least favorite right away.
Live with two. Unless one jumps out as your obvious favorite, live with the other two samples for a couple of days until you’re able to decide on one of them.

Choosing the Right Color For Carpet

In some ways, choosing your carpet color isn’t all that different from choosing hardwood or laminate flooring. The most dramatic difference is that your options are seemingly endless. Here are some steps for helping you choose the best one.

Permanent or temporary? How permanent do you want this decision to be? If you choose a carpet in a rich burgundy or forest green, that’s great. But it’s also important to remember that as your furnishings or fixtures change through the upcoming years, those colors may not work anymore. Also, if you think your home will be on the market anytime in the next 5 to 10 years, boldly colored carpet might turn off potential buyers, so do keep that in mind. The longer you plan to have the carpet in place – especially if it will be laid throughout the entire home – the more neutral you’ll want to go.
Choose samples and take them home. Choose carpet samples in your preferred colors and then take them home. View them under different light qualities. Wood varies a little bit under different lighting sources, but carpet colors can vary quite a bit due to the different fibers and dyes involved in their production. Start moving samples around against walls and furniture throughout the day and evening to see what you think and remove your least favorite options right away.
Consider flooring transitions. If you are selecting different carpets for different rooms of the house, rather than the same one throughout, consider the transitions from room-to-room. A color wheel can be helpful for this.

8 Reasons You Should Hire a Professional Interior Designer

February 13, 2018

The internet is an amazing tool. Technically, you can learn how to build your own house watching YouTube videos and reading blogs. However, the reality is that most people really can’t build their own home regardless of how much they research. Interior design is similar. You either have a knack for it, or you don’t.

Even if you have the knack, you may lack the valuable industry connections that lead to a more cost-effective project or you might not have the energy to complete your vision in a reasonable time frame.

8 Reasons To Hire a Professional Interior Designer

Your colors just don’t work. You studied those House Beautiful spreads diligently, copied the exact same color scheme and…it just doesn’t work. This is the result of not knowing how to integrate the combination of space, lighting and design elements present in a room. Those colors worked in that space, but that doesn’t mean they’ll work in yours. A professional will help you select a color palette that works in your specific living space.
Budget is an issue. What?!? This may seem counterintuitive but people on budgets are the best candidates for a professional designer. Left to their own devices, the budget gets blown long before the design is complete and they’re stuck with an unfinished product. A designer knows exactly how to structure an interior design budget with the monies available and has professional relationships with subcontractors and vendors, yielding much lower prices than if you hire them on your own.
You value your time. Do you feel like spending after-work hours and weekends for the next XX months on your interior design project? A professional designer will work on it while you’re at work, on vacation and doing the things you love so your design comes together in the meantime.
We speak Construction. The construction world is its own culture and there can be a disconnect when homeowners opt to be their own general contractor. Professional designers speak the language, which goes a long way when your remodeling and/or adding on.
You want more than the basics. Sure, you can study the color wheel and learn how to work with texture, shape, proportions, etc. But, if you want to get to the more complex aspects of design, like pattern layering or making a modern design work in a traditionally designed existing home, it often requires the assistance of a professional.
A little validation is always nice. Hiring a professional interior designer doesn’t mean a permanent working relationship. In fact, some of the most fun work we do comes in the form of a single consultation or two that are set up to guide, facilitate and nurture our clients’ ideas. Bring your ideas to us and we can give you the thumbs up, a little professional critique and/or offer you solutions or ideas you may not have thought of to help round out your existing ideas.
To avoid the design rut. Often, clients want a whole new look only to find their “new design” is just a different version of the old one. An interior designer can help you break out of those ruts and embrace different or more daring sides of your aesthetic tastes.
To design your “forever” home. The Great Recession caused many homeowners to go back to “forever-home mode” rather than investment mode. If this is the case, your designer will help you balance timeless interior design aspects with more transient and trend-oriented features so your home can evolve without the need for major remodels in the future.

Remodel or Relocate?

February 9, 2018

Almost every homeowner will face this decision at one point in their lives: remodel or relocate? Whether your house is a recently empty nest, is outdated, or you desire to make the house fit your aesthetic taste and lifestyle a little better the decision to remodel or relocate should be evaluated very carefully so you make the wisest choice for you and your family – both financially and emotionally.

Should We Remodel or Relocate?

Here are some of the things to consider when deciding whether or not to remodel or relocate.

Know You’ll Rarely Make Your Money Back. There is rarely a remodel that will earn 100% of your money back. In fact, Remodeling Magazine’s annual Cost vs. Value Report for 2014 cites energy efficient front doors as the wisest replacement item, gaining just shy of 97% of their value back in resale. Hm. Front doors are important when it comes to curb appeal, but they certainly aren’t the reason why you’re remodeling, right?

After the front door, the average ROI on typical remodeling and renovation projects are as follows:

Wood Deck Addition: 87%
Attic Bedroom Addition: 84%
Minor Kitchen Remodel: 83%
Master Suite Addition: 66%
Bathroom Addition: 60%

So, there are some of the official numbers. However, what those ROI figures don’t take into consideration is the enjoyment a remodel provides while you’re living in the home – those factors are priceless. Plus, homes that are updated with timeless design elements are much quicker to sell, another major bonus.

Are You Looking to Downsize? If your home is simply too big for you, a common occurrence when the last of your little birds flees the nest, you may be better off relocating and using a remodel to make your new home more decidedly yours. There is nothing that remodeling can do to shrink your home. However, I will say that with the rising costs of long-term healthcare for seniors, many couples are starting to think about remodeling an area of their home into a studio or one-bedroom suite. These make wonderful guest spaces when family and friends come to visit and can transition into a caregiver’s living space down the road so couples can affordably age in place.

Remodels Are Typically More Affordable Than Buying a New Home. If you are simply exasperated with your current home and feel like moving is the only way to get what you want, consider that moving is more expensive when you analyze dollars spent per square foot. It can be hard for homeowners to see the potential in a home they have lived in for years – or decades. I recommend scheduling a consultation with an interior designer or three to see what they have to say. You may find your “Wish List” is largely attainable with a well-designed and executed remodel.

Moving Often Means Remodeling Anyway. Keep in mind that it’s very rare that you’ll find a home that is completely turn-key. In most cases, you are going to need some new coats of paint, new flooring in all or some of the house or there will be bathroom and/or kitchen fixtures you’ll want to replace. If you decide not to remodel your own home, going through the hassle of selling or renting your house, buying a home and then remodeling anyway may mean you were better off staying put in the first place.

Modern & Neutral

February 8, 2018

While modern interiors are certainly trending right now, the adjectives that describe them aren’t always very attractive: sleek, streamlined, lines, cold, hard, glossy. They don’t necessarily make you feel warm and fuzzy inside, and modern interiors are often criticized for not being comfortable or inviting.

I have found, however, that the key to designing a comfortable, inviting and soothing modern interior design is to keep neutrality at the core of it all.

Use a neutral mantra when creating a modern design

Here is how to keep a neutral mantra running through the core of your modern design, so it’s pleasing to the eye and welcoming to the heart.

Opt for a monochromatic look with warmer tones

There is a huge difference between an all-white or an all-cream interior, and the same holds true between a chocolate brown and a black interior. All of the above are considered “neutral” and yet the cream or chocolate brown versions are almost always going to have a more warm and welcoming energy – especially when paired with other modern design elements. Grays also work as a neutral, monochromatic theme that can create an intimate and cozy atmosphere.

And, did you know that almost all color hues can become “neutral” in their expression when they’re pared down to their softest and most subtle shades? If you like color but are looking for more graceful and discreet ways to express them in your home design, consider exploring the use of soft, pale shades as your monochromatic backdrop or as your secondary color theme.

The low profile mid-century modern couch

The look of a low profile, mid-century modern couch works in just about any home – including traditional ones, believe it or not. Sure, you can go with some of the bolder and swankier colors that the 1950s and early-60s were known for, like burnt orange, marigold, greens and reds – but you can just as easily choose your couch in a paler color that blends in – or stands out slightly – from the rest of your neutral décor.

Add a bit of shimmer, shine, and reflection

Look for textiles, fixtures, and finishes that have a little shimmer, shine, and reflection. Those who are interested in a neutral décor won’t be attracted to standard, reflective metallic finishes. However, you can find brushed or satin versions in golds, bronzes, and silvers that have a much softer approach and land more like a soft bell than a piercing chime.

Do use mirrors to capitalize on this effect, and mirrored furniture offers another way to magnify existing décor or to enhance light play in a modern and neutral design.

Think about elemental variation

Enhance your neutral and modern design motif by varying the elements used in each room. Consider the basic elements – stone, wood, metal – and then see if all three are represented in each space. Hardwood floors or beautiful wood trim may be all you need in the wood department, an exposed brick wall or naturally finished pottery or ceramics can cover the stone department – as does a stone hearth or stone tiles on the floor or around the perimeter of the floor. Metal is easy to incorporate via drawer and door pulls, mirrors, and the metallic accents we discussed above.

Use area rugs

Don’t forget to use area rugs to anchor your spaces, add color or pattern where needed or to provide a richer, textural component. Since modern designs tend to lean towards harder and glossier, softer or woven textiles – including throw rugs – can be a great way to soften things up. Plus, they’re easy to move or replace as tastes or styles evolve over time.

One of my favorite things about neutral and modern decors is that they are timeless. I have clients who’ve inherited their modern couches and furniture from grandparents or great grandparents and -when well-made, or reupholstered – these pieces look right at home in their contemporary homes.