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The Perfect Color for Your Homes Exterior

May 17, 2018

In an effort to save costs, modern subdivision contractors often use a two-color exterior color palette: a base color for the main field and a complementary color for accent and trim pieces. Period. In fact, your home’s exterior can have up to four or more different colors, depending on its architecture and era, to highlight and complement the home’s features and surrounding landscape.

Tips For Choosing Your Home’s Exterior Color Palette

While nobody can say, “Here – use this palette” for your home without an on-site consultation, there are general rules and guidelines designers use when assisting clients in choosing an exterior paint palette.

Opt for three or more colors. Usually, the most attractive and notable homes use at least three colors: one for the field (the main body of the house), one for accents (the main features on the home like window frames, railings, shutters) and one for the trim (this is almost like eyeliner and is often the most bold color used). And, of course, don’t forget to highlight the front door – which may be a stand-alone fourth color.

Consider the architecture. Everyone’s familiar with San Francisco’s Painted Ladies, and those color palettes are amazing. But, put those same colors on a Craftsman Style home, or a modern architectural design and they’ll probably look completely out of place. If your home’s architecture is more or less period-specific, you are best off working with period-friendly palettes.

This doesn’t mean you are restricted by that period’s colors, but you can work within the same number of field/accent/trim color options and choose modern versions of antiquated hues. This will allow your home’s colors to exist in context.

Work with architectural elements that can’t be changed. Odds are, your home has a feature or two that can’t be changed. Perhaps you have a partial brick or stone facade. Your roof shingles or tiles are a specific color that can’t be altered without re-roofing the house (impractical, to say the very least). Thus, the sub-set of the above “consider the architecture” is to find color palettes that complement the shades inherent in unchangeable structural features.

Are those features’ undertones on the warmer or cooler side? Brown or grey? Blue or green? If colors aren’t your thing, a professional consultation is imperative because choosing the wrong colors will look terrible, and you will be stuck having to re-paint all over again – an expensive and frustrating endeavor.

Take a look around the neighborhood. While matching neighborhood houses are certainly boring, there is something to be said for a cohesively colored neighborhood. If the rest of the homes on your block lean towards brighter, bolder or more creative color palettes and you go earthy and subdued, your home may look a bit out of place. Conversely, if your neighborhood largely consists of neutrally painted stucco homes and you go the Painted Lady route, the effect will be comical rather than stylish. And, of course, there are always the Home Owner’s Association’s CC&Rs to contend with.

Imagine your year-round landscape. One fun option is to add an accent color tailored to your home’s landscape design details in a particular season or two. Think about the color palette that exists as your landscape comes to life in different seasons. If there is a tree that changes to a particular shade of crimson in late-summer and fall or a spray of gorgeous blooms that erupts across your landscape in spring or early-summer – these notes may be able to exist in your home’s exterior palette for a dramatic echo.

Having a hard time choosing your home’s paint colors?

Get Creative With Your Staircase

May 13, 2018

Where does your staircase fit into your interior design plans? Have you thought about it at all? Sometimes, the stairs are like a dead zone in the house. Sure, you may have created a gallery wall of some kind to break up the monotony of an interior wall, but it’s amazing what a little bit of attention can do for a staircase the blends into the background.

Consider One Of These Ideas to Make Your Staircase More Interesting

Maybe it’s time to spruce your staircase up a bit, in which case I have 5 ideas for you to consider:

Bust out some walls. Often interior staircases are enclosed by interior walls. The goal was to sort of insulate the staircase and “mask off” what is considered a utilitarian space. In today’s open floor plan designs, this can backfire, putting up a big block in a space where openness is the key. Contact an architect or contractor and talk about the potential. You may find you can remove an entire wall, or a section of the wall, which will open things up and expose the staircase to the rest of the home. Then, you can work with an interior designer to figure out what style of staircase or railings will work to your home’s best advantage.
Change the stair railing. Your staircases railing was (hopefully) originally selected to suit the interior design. If you weren’t the original homeowners, or if you haven’t updated your interior design in a while, there’s a good chance the stair rails aren’t contributing anything anymore. Or, they may even be detracting from your design style. In either case, redesigning your interior should include an analysis of whether your current stair railing works aesthetically. For example, take a look at this Suburban Entryway I redesigned a couple of years ago. Those sleek black railings are a far cry from the wooden, traditional versions they might have been.
Decorate the risers. This isn’t done very often, and I wonder why? Decorated risers make as much or as little of a visual statement as you want – but they’re guaranteed to add visual interest. In this Portland, Oregon home, the risers are such a beautiful statement with the simple addition of wallpaper. You can paint wallpapered risers with a durable clear, sealant to protect them from scuffs and dings. On the opposite side of the impact spectrum are these ornate, risers with beautiful wood inlay –each one unique. This is a literal example of pattern layering at its best. The good news is that while you are welcome to paint your own risers or commission an artist, tile layer or woodworker to do it for you, Etsy has a wide range of pre-made riser decals that make it easy and more affordable to efficiently do the job yourself.
Just add a rug. Do you have a beautifully finished wood staircase? While wood is gorgeous, a large expanse of it can wind up being a visual blank spot in a design. Look into beautiful, high quality runners – the area rugs for stairs – and choose one that works with your home décor. In addition to sprucing up your staircase, the rug can add a little color or pattern and will also help to save the wear-and-tear on your finished wooden stairs. The rug can also add a softer texture to interior designs with an abundance of hard, cold or sleek surfaces.
Supersize an artwork. If your staircase has a landing, odds are there is a large expanse of wall that runs up the side and/or faces the downstairs area at the top of the first landing. These walls are the ideal spot to install a large, oversized work of art. It sure beats trying to keep all those frames on your gallery wall straight…

Open Shelving In The Kitchen

May 12, 2018

There are so many reasons why it makes sense to include open shelving in your kitchen. The good news is that they work well in large and small kitchens, as well as both modern and traditional designs. The bad news is that careless attention to design will see you with plenty of open shelving, a clutter or mismatch of stuff stored on it, and way too much cleaning and dusting on your hands.

No-Fail Methods for Adding Open Shelving to Your Kitchen Design

Before we go into the best methods for integrating open shelving into your kitchen, it’s important for you to decide why you want them in the first place.

You like the way they look. Open shelving adds an ‘open’ feel to the kitchen, and they look great when adorned with the right shelf inhabitants. Are you planning to fill them with the right items? Do you have a sense of what will look organized and what would wind up looking cluttered? Make sure you’re clear on exactly what the shelves will contain so you can choose shelving materials appropriately.
Your kitchen is small. Open shelving is a smart move in small kitchens because you reclaim the visual space that is typically lost by a standard 12-inch deep cabinet box. If this is the case for you, be thoughtful about where you place the cabinets to maximize that sense of spaciousness. For example, a row of shelves above your sink wall or in blind corners will help to keep things more open.
You don’t like cabinet walls. We live in an era of fully-integrated cabinetry, where you often can’t tell the difference between a refrigerator door and a cabinet panel. At the same time, this can make for a fairly boring, wall-to-wall cabinet look – and that has its own inherent downfalls. Many of my clients like to use open shelving to break up the monotony. If this is the case for you, place them in locations where you feel a visual break is needed.

There are a few examples of why open shelving may be on your kitchen remodeling wish list. Now, let’s look at the ways you can ensure they don’t add unexpected chores to your already full schedule.

Balance materials with cleaning realities. Cabinet boxes with doors protect your dishware from dust. You’ll never know how much dust and grime is moving through your kitchen atmosphere until you add open shelving…unless you’re smart about it. If you are okay with a more contemporary look, consider using stainless steel shelving with wire rack-style shelves if you plan to add more than a few open shelves to the mix. This will make your life much simpler.

If you have a traditional or farmhouse-style kitchen, you might want to consider decorative cabinet boxes sans doors rather than fully open shelves. That way, you get the openness and exposure you’re looking for (and you can choose complimentary or contrasting paint colors for the box interiors) but the dishes and shelves are slightly more dust-proof.

Plan the contents and location accordingly. Keep in mind that any open shelves near a hood will be prone to grease and moisture – as well as splatter and debris. This may alter whether you choose that for an open shelving location or what you choose to store there. The best items to store in open shelves are cookbooks, dishes you use on a regular basis, or dishes and dishware collectibles that you’re intentionally putting on display. When you stray too far from these items, you can wind up with shelves that look cluttered or that need to be cleaned way more often than you’re in the mood for.

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.

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.