interior

Don’t neglect the idea of wallpaper when you’re looking for a way to add color, pattern or visual interest to a living space. Unlike paint, which is typically applied in a single color – or requires significantly accurate measuring and taping to create a perfect pattern – wallpaper is available in a seemingly infinite array of colors, patterns, styles – and even textures.

Tips for Choosing Just-Right Wallpaper For Your Space

Here are tips for selecting the right paper for your walls.

1. Identify your goal. What is your goal for the space? There are so many stunning prints out there these days, that it’s easy to get swept away by all the possibilities when you’re standing amidst the selections. Instead, identify your main goals so you can focus on the right possibilities when you get there. Are you trying to add texture? Depth? Reflective value? Want to set a tone or tell a story? Would you like to add some wow factor? Bring these goals with you as you shop for wallpaper and cull through the samples.
2. Did we say paper? Yes, it’s called wallpaper, but we should really use the term wall covering because there are so many different materials out there. Today’s wall coverings are made from a range of materials, like Japanese silk, sisal, cork or grass cloth. They are printed to look like a mural or the finest artistic renderings. You can select wall coverings that are perfectly illustrated and textured to mimic natural stone or wood. Make sure you’ve looked at, felt and imagined all of the above before making your choice.
3. Sample, sample, sample. Just like carpet, cabinet doors or tiles, you can get wallpaper samples to try out in your home. I highly recommend you do so, putting the samples in place and living with them for a while so you can see how they feel, whether you love them consistently, and how they are affected by changes in light or by the view from other rooms. That brings us to the next tip…
4. Imagine it from other surroundings. Do you have an open floor plan or is a section of your prospective wall-papered space visible from another room or area? If so, consider all of the surroundings. You may find that the wallpaper you’re planning as an accent wall in your dining or living room doesn’t look so hot when viewed from an adjacent room with a different color or pattern scheme. It might clash, appear over-busy or be visually jarring.
5. Don’t limit yourself. If you love a busy pattern or a bold color but feel it will be overwhelming, consider creative alternatives. For example, it might make more sense to use the wallpaper on only one wall, as a half wall, or in panels with beautiful wood trim around them. That way you get to have the pattern or color you want, while retaining the ability to tone the effect down a bit using the blank space(s) around it.
6. Go professional all the way. One of the reasons wallpaper can feel so daunting is that it isn’t as easy to “do-over” when compared to paint. Yes, you can do it on your own, and if you’ve successfully applied wallpaper in the past, then go for it. I, on the other hand, feel that it’s worth every penny to work with a professional wallpaper installer. First, the installer will know exactly how much paper you’ll need, saving you from wasting money on paper you won’t use, or being just a few inches shy of completing the job. Also, the finished job will be done right – patterns properly aligned, no gaps, wrinkles or crooked spots, and the paper will stay put as it’s meant to.

Kitchen cabinets comprise the largest area of visual square footage in your kitchen. The right design style and color choices have a huge impact on your completed kitchen design. The wrong choice – well, it’s enough to make you wish you could start the design process all over again.

Tips for Choosing the Right Kitchen Cabinet Finish the First Time Around

Here are tips for selecting a cabinet finish that you’ll be happy with for longer than typical design trends hang around.

Think about your future kitchen

A handful of years back, kitchen design magazines and websites, like Houzz.com, were all about “pops” of color. Vibrant colors were very trendy then, so we saw lots of green and tangerine – even on kitchen cabinets. Beware attaching color trends to cabinets. The minute the trend has evaporated, you’re stuck with dozens of square feet of outdated cabinets that cost a chunk of change to repaint, reface or replace.

Instead, think about installing more timeless door styles and neutral colors that will weather changes in the trends a bit better. Save more transient kitchen accents to get those “pops” when you want them.

Choose a color that complements your open floor plan

If you have a galley kitchen, this is less relevant. However, most homeowners have some version of an open floor plan these days. In that case, it’s important to choose a cabinet door finish that works with other, visible living spaces. A prime example is this Suburban Oasis in San Francisco. See how the cabinetry is white, forming a nice but subtle contrast between the living and kitchen area? Smartly, the owners selected a gray finish for the kitchen island base, which echoes the effect of the gray walls in the family room- check and check!

Look around and see what colors or wood finishes make the most sense for uniting or complimenting visually adjacent living spaces. For example, if you have a built-in entertainment center or library in one room, it might make sense to have a block of kitchen cabinets in a similar finish to tie it together. Take a peek into this Palo Alto Family Home to see what I mean. Notice how the natural wood finish on the kitchen island plays homage to the wood accents in the living room.

On the flip side, if your living room or family room accents are more colorful, you may simply choose to go with white or very pale, neutral cabinet colors so the kitchen cabinets blend in, rather than stand out.

Work with existing countertop colors

Which comes first? The cabinet or the countertops? Good question. The answer is whichever one is most important to you. Where countertops were once primarily functional, they now serve as showpieces too. If you have your heart set on a particular countertop surface, I recommend choosing the countertops first.

From there, if the countertop is natural stone – or a surface such as quartz or Corian that mimics natural stone – we can begin to look at the accent colors inherent in the countertop and pull potential cabinet colors from there. Then, you can choose to design a backsplash that provides contrast or one that forms a harmonious transition between both surfaces, depending on the effect you want.

Remember you can choose more than one

Perhaps the biggest mistake homeowners make is settling on one cabinet color when they’re stuck between two, or waffling between the idea of subtle or more dramatic effects. Your kitchen can always boast more than one cabinet finish – as long as it does it well. And, I’ll be honest, the idea that “you can have both!” has helped save more partnerships than I care to count!

The most common way to go about multiple cabinet colors in the same space is to choose a separate color for upper and lower cabinets or to choose a color for one and a wood finish for the other. You can choose one color for one side of a kitchen and another color for the opposite side. For those of you who understand the reason behind avoiding bold colors – but who are dying to add that “pop” – I recommend using your bold color for the kitchen island cabinets. It will look great while you love it and is cheaper to paint when you’re ready for a change.

Not sure what the best move is for your kitchen cabinets? Enlist the help of an experienced interior designer. While working with an interior designer for the duration of the project will help it move more smoothly, a single consultation or two can be integral to making the right choices when it comes to the biggest budget – and most important – selections.

The success of your interior design is based largely on your ability to choose materials, finishes and textiles that satisfy both short and long-term design goals. If you do that, you’ll enjoy the updated home design year after year, and decade after decade.

Making the wrong material selection for a particular application can be a costly mistake. This is why I spend so much time making sure my clients’ kitchen and bathroom countertop choices are absolute – and not just a favorite flavor of the moment. Yes, countertops can be replaced – but it is both labor and budget intensive, and it’s not the most eco-friendly choice.

Which Countertop Selection(s) Make the Most Sense For Your Remodel?

Here is a quick rundown through some of the most common and popular countertop choices, as well as my two-cents about where they work best – and where you may not want them at all.

Quartz

You’ll read all over the place that, “quartz is the new granite…” and it is. In my opinion, quartz is the new and improved granite. Quartz countertops straddle the line between the natural and the fabricated. Using quartz (one of the planet’s most prolific minerals), pre- and post-consumer recycled products that are all held together with resin and polymers.

The result is a non-porous, extremely durable countertop surface that is virtually impervious to scratching, staining, cracking, dents or divots. You can find quartz that mimics natural stone, as well as those that come in funky or crazy colors and patterns.

It is more expensive than the average quartz slab but not as expensive as the highest-tier granite and marble options. It works well in both kitchens and bathrooms. Because it’s non-porous, it is considered ultra-hygienic and there is no sealing required. Quartz is easy to clean and maintain.

Granite

While I appreciate the beauty inherent in a natural stone slab – quarry practices are not always honorable, which makes it a tougher sell in these eco-conscious times. Also, I’ve seen clients purchase amazing slabs – with amazing price tags – only to have an invisible internal fissure manifest into a full-blown crack during installation.

That being said, granite is still a durable and high-end finish, and it works well in just about every application – from kitchens and bathrooms to walls and floors. It’s one of the most expensive countertop options, but pricing varies according to availability and pattern rarity – so the final price depends more on your taste than anything else. Because it’s porous, granite counters should be sealed annually to ensure the pores don’t absorb moisture or acids – which lead to staining, etching, mold growth and/or the expansion of the stone’s natural fissures.

Wood

Wood countertops are becoming increasingly popular – especially in modern kitchen designs, where wood adds a warm texture. While butcher block countertop surfaces have long been popular on islands or on a section of perimeter countertop, I’m installing more and more solid wood countertops in my clients’ homes.

If you’re interested in going the wood route, know right up front that they are more labor intensive. They need to be sealed on a regular basis because wood is very porous and it soaks everything up like a sponge. Best practices require that you seal a wood countertop with a food-grade wood oil or special butcher block treatment once a day for the first week, once a week for the next month and then about once every month for a few years. After that, you can experiment. Once wood pores have absorbed their fill, you may rarely need to seal them at all.

Your dedicated maintenance result will be a wood countertop that looks gorgeous and lasts – potentially for a lifetime.

Corian

Corian is as durable and maintenance-free as quartz. It is also available in a range of colors and patterns and is heat-resistant to boot. Since Corian sinks are also an option, this is a popular choice for transitional and modern kitchen designs where a streamlined look is desired.

The only downside to Corian is that it rarely resembles natural stone – so if you prefer a more natural stone look – quartz is a better non-porous option. Many of my clients enjoy the best of both worlds by selecting a Corian countertop and then using natural stone options for the backsplash.

It is priced in the higher tiers, but since it will last a lifetime, you can consider it a one-time-only expense.

Laminate

It may shock you, but laminate countertops are back – and with a vengeance. I’m a huge fan, especially for those on a smaller kitchen budget. The digital advancements of the modern era mean homeowners have access to laminate colors and patterns that seriously rival other natural and manufactured options –even patterns resembling real wood (you have to feel it, to believe it’s not real!). They are incredibly durable and – like quartz or Corian – they require no sealing.

Even high-end clients are using top-tier laminate countertop options because of the smooth and sleek finish laminate surfaces provide.

The good and bad news is that there are plenty of countertop surfaces out there – these just barely scratch the – well – surface. Work with an experienced kitchen designer to select a kitchen countertop material and finish that makes the most sense for your home design, taste and lifestyle.