Thinking Vertically – Making the Most of the Space You Have

When you want to make a space look bigger, you have to get lighter as you go up. A dark ceiling can make a space feel closed in, so naturally doing to opposite and making a space lighter towards the top will give the space expanse. A light-colored ceiling reflects light and allows for openness. So now that you have an expanded space, what can you do to fill it and bring it to it’s full storage and display potential?

Thinking vertically is a way to use limited floor space and gain storage at the same time. We create floor plans most of the time in interior. Traditionally a floor plan is the equivalent of slicing a space at the four foot elevation and marking everything below that line. For this blog I want to focus on the space above that 4 foot line.

A really trendy and creative way to think vertically is the use of ladders. Either a super sheik metal ladder or perhaps an antique ladder matches your style; both will serve the purpose of thinking vertically. There are even some nice bookcases that look like ladders that are a great alternative to assist in the vertical movement.

Memo boards are another good way to use your wall space. Memo boards are a dressed up way to display notes, cards or other “to dos.” A memo board is just a little more dressed up. Plus, with this type of display, you can make one very easily yourself – select your favorite fabric and ribbon, add a staple gun and a spare piece of board and you are golden! But don’t forget buttons and batting to wrap it up!

Finally, shelving overhead is a great way to think vertically. When talking about that space over 4 feet – why not go all the way up to 6 or 7 feet on the way? This type of installation might give you a heavy feeling from above, but it all depends on what you are planning on putting on the shelving. If you choose heavy books, the shelves will be visually heavier along with having a heavier load.

So whatever method of thinking vertically you pick, just be sure to get the most out of your wall surface area!

How do you use your walls to think vertically?

Breaking the Rules…Modern Mix

The challenges that a lot of my clients experience today is finding a style that they like. Whether it is a modern Le Corbusier chair or a hand carved Queen Anne table, you may like both items and find yourself puzzled with how to make them work in the same environment. We live in a world of “change.” With modern day technology we see constant changes taking place all around us, which sometimes makes us want that to take place in our homes as well. For every time you’ve walked into your home and thought to yourself that a particular room needs something new or different there is a simple way to finally take action and start taking steps toward making that change. Whether you want to furnish that part of the house with classic furniture or modern furniture, with a few simple steps you can have the look you want and surprisingly they can both co-exist! The key is to decide what the room needs and what you want.

Let’s say, for example, you want to redo your master bedroom. The most common elements that you are dealing with are the paint, the furniture and the general design of the room itself. So maybe its as simple as finding an old vintage trunk at the foot of your sleek modern bed. How will these choices affect the rest of the room?

Well, to add balance and make it look deliberate, I would suggest pairing either of the two styles with perhaps a third piece like a modern Ghost chair in front of your grandmother’s vanity table in a corner. When it comes to lighting, perhaps the bedside lamps are mismatched, one being a sleek chrome modern style, paired with a vintage Victorian mirrored table lamp. Check out AllModern.com for some great ideas on modern furniture.

There is a big difference between redecorating the entire room and replacing a single piece and generally there are no rules when it comes to selecting the style of a piece of furniture, just so long as you can determine BALANCE. A few smaller items can really help define the room and make it your own.

Classic versus Modern Classic furniture has an appeal that is easy to understand. For instance, an antique curved end console has an intrinsic appeal that you find immediately attractive. And you think that there is no possible way you could place that behind your Florence Knoll sofa. Truth be told – you can! Break the rules, but follow through accordingly. Make sure that you add a vintage painting above the fireplace with an ornate frame to balance the console. Maybe find a modern Womb chair and a pair of traditional rolled arm club chairs. Go ahead and find a traditional vintage rug. A crystal chandelier could be accompanied with a modern tolomeo reading lamp. A sleek glass top coffee table and the room has achieved a modern mix! And I bet it will make you feel right at home. Please share your thoughts and feelings about the modern mix design…do you think you can do it?

You Want the Cornice How Big??

Hate the look of curtain rods? My solution has been to put a cornice over them. The cornice can be more architectural or a fabric covered box. When you use a panel of fabric that hangs over the rods, it is called a valance. I prefer a padded cornice that has simple lines with plain fabric. As our home is an eclectic blend of antiques, comfy (which defies description) and modern, my first foray into cornices was going to be simple.

We have 22’ window on the south side of our home. I did not want drapes. I just wanted a detail element on that wall that hid my honeycomb shades. Ever talk to someone about building a 22’ long cornice? They sort of snicker at you, if not outright laugh. I priced a custom-made cornice, hold on…$3.00 to $7.50 per inch. Yep, per inch (22 x 12 = 264 inches x $5.00 = $1,350.00).

So, how hard could it be? Once again my husband and I set about to figure out how to build a cornice. We drew out the length and then determined how far it needed to project from the wall and how we wanted the face to look.

We made our cornice out of pine planks to give it the stability we needed. Once the pieces were cut, we screwed the returns to the face and for added measure added metal L brackets on the inside. We also used these to connect the recessed top to the face and sides.

The fabric we chose matched our wall cover and we laid it face-side down on the floor. We then put our padding on top and set the face of our cornice on that. We now had a sandwich!

I don’t like to cut the fabric until everything is stapled on, so I set the top near the edge of the fabric, leaving about 2-3”. I began in the center top and stapled. I then pulled the fabric towards the edges and stapled every 2”. I only moved 6” in one direction and then moved from the center in the other direction. This keeps the fabric taunt on the cornice for a smooth finish.

If your fabric has a pattern, you will want to roll the cornice up and check to make sure the pattern does not become skewed. Once the top was completed, I repeated the process for the lower edge, making sure that it stayed tight.

Once the top and bottom are done, I then pulled the sides and staple them. It’s just like wrapping a present – you want the paper to be tight against the sides of your gift, so you should have a nice snug fit. I then used a box cutter with a sharp blade and cut the fabric, leaving about 2” beyond the staples.

We placed metal L brackets across the recessed top and sides and then we invited a couple of friends over so we could get this bad boy placed on the wall. We drew a line where the horizontal board would go with a level and up it went. A few screws later and it was attached to the wall.

Have you ever built a cornice? What type did you build, fabric or wood? Do you prefer cornices, curtain rods or something else?

Creating an Organic Feeling Environment

Organic, Natural, Environmentally friendly, these are all the buzz words we are hearing today. But what can you do to bring the organic look into your home? In the ideal world, a large open area with lots of windows would be a great way to bring in the organic look.

Now some of you may have this and some of you may not, so let’s start with the background color. This can make or break the overall feeling in the environment. Make your color scheme consistent with the colors of nature; beige, brown, white, light blues, light greens, stone, and grays. I recommend picking one of these colors for the paint on your walls. Possibly light beige, a color that might remind you of sand. Now, what to do with the rest of the room?

For a dining room, I recommend light colored or painted white woods. The area to pop the other “nature” colors might be on the seat fabrics. Bringing in light greens and blues mixed with white and browns are ideal to make the room pop. Try a beautiful oil painting of a water scene over a buffet or on an open wall. Keep the window treatments light and airy; possibly not use any at all! Soft linen drapes in a white might be a perfect solution, but do not use this color if it is the same color of your walls because a soft contrast is needed here. Repeat the soft colors used in the room through the dishes, glasses and/or vases. And most importantly, don’t forget the table centerpiece! Some soft greens foliage, a bowl with sea shells or stones, possibly even candles may work perfectly here.

As for the bedroom, I would recommend light colored wood, painted white wood, bamboo, or wheat board for the furniture. The bedding would be the perfect opportunity to bring in the beautiful blues and greens found in nature. Texture can also add to the feeling such as using linen or soft cottons. Wood, bamboo, or tile floors would look great in here with a sisal rug. Wall art should be simple with a skinny frame or even frameless, but don’t forget to make sure there is some color! Keep the lamps light, possibly with a glass base and a white shade without any details. Simple picture frames, greens, or candles would be the perfect finishing touch for the nightstands.

Finally for the living room, always look at the largest piece of furniture you will need. Typically this is the sofa and is a great start to building the atmosphere of your room. A beautiful crisp white sofa will bring a light organic feeling to an environment. Then placing colored pillows in blues, greens, beiges, stone or grays is a great start to bring in the colors of nature. For the coffee, end tables, and entertainment console remember to keep the wood light colored or painted in light colors. Simple accessories that remind you of nature are great for adding to the feeling to the room. How about some large coffee table books with photographs of the ocean, lighthouses, or the outdoors? Simple candles can be placed in a large charger with stones or shells covering the bottom. Bowls are a great place to add natural textured accessory balls. Finally, finish off the room with a beautiful seascape painting, photography of outdoor places, or flower prints.

Enjoy your Organic Feeling Room!

Bring a Little Summer to the Remaining Months of Winter

We are all aware of the changes to the economy in the past few years. So a lot of us have cut back on vacations and this means it is much harder to fight the winter blues. I know that an inside project is a good way to distract yourself from what might be brewing outside. So why not inject a good winter project with a little summer. Here are a few ways to bring a some sunshine to your interior projects:

Winter can feel heavy, so lighten it up! If you currently have heavy drapes, a good place to start are your windows. Get yourself some inexpensive yardage of lightweight fabric. You can even layer some cotton with lightweight chiffon over the top. The key is to use something light in weight and in color. If you do like the layered look, be sure to use colors that are similar but have enough contrast to offer a little depth. For instance, a few tones in sands and light blues is nice.

Spring is also a time for renewal. So by changing a few accessories around your house, it can start to feel renewed and full of life. After a few months of staring out the window and only seeing cold, it is nice to focus on small changes. Sort of like the first signs of spring – slowly the warm days begin to replace the cold and when you leave work at 5 o’clock, it’s not dark outside! So in your space, start by changing out some photos in frames, get a new piece of artwork and maybe change up the arrangement on your mantle.

Change out your linens - meaning the sheets, bedding, towels… nothing beats a great white interior. This can feel fresh, open and clean. Why not open up your space by biting the bullet, switching to your lighter blankets and just layering them up. As the weather warms up you can remove one by one, but in the meantime at least you will feel a little reassured that spring is coming!

Be looking to that first day very soon, to open the windows and let the fresh air in! In the meantime, little changes to your interior can make all the difference… and if that does not work, you can always bust out your spring shoes early and look adoringly into your closet until the snow melts!

Setting the Scene…With One Great Piece!

It is never a good idea to wait to give your room drama. As you build your room with furnishings, it is important to have a sense of bravery! I have walked into many rooms where every nook and cranny is filled with dull, small-scale furnishings and accessories. Instead, a more eye pleasing approach would be to pare down and scale up with a few, but more high impact pieces – items that offer a great scale and unique character in the room. Large armoires, wallscape design with shelves, and picture frame combinations of oversize posters or paintings. For example, a room’s decorated style can become as flexible as changing out a centerpiece, a seasonal rug that you can roll away and store.

Changing the way we live in our environments can have a huge impact on refreshing our lives. Play with the building blocks in your space! When you shop for furniture, NEVER buy a major piece without knowing where you will put it. And don’t forget the following rules.

• Select flexible pieces. Make sure that they can function in different ways and in different spaces. Select classic lines so they will fit into the various moods that a room can have. From a child’s play date to an afternoon coffee with a friend, to a formal company holiday party.
• Create instant focal points by using large scale furniture. Gather seating around an armoire, select a low chest and balance a large mirror over it. Give the feeling of a vintage room by adding old books you found at a rummage sale that look tattered and torn.
• Surprise small spaces by adding a large overstuffed chair in front of a large cupboard and be finished. Sometimes in small spaces we have a tendency to squeeze in a lot of “function” and it makes the room feel cluttered and small. Give it one purpose with fewer items.
• Think BIG. Define a room with impact of large scale one piece items, like a large rug or a huge piece of artwork. (Remember that purchasing artwork can be expensive, but a good print is always better than a bad original!) You can even buy a large canvas from an art store, give it one streak of paint and it will look intentional and modern…I bet your friends will think it cost thousands!

Have fun with your space. Know that you can’t take it with you when you leave this earth. You only live once, and if you end up hating it…it can be replaced!

How have you spiced up your room?

What is Home Staging?

In the past, home staging was done for builders who were getting ready to show their models to the public and wanted the interior to be so perfect that they sold their homes. Most of the time interior decorators would be hired to choose the color scheme for the rooms. They would choose the color for the walls and a complementary color for the trim. They chose the kitchen cabinet wood grain colors and the counter top. They would also choose all of the accessories, window treatments and upholstery pieces to make the model gorgeous.

With the downturn in building these days, many people are beginning to look to home stagers when they are trying to sell their home. Many times you can ask your real estate agent for the name of a home stager. Your favorite shade of lavender may work for you, but people coming into your home may not be able to see past the lavender and in turn, may not make an offer on your home. Or the furniture arrangement may not make the home look roomy so again, you loose a potential buyer.

The home stagger looks at your home and then works to show off the highlights or special aspects of your home while downplaying it’s flaws. Staging usually has a tight budget because none of us want to spend a fortune on a home we are leaving, but it must be done immediately.

We have all seen the DIY shows when a home stager comes in and has all the comments from the potential buyers before they work on the home. After they finish their “repairs”, the stagers have the potential buyers come back in and they can’t believe it’s the same place. Many times the real estate agent says that the home asking price has actually increased because of the staging.

Unlike when we choose to decorate, which is something we want to do, home staging is, at many times, absolutely necessary if we want to sell our home for our asking price. Have you ever had your home staged? Do you know an interior decorator that does home staging? What kind of tips have they given you?

Making a Room Plan Over Time

It is very clear to me as a designer (independent at that) we are experiencing a time that has changed the format of how to work with clients. I have come to know and realize that the importance of branding, status and luxury are things that are less desirable than they were even a year or two ago. Modesty has become its own trend. I see it in all aspects of my life. From sharing grocery tips and recipes to stretch the ways to make a chicken to online shopping discounts and restaurant deals in town. I, too, have learned how to express, stretch and recreate the design wheel with my clients.

When I initially meet with someone, we discuss their needs, wants and desires for a room. Often times the challenge is where to begin. Gone are the days of the “fairy designer” coming in and completely transforming based on a budget and ” poof” a new room!

Let’s face it; we are in a stage of serious PLANNING. And that is exactly how I handle projects. I plan a meeting, take measurements, we discuss the most needed change for the room and that is our starting point. Next, I produce AutoCAD drawings of various room layouts that encompass specifications that I feel will eventually work well in the room. I then take the final room plan and literally dissect it over a period of three to four different stages of purchasing time. This may take a few months or perhaps over the course of a year or longer.

When creating a finished room plan, we have unveiled the room design and now we can eat it like an elephant…one bite at a time! My client and I can see and discuss the finished product on paper and devise a whole new plan- a budgetary timeline for completion.

She or he may decide that the glare coming in the windows is the first thing to address, so we take the fabric specified for the window treatments (which will eventually match the fabric selected for the sofa) and have the seamstress begin. A few months later, the sofa that we planned is now affordable and it is just a phone call away to place that order. 8 -10 weeks later when the sofa arrives, we can plan for the case good pieces in the room like a coffee table and/or end tables. Gee, I may stop by with some throw pillows that I found at a discount store that work perfectly on the chairs. Now I have extended the life of the existing chairs, putting the need to replace them on the back burner, and move along to lighting.

You get the idea….when designing this way, there is a sense of ease and satisfaction. There is an end result in the foreseeable future – the room has a plan and it can be transformed as one’s budget will allow. Designing a room this way allows for a stress free and content client. Might I add that they love it when I have stopped into a Home Goods or a T.J. Max to find the perfect throw or mirror that cost half of the original plan!

Designing for today’s client doesn’t have to be from one “status” of high end custom furnishings. I have no problem finding a $300 coffee table and placing it in front of a $6,000 sofa. In the end, the room will look beautiful if coordinated properly, and it’s just such a good feeling to find a bargain!

What kind of bargains have you found that work perfectly in your home?  Where do you find them?

Get Rid of the Clutter!

Do you want a designer friendly looking house? Then start by getting rid of the clutter! Clutter is the fastest way to ruin the look of a space. I’m talking papers, books, too many throws and pillows, envelopes, large quantities of candles, etc. Life gets very busy and clutter is a result of this. I understand completely that it happens, but let’s get creative about clearing out the clutter.

The most common idea people have to get rid of clutter is a junk drawer. Well, this works great…until we find ourselves rummaging through trying to find something and it is nowhere to be found. Then we start taking everything out and the next thing you know, there are piles on the table. Let’s limit what goes in the junk drawer and that will solve some of these issues.

Next, try a small chest or cabinet to incorporate into your room, entrance or hallway. There are many fashionable chests available. These are the perfect places to store extra blankets, photos, CDs or DVDs, table clothes, napkins, etc. You name it and the sky is the limit! We all have these items that we don’t want to get rid of but need a place to shove them. Plus, this is a perfect opportunity for a lamp to help light up the room!

How about bookcases? Not only is this the perfect spot to store many books, but it’s also a great opportunity to display accessories that you can not part with. Getting items up off the floor and tables really opens up the space. Accessories should be kept to a limit on cocktail and end tables to eliminate the clutter. I recommend utilizing these extra pieces on a bookcase and don’t forget to accessorize the top! Typically it is best to work in odd numbers with accessories. Standard would be three accessories on the cocktail table while one to three accessories on the end table. Otherwise, the tabletop can start to look cluttered. The same odd numbers can be repeated on the bookcase.

Storage ottomans are also a great idea! These are perfect places to hide blankets or pillows. Possibly even the television remote or game controller. Plus, it allows for a comfortable place for people to prop their feet up or allows for an extra seat at a crowded party.

Have your own unique storage solution? Share it with us so we can all have a designer-friendly pad!

My Favorite Color Combinations

Split complementary color schemes are my favorite color combinations. These color combinations allow for some punch of color with the complementary part, but also have the softer blend of colors that are closer together on the color wheel.

Though I love color, the Victorian age, with a jumble of colors and patterns and every inch covered with items, is too much for me. I like to have the more harmonious colors of nature for the majority of the room combined with accent colors.

I was once told to consider 60-70% of the room to be the main color, but if hunter green is chosen, then you may find that in a large room this would mean the carpeting or the tile surround on the fireplace. Then consider 24-30% to be a lighter green (if you chose a middle tone green, you could then go to darker or lighter, but since I chose hunter green for my example, I am stuck with only being able to go lighter). You would find the lighter green on the upholstered pieces (remember that many of the prints have shades of dark and light greens in them) and hopefully your accent color. Then 5-10% in your accent color, which could be the throw pillows on the upholstered pieces, mats on the pictures hanging on the wall, or even in the lamp shade sitting on the dark green painted end table.

These split complementary color schemes appeal to me as it is a blend of the analogous (three colors next to each other, which brings harmony) and a bright hue on the other side of the color wheel. The greens on the wall and dark wood (which come from black being added to the green) create the harmonious background with the terra cotta red upholstery on the chairs being a great pop in color. The use of plants layer the greens so there is a subtle play of greens within the space.

I find rooms with split complimentary color schemes to be more complex in their look and feel. They are a much more subtle blending of colors and patterns of colors. The “Caribbean Island” look is a split complementary color scheme. It has the great blues of the water and sky and the pinky beige of the sand, or it can have the yellow-greens of the palms or minty greens and lilacs.

Double complementary color schemes take two sets of complementary colors next to each other on the color wheel and use them for the color scheme of a space. Again, I prefer the richer look of these rooms. Pale orange carpeting with darkened red-orange walls make up most of the room, but a blue bed skirt and pale blue-green bed curtains assist in layering the colors in the room to make it much or interesting.

Well, do you have a favorite yet? Are you ready to ditch the beiges and add some color?

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