It is that time of year when we start talking about resolutions and all the things we would like to do in the upcoming year. This also happens to be a great time to think about updates for your home. This can be a great time to bring color into your home, or to finally create a functional system to eliminate clutter, or to really make that family room truly comfortable for all.
If you are looking to bring color into your home look to complimentary colors for inspiration. These combinations are green and red, yellow and purple, and blue and orange. This does not mean you have to use bright primary colors to use these combinations but using the right hues and values will create a dynamic look. Think about a deep royal purple with a soft pale yellow. Red and green can also be pink or rose with lime just as blue and orange can be a bronzy gold with dark pastel blue. The idea is to use colors in the same hue family. Changing the value of the color can also add drama or calm to the space.
Are you looking to feel organized in the new year? Start it off right. Create systems to get rid of the clutter. One of the biggest complaints is usually paperwork or mail that ends up all over the counters. To eliminate this there are a few tips to design your home for function. Have a space where you walk in that you can hang up bags, coats and put away shoes. In that same place have in boxes for each family member. Make it a policy to immediately sort all mail when you walk through the door. Have each family member check their box everyday and take care of the mail and paperwork in the box. I love cork boards and white boards for notes, schedules, and important papers that cannot be filed away or stuck at the bottom of a pile.
And lastly do you have a family room that is only comfortable for some of your family? Do you have seating for everyone? Are there toys all over the family room? When you have guests are they dragging chairs into the room? If you are dealing with these issues it is time to redesign your family room. To add seating for kids add poufs to the room. They can also be used as ottomans. If toys are everywhere add storage but not too much. I love baskets or storage benches for those toys. Our policy is that if they don’t fit in the basket at the end of the night they have to be put away in the kids rooms. At the new year it is a perfect time to start a new clean up rule. It will make your room feel larger and be less stress to the start of the next day of the toys get picked up (by the kids) at the end of everyday. If you need more seating or storage then these little tips it might me time to call for a consultation. An interior designer can come out and assess your space to create a room plan that will incorporate the right seating and storage for the room to function properly. Sometimes the room will need to be arranged in a completely different direction for the best function. I love to angle a room for the proper flow and that can usually create great spaces for play areas and separate reading areas.
So in the upcoming year go ahead and go for color in your home, get rid of clutter by creating spaces for coats, bags, shoes and mail and make that family room one for everyone to hang out in. It will start your year off right.
As the holiday season continues in full swing this is the time of year that candles tend to come out for decorating. I strongly feel that candles are great to use all year round for decorating in your home. I love to use them on dining tables, on bathroom vanities, floor candles for corners of rooms that need a little something extra, and on cocktail tables. So I thought I would post a few pictures of different ways to use candles in your home for the holidays and all year round.
Winter candles
Floating candles with orchids and river rocks
Asian inspired dining table
Repurposing glass bottles
Holiday Candles
Living room elegantly finished with candles as an accessory
Holiday table fruit mixed with candles
So have fun and remember candles are for all year round and great accessories!
A well designed space includes function and design. As the home chef becomes more of an everyday reality there are a few things that we are finding need to be incorporated into the home kitchen. The number one thing has been a place for fresh herbs. I recently talked about living walls. These are great if you are ready for the big commitment especially if you build it into your cabinetry. There are some smaller ways to start. These smaller ways allow the home chef to dip their toes into the home garden without major changes to their homes. Here are some great ways to start.
Clean and simple white containers that can hang in groupings or by themselves.
A modern contemporary design.
Great hanging boxes for added texture.
A throw back design for the French country kitchen.
A great starter kit
Perfect for counters
So as you are watching your cooking shows realize you too can have fresh herbs that look great in the kitchen.
Thanksgiving is coming up and like all holidays it is about family. One very large part of our family are our kids. As holidays are meant to celebrate together I love to find ways to incorporate the kids in the holiday preparations.
The first way to get the kids involved is to have them make some of the decorations. Remember keep it kid friendly and age appropriate. Here are some different ideas to use and adapt to your family.
Mini pumpkin turkeys
Pinecone turkeys
These can be easily mixed into the earlier fall decorations that we talked about in a previous post. They are fun to do with the kids, gets them excited about the holiday and makes them feel special for contributing.
During the meal the kids and get a bit restless. This makes for a tough experience for the adults especially of there are adults that don’t have kids. So here are some great ideas for table settings for the kids that will also entertain.
Mazes are great for older kids.
Little kids will love to color.
And last but not least have the kids get involved in the desserts. Make something fun and they will add to your decorations for the holiday.
Decorate sugar cookies
Turkey muffins
Have fun for the Thanksgiving holiday and remember what the holiday is really about. Take the above ideas, adapt them for your family and enjoy!
One of the best ways to make a house a home is to properly accessorize it. This sounds simple and it can be but there are a few rules that I feel should always be followed when accessorizing.
First, keep it simple. Accessorizing is not about using every item that you have ever owned all at one time. You don’t ever want the space to feel cluttered. You want to highlight the space not overwhelm it.
Second, work in groups of three. A space needs balance and weight. When you have only one accessory in a space it can feel like it is floating and too small for the space. However when you group accessories together you give them weight and balance.
Third, use combinations of different accessories together to create your grouping. Groupings should be made up of things like vases, candles, paintings, mirrors, and floral arrangements. Make sure each grouping has at least two of the categories represented.
Fourth, use your imagination. Just because a certain painting has always hung over a certain table doesn’t mean there isn’t a better space for it. Paintings and mirrors do not have to hang on walls, they can be set on a ledge or leaned against a wall. Vases do not have to only hold flowers and plant shelves don’t need to only hold plants. Have fun!
Here are some accessory arrangements for you to use and make your own.
Still not sure how to make the rules work for you? Let us come and help. We can bring out a truck load of accessories and artwork and create the space of your dreams.
As it gets colder those fireplaces start to get turned on. There are so many innovative fireplaces that I thought I would post a few pictures of some of my favorite ones.
As you can see the fireplace is no longer just the traditional one sided fireplace with a mantel. So when you are contemplating a fireplace think outside of the box and go for something unique.
One of my new favorite obsessions are living walls. These are some of the coolest ways to design and are eco-friendly. Living walls can be incorporated into kitchen – how fantastic is it to cook with fresh herbs. How much better is it to grow your own and have them at your fingertips. Living walls can also be incorporated into eating spaces and living rooms. It is a great way to bring the outside in and have a feeling of growth and renewal all year round.
Here are some ways that I have seen living walls incorporated that I love.
Living room living wall
Kitchen living wall
Dining living wall
Living walls help to keep the air clean in your home and they are a true conversation piece. So have some fun and add the beauty of nature to your home.
The holidays are fast approaching and that means lots of food, family and friends. Here are some ideas for your holiday table. Whether you are super traditional or laidback casual here are some ideas to make your own for this season.
A coastal inspired holiday table
Casual and contemporary holiday table
Glam holiday table
Traditional holiday table
Modern and eco-friendly holiday table
So have some fun this holiday season. Try not to stress. Take these ideas and make them your own. Remember the holidays are more about good times, family and friends than if your table is perfectly set or if your home is the best on the block. And if you really don’t want to do it yourself call for an appointment and we will get your home ready for the holiday.
We have this ideal of what it is like to build a home. It’s easy right? You walk into a model make a few changes for your style, select a few things write a check and your home is being built. Then a few months to a year later you move into a beautiful brand new home, no headaches, no issues, simple. That’s a great dream now let’s talk reality. First there is selecting the type of home builder you want to work with. Do you want a completely custom builder, a semi custom builder or a track builder. What’s the difference right? Well many things and not just the price.
So here are a few questions you should ask yourself first before deciding what kind of home to build.
Do you want your home to be similar to your neighbors? If yes then a track or semi custom builder is your style.
Do you want to be super involved in the process? A custom builder is more your style.
Do you want unlimited options for the homes features? A custom builder feature.
Do you have specific needs for your home? Such as a special needs child, a home based business, an elderly parent, lots of guests, cultural or religious needs. Most will require a semi custom or custom builder.
Do you want to be in a planned community? Most likely a track or semi custom builder.
How much time do you have to devote to the building process? Not a lot of time then a track or semi custom builder is the way to go, unless you hire an interior designer.
All of these are important questions and depending on those answers you will have a direction as to what type of builder is best for you. So now that you know what type of builder to select let’s talk about designing the home.
Here are a few of the questions I ask my clients when we are working to design their homes.
How many bedrooms do you think you need? Do you have kids? Lots of guests?
Do you need a home office?
Do you cook a lot?
Do you have pets?
Do you want separate TV and living areas?
How do you plan to use certain spaces? Game room? Bar? Outdoor kitchen?
How many bathrooms? Does each bedroom need its own bathroom? Do you want bathtubs in all bathrooms?
These are just some of the questions that we ask to get the basic floor plan determined. This doesn’t include all the questions that go into the design elements of the home. Sound overwhelming? It can be and without the right kind of help it can seem impossible.
But here is the good news you can get the right kind of help and set yourself in the right direction to make the building process much easier. First I always recommend hiring an interior designer. This gives you the peace of mind that you are not making mistakes on the big decisions.
Always check out magazines before starting the building process. Create two folders. One folder of things that you love and one folder of things that you hate.
Start paying attention to how you use your current home. Are your drawers in the best positions in your kitchen? Do you need more storage spaces? Do your kids have places to put their backpacks and shoes? Is there a line every morning to get into the bathroom?
Know your builders standard features. Research the different product lines.
Have a budget for upgrades and changes.
Get a timeline from you builder.
Be prepared for delays.
These tips will make the building process go much faster and smoother and having you enjoying your new home in no time.
Halloween is just around the corner and whether you have kids or you are just a big kid it is a fun holiday to celebrate. There are some great ways to get into the Halloween mood from decorating your outside to little table top items that invoke the spirit. Here are some fun ideas for kids and adults:
Label changes for adult parties
Spider webs from trash bags.
Easy outdoor decorations
A fun way to light a path or backyard
So have fun and make the ideas your own. And remember help for your decorating is always just a call away.
It is that time of year, if you live outside of the state of Florida the air is getting cooler and the leaves are changing. That means the holidays are coming and that means it is a great time to change some of the décor in your home. So I thought that I would post some pictures of fall decorating ideas. The easiest places to change the feeling of your home with the seasons are your front entry and you tablescapes.
Here are some great ideas for your tables:
Apples and Candles
Pomegranate and Candles
Baskets and Pumpkins
Candles and Nuts
Branches, Pumpkins and candles
Use natural elements. They give off great smells and evoke memories of the seasons passed.
Here are some ideas for the entry:
Pumpkins, mums and leaves
Leaves, hay and fall figures
Make sure to use the space available. Create dimension by using different heights and colors. And of course have fun! If you don’t have time to do it yourself give us a call and we will make sure that your home is ready for the holidays, welcoming your guests.
As a designer I am constantly talking about dyelots. They are something that we deal with on a daily basis and most of the time when we mention it to clients they look at us as if we are speaking in another language. So I thought I would discuss what a dyelot is and how it affects the designing of your home.
A dyelot is notated when something is fabricated. This is for just about everything that is made. In the interior design industry this applies to fabrics, tiles, wood, stone, carpets and wallpapers. So what this means is that when a batch of thread or fabric is dyed the group that was dyed together will be notated as a dyelot. For stone or wood it would be the group that was mined or milled together. For carpets it is similar to fabric when the thread/fibers are dyed. And for wallpapers is it for when they are created or printed. So why is this important? Dyelots are important because it is the only way to guarantee product matching. So for instance if I am ordering a fabric for a client and we are looking at a sample in a book it is a very good possibility that the current stock of that fabric is going to be from a completely different dyelot than what is in the book. That means that we need to expect up to a 10% variance from the sample in the book. So how do we handle something like that if there are multiple fabrics going into the same space? What we as interior designers do is contact the manufacturer to get a cutting of the current stock of the fabric so that we can hold a certain dyelot for our client. Once we have all of the samples of the current stock we can finalize orders and get things moving. This is the same process for stone, tile, carpet and wallpaper.
Do you really need to get cuttings ahead of time? I am asked this question on a regular basis. Along with isn’t that just going to slow down the process? Well the answer is yes it can slow down the process as it adds another step. However it also adds an additional protection as if the current stock is very different from the original sample you can select a different product without the wasted expense of unusable product. Also many times when we order product the current stock may be from multiple dyelots. We need to make sure that all of the dyelots match each other.
So a dyelot is the notation of when something was manufacturer or mined and is the needed information to know when that was and how much was done at the same time. It is also what tells us what the item is going to look like and if it will work with the other items in the space. So the next time you hear someone say we need to check the dyelot you will know that they are looking out for you to make sure that your project is going to come out right.
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