Deconstructing good design

Happy New Year everyone!

Now that the holidays are over, it's the perfect time to 'nest' indoors and work on your interiors!

Good design doesn't just happen- lord knows we all try (reason 476 to hire a professional interior designer).  There really are key elements that need to be present and as often as we preach the principles and elements of design, it's easiest to illustrate in a well-designed room like this living room by The Design Co. 

It is beautifully clean and simple, but follows a plan.

Let's breakdown the key ingredients, the most obvious being the neutral color scheme punctuated with texture, warm tones and a balance of white and black contrast.

1. Mirrors and windows reflect light and enlarge any space.  It gives you a view into different spaces and keeps your walls from closing in.   Notice the mirror in the adjoining room.

2. Greenery is essential.  Live plants bring nature indoors and add life, improve air quality and provide an accent color that is good in any room!  Note the uncluttered shelves and symmetry.

3. Lighting should be present in every quadrant of the room. Not seeing the entire room, I feel more should be added here if it isn't already. Ambient light (overall), task lighting, accent and decorative lights all serve a purpose.

4. Texture added to the room provides variety in surfaces (see the throw on the bench also).  Seating should be inviting and comfortable and vary in type, i.e. chairs, benches, sofas and ottomans.

5. Rugs, layered on hardwood for warmth, texture and shape also provide interest.

6. A neutral color scheme with a hint of gray on the walls is used against white trim so the molding stands out.

7. Custom ceiling crown and other additional trim and molding adds a custom touch.  Note the wide door casement trim and tall base molding.

Details, details, details... 

Essential elements but not overdone.  Perhaps it's time this winter to invest in improving some of the 'bones' of your home, such as custom molding, which will take your room to the next level.

I hope you have a great winter 'nesting' and working on the inside of your home. 

 Best wishes to you all in 2017.

Easy on the eyes

|1|

Subtle, serene, 'happy' pops of color, statement lighting, reflective surfaces...

what's not to love?

E-design client process

We were contacted by a friend of Bethany's who built a custom home years ago. We went to visit her when she moved in, and this home, perched on a hill with mountainous views, huge windows, lots of light and beautiful custom touches, is one I never forgot. It is a home I would move into in a hot minute.

She just wanted some slipcovers for her existing sofas, and a new rug.  We told her about our Room Design Plan, not just focusing on the sofa or rug, but pulling the whole room together, and she signed up.  Here is a before picture of her living room.

The existing multi colored clock on her mantle was her inspiration and our interview with her lead us down a color path of turquoises, blues, rusts, saddle browns.  We came up with these three looks, and honestly Bethany ran with this one in a big way, so I thank her for her vision and hard work.

Along with the plans, we offered her a roadmap on how to execute the look she chose, and it began with:

and adding pops of color:

We presented these boards to her and created the vision in her room with several props that we brought along, like vases, a fiber rug, and turquoise garden stool.  She fell hard for the scheme with the turquoise over-dyed rug mixed with a saddle brown leather sofa, and turquoise accents.  

This is a client that wants to try to pull it together on her own, now that she has the plan. Although we gave her detailed instructions, we will be at-the-ready if she needs help executing any of it.  It was so fun nailing a look she was happy with. It wasn't hard convincing her that reupholstering old furniture wasn't cost effective so we were happy to enlighten her with several better options!

The best design advice we can give is always start with a plan!

New Project

One of our current projects is a master bedroom for a current client whose living room we completed in February.  We call her our #bestclientever since she makes up her mind quickly, gives us artistic license to do what we think looks best and loves whatever we do! Did we mention how much we LOVE our job?

We repurposed an old dresser of hers and turned it into a media center.  You can see the dresser makeover here.  It is her favorite piece in the room!

She is starting from scratch in her master bedroom.  We offered her two looks:

She chose Natural Glam but with the upholstered bed from the 2nd plan.  Can't wait to pull it altogether and make their Master Bedroom their dream room!

Have a great week friends!

Sneak peek

We had a ball installing for our fabulous client Lisa, last Saturday.  It is being photographed soon, so we will just give you a peek at this living room design.  We kept saying how it felt like Christmas; for us for the joy of giving and creating for our client, and for the client to receive this gift of a new room! This business is a constant reaffirmation of doing what we love, and for me, having my two kids doing this with me on the scene--Bethany my partner, Michael our carpenter and installer, and my husband doing some woodwork, makes this job all the richer for me.  It is a dream come true.

You may have seen this dresser makeover , but here it is placed in the room as a media console.  Please excuse the fuzzy iphone photos!

I created a  36 x 36" painting for an accent wall.  It was a surprise for the client, so the subject matter had to be fairly tame and neutral, not knowing what her art tastes were, as we saw no other art in her home! We just needed subtle color to bring the eye around the room. My husband framed it.

These installation days are crazy and the most fun we could ever have.  We are thankful to be able to do what we love, and to do it with family and the best clients!

P. S. Thank you HOUZZ for our Best of 2014 badge! We love HOUZZ and get most of our referrals from this site!!!

reflections

I had the best Christmas I've ever had. I sure hope you did too! I think mine was so magical because, for the first time in my life, I wasn't hung up on presents and caught in the ebb and flow of anxiety, disappointment and over-joy all rolled into one.    And because it wasn't an emotional roller coaster, it just so happened I got the surprise of my life.. diamond studs 2.0 from my stud!  I was so moved by that grand gesture that I am looking at him with a new found wonderment and certainly brimming with love.

The holidays are so refreshing for so many reasons.  One of the things I look most forward to is spending time with my distant and somewhat aloof brother.  At least once a year I can take comfort [and joy] in his quiet and uplifting presence around the house.  I love him fiercely.  I feel protective of him like a mother tiger.  Odd, considering I compartmentalized most of his early years to an area far back in my brain that takes some searching to dig up.  Our six years difference barely feels like anything now.  Now, as I understand the importance of family and of the delicate balance and difference between of siblings.  The exact same makeup gone so differently in each direction.

He doesn't want.  At least not like I do.  He is content with how his life is.  He understands sacrifice.  And he embraces the imperfect when others would feel like digging their hands in their pockets, turning their toes inward and dropping their head down to hide.  He's not like me. He's a bigger thinker.  He's OK that it means that he lives modestly so long as he doesn't have to compromise his ideals.  I hate to think how that will inevitably and uncontrollably change the farther removed from college and the promotion of free-thinking he gets.  I hope he carries his spirit of ingenuity long after he's old and married.  It's people like him who change the world slowly.  And though his impact will most likely only greatly affect those closest to him, it will be one that leaves a very deep and scaring mark.  A nice one, not an ugly one.  Nothing about his nature is ugly.


If I've learned one thing from him this holiday it's 'to thine own self be true.'  I started reflecting on that for all aspects of my life and one of the best ways to do that is through creative expression.  It holds true for just about anything.  If you are doing 'you', there are no imitations and it comes through as authentic because IT IS.  So as I evolve in designing my spaces, they can't be wrong as long as they are 'me.'  Not phony.  Not trendy.  Just things I love.


So with that, I give you my living room 2.0 board.  (Another idea sprung from dear brother is to try to do a few design boards a week to get my ideas to gel and to understand what I like and don't like).  Still looking for that wall color idea.  But first up on the list is to take down the shade, replace with long neutral drapes and to paint my window sills dark navy.  This is a good start and feels a bit more relaxing without the 'white mint' paint on the walls.  

Any ideas on a suitable neutral wall color?


-Bethany