Posted in coffee table, decor, furniture, interior design, residential, Space saving, tagged coffee table, interior design, space saving, storage on January 16, 2011| Leave a Comment »
Posted in decor, interior design, Paint, residential, Uncategorized, wallpaper, tagged interior design, paint, paintable wallpaper, wallpaper on October 3, 2010| Leave a Comment »
Are you looking for a new application for your walls? Try some paintable wallpaper to liven things up! Most people cringe at the idea of wallpaper but it has actually come a long way since the gold and green stripes in your grandma’s house. Don’t be afraid of it! Take a look at these modern applications that can be applied in a powder room, children’s room or as an accent wall.
Posted in decor, design, interior design, residential, tagged 4th of July, color palette, decor, interior design, red white and blue on June 24, 2010| Leave a Comment »
The 4th of July is right around the corner and this is our inspiration to decorate with a red, white and blue color palette! Although it is a patriotic color palette, the primary colors of red and blue work well together and are pleasing to the eye. The warm red with the cool blue are complimentary colors and the white seems to break things up a little. There are many ways to make this patriotic color palette work without having to place stars and stripes everywhere. However, if stars and stripes is your thing, then let’s not make it tacky, shall we? Here are some rooms that are tastefully decorated in red, white and blue both traditional and contemporary.
Posted in decor, interior design, Lighting, residential, tagged decor, interior design, lighting, residential on May 19, 2010| Leave a Comment »
Lighting is a crucial design element when it comes to accessorizing and decorating your home. “Lighting is not simply to eliminate darkness; it is a creative ingredient in successful design,” said Deborah Kreye, ASID, interior designer with Vogue Interiors. Part of a design plan needs to include how to illuminate a space effectively and not to simply focus on the fixture itself. Make sure that your rooms are correctly illuminated with just the right amount of light. Over-lit or under-lit rooms can become uncomfortable rooms to be in. To know if a room is illuminated correctly take the total number of watts in the room (generally a 4″ can will have a 65 watt lamp) and divide by the square footage of the room. You want to be as close to .8 as possible. Here are some examples of different lighting applications.
Creating A “Path” Of Light
Use wall sconces to create a subtle “path” of light through the home. This can create a directional visual element to lead people in a logical progression.
Lighting Artwork
Highlight artwork in your home with spot lighting or track lighting. Spot lighting can be focused directly on one piece whereas track lighting can illuminate an entire gallery.
Lighting For Architectural Details
Architectual details of a home can be accentuated with lighting. Highlight a recessed cove with concealed cove lighting.
Ambient Lighting
Ambient lighting can be either direct of indirect. Ambient lighting can be a hidden light sources that washes a room with a glow. Temporary ambient effects can be achieved with a dimmer.
Posted in decor, design, interior design, residential, tagged color, gray, interior design, paint, residential on May 6, 2010| 4 Comments »
Gray is the ultimate neutral. It looks good with just about any color and ranges from cool to warm. Gray can provide the perfect anchor color and can also be used to offset moldings, flooring and ceiling in a room. Because gray looks good with just about any accent color you can’t really go wrong! Check out gray with these hot new color trends for 2010!
Gray and Yellow
Add a little cheerfulness to your gray with a beautiful yellow! If you have gray floors, gray walls or gray bathroom tiles work with what you’ve got to incoorporate color.
Gray and Turquoise
Turquoise is a hot color this season and will surely make any room pop with color! Blue evokes a calming emotion and between that and gray this color combo will keep you at ease.
Gray and Orange
Orange is becoming more and more popular these days despite how much your mom may hate it! If you use it sparingly you might not hate it 20 years later as much as your mom does.
Gray and Pink
So, pink might be a little touchy especially for the guys or if you live with a guy! Chances are, that you might not get your husband to agree with pink in a common area, but you might be able to swing it in a children’s room or guest bedroom. However, if you live alone this could be the perfect color palette just for you!
Posted in accessories, decor, furniture, interior design, Lighting, tagged accessories, furniture, interior design, lighting on April 28, 2010| Leave a Comment »
Looking for something for your home that is new, different, whimsical, fun and practical all at the same time? Today I’d like to feature some wonderful designers that you might now know about.
Kenneth Wingard
Kenneth Wingard offers a clean, contemporary collection of home accent pieces at reasonable pricing. While his pieces might work best in a modern style of home it can also add a bit of contemporary feel to a traditional style of home.
Jonathan Adler
Jonathan Adler carries a full line of home accessories, furniture and even a line for kids. The company describes itself as “a design company dedicated to bringing style, craft, joy, and a general feeling of grooviness to your home”. And that it does! Many of his pieces are a bit “tongue in cheek” or might even make you laugh out loud!
Lights Up
Lights Up is a lighting company out of Brooklyn, NY that carries pendants, floor lamps and sconces featuring custom printed shades.
Posted in affordable, decor, design, interior design, residential on April 14, 2010| 1 Comment »
In today’s economy everybody wants to save a little money when it comes to decorating, remodeling or redesigning their home. Here are ten ways to get the best bang for your buck without spending a fortune.
Paint– Adding or changing paint in a room can make the biggest impact. Paint an entire room or an accent wall. Depending on the brand of paint you choose, one gallon can cost anywhere from $12-$30 and can change the entire dynamic of a room.
Area rugs– Area rugs can make a very monotone floor lively again. Area rugs are available in all different price ranges depending on the quality and fiber content of the rug. Choose an area rug that is large enough to cover three-quarters of the floor and look for colors in the rug that incorporate colors from your room.
Accessorize with color– Add a pop of color with accessories such as a throw blanket, artwork, a vase or throw pillows. Consider introducing a new color in the room with the use of accessories.
Throw pillows– Add or change throw pillows on your sofa. Fresh up to date throw pillows can make an outdated room or sofa look modern again. Throw pillows can be purchased very inexpensively at many different stores.
Wall decals– Wall decals are all the rage these days and can make a boring wall interesting. With many different designs available and the easy peel and stick application, wall decals are an easy and inexpensive decorating solution.
Window treatments– Add or replace window treatments. Add a window treatment to a room can make a room appear finished. Premade window treatments can be purchased inexpensively or can be made relatively easily.
Artwork– Liven up you bare walls with artwork. Make your own artwork or purchase inexpensive artwork at discounted stores. Use one large piece or a collage of pieces.
Slipcovers– If your sofa is outdated and you do not want to buy a new one, slipcover your couch. Choose a slipcover that is different from your couch and one that is form fitting and not baggy.
Lighting– Lighting is a very important interior design element and can change the entire dynamic of a room. Consider adding a lamp or pendant light over a sofa or chair.
Indoor plants– Indoor plants can make a room appear softer. Place small plants on a pedestal and large potted plants on the floor. Use a nice decorative pot. They will look fabulous in the room once they begin to grow!
Posted in accessories, decor, furniture, interior design, residential on April 1, 2010| Leave a Comment »
Does your house need a little spicing up? Who says that you need boring walls, boring furniture even a boring corkscrew! Give people something to talk about when they come to your house to visit!
KOAP Home (short for cooperative) in Kirkland, mixes mid-century, contemporary, eclectic, funky and vintage. And what do you get when you enter a store like this? The most fun shopping experience you have ever had! KOAP Home is right in the heart of downtown Kirkland and features recognized designers like Alessi, Jonathan Adler, Kenneth Wingard and City Collection, just to name a few. Walking through the store you will be oooing, ahhing and maybe even laughing at each piece that is whimsical yet excellent quality at the same time. At KOAP you are not going to find the same rug from Pottery Barn or bowl from Crate and Barrel that everyone else has. The owner of KOAP does an outstanding job carrying items from new, local and hard to find designers.
If your walls could talk, are they trying to tell you that they are bored? If so, go to KOAP!