Weekenders
Posted by Michele | Filed under Accessories, Art, Bed and Bath, Flooring, Furniture, Interior Design, Lighting, Weekenders, What's New
Dave is off on a little sabatical so I’m taking over on Weekenders. My mind set this week will be focused on sophistication for miscellaneous interior design products and art. You won’t find these in the 99 Cents stores. They are a few steps above in quality.
Home Portfolio - This is one of the best sites I’ve seen for search engines on interior and exterior design solutions. Nice layout as well.
Boyd Lighting - Following that link above I found this lighting manufacturer. Very sophisticated.
Sharon Courtney - For the pianist or opera singer, this mixed media of photography and art is terrific.
Bodum Drinkware - For the hot summers coming up, chill your heat away with this line of double wall glassware.
Debage - This is not my cup of tea but if you want to be a Queen for the Day, the bedding is right out of the Rococco period. Not great for hot flashes, I presume.
John Prince - Plays croquet and paints! Very talented man!
Gus Modern - For those who love the lean modern furnishings, this is simply that.
Giving Tree - The most luxurious linens around. Wow! I’d love to feel what 1020 count sheets feel like. Just might have to save up my pennies.
Green Feet - Save the earth! Bamboo Disposable plates and utensils. Group your table setting with the tumblers above from Bodium and you’ll have great conversation pieces for your next outdoor party.
Wilshire Garden - Time to replace the mailbox. How about a copper one?
Happy shopping and have a great weekend!
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Design Minimalism and Color
Posted by Michele | Filed under Interior Design
How does one achieve a minimal look for their interior design?
Some have a natural eye for design. Some have a good sense about placing things or taking away you might say. I find people that like minimalism generally had a great eye for placement of furniture as well as selecting accessories to go along with it.
The same is true for color. Some can eyeball the color differences, others try it until they get it and many struggle. Call in a color expert such as myself. Yes, I’m bragging but color is my specialty, if you haven’t figured that out by now.
I’m showing two different styles of minimalism here. The first photo is from a design team, A-Cero Arquitectos from Coruna, Spain. The second is out of the book by Susan Susanka called Not So Big House.
The key to starting the process of minimizing is in the word itself. Starting with nothing is always better. This leaves all the room in the world to create your concept. If you don’t have the natural talent, an architect or designer to analyze your needs to create a plan . This will require some thought beforehand. Create and collect detailed sketches or magazine samples of homes you like. At the same time, you will want to have a good idea about what colors you are thinking about. This will head the designer in the right direction. No subcontractor can read minds and the worst thing you could do is to hand it off to a handyman who thinks he can do everything.
To create that spacious feeling, you can eliminate walls of different rooms to create one large space such as a great room for all the main functions. Think of floor plan areas as cubes. More intimate areas are just smaller cubes. Large windows will add to an open feeling and create more light. Light is probably the biggest factor. The more you can bring in the outside the better. If you have a second floor, the more you can open up the ceiling the better. Create an modern open staircase with planks that cantilever out from one single wall. If you are daring enough to pull this off, you will love the look. You can always have one handrail if you feel the need for safety. Flooring should most likely be a flat surface for that skimmed down look but if you are in a cold climate you might want to have radiant heating in the floors.
Colors are usually light such as whites, off whites or pale shades for the overall look. This allows you large areas to place art with the impact of color. The best minimal rooms typically have a very monotone grouping of shades on walls and furnishings. It creates a calmer look. But if you want more color you can have a blast with darker shades for impact. For instance, I would create a dining room area with intense color. The walls would be perfectly flat and many glazes over that color. I would have contemporary light sconces on either side of a very abstract painting and a pendant chandelier that mirrors the style of the sconces. A glass dining table and contemporary chairs is all you’ll need.
The next thing is the actual interior furnishings and placement. You’ve got to remember the main stay is straight lines with a touch here and there of another dimension. No fluff, no tassles, no droopy drapes. Save yourself some headaches. Read books on minimalism. Create your furniture plan and color palette before you start shopping. Avoid over shopping in one store. It’s a lot easier (and cheaper) to add to a design than take stuff away.
Bachelor Number Two Makeover
Posted by Michele | Filed under Interior Design
To continue our miniseries on interior design for the bachelors, I’ve created a more traditional design theory for Bachelor #2 than for Bachelor #1.
Bachelor #2 is more conservative but I’m going to help educate him on creating a teeny bit of whimsy keeping his spirit in mind, of course. I’m picturing a long entry way with a very dark taupey wall color. When someone walks in the door they will see the surprise of this funky zebra entry rug. It’s funky but not too radical, and it gives the narrow corridor some flavor without clashing with anythign else in the home. From there, we enter the main area of the home and get back to normal for the bachelor’s taste.
For the living area, I’ve decided to keep the dark blacks and deep burgundy accents in the accessories only. I chose two Eugene sofas in this tweedish textile from Room and Board for a traditional look with sleek lines. I also picture this 
Persian rug from Couristan under an antique brass glass coffee table. The sofas will face each other, perpendicular from the fireplace. Above the mantel he will honor his favorite romantic artist of the eighteenth century,Joseph Mallor William Turner. This piece is called Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye.
The choices for both Bachelor #1 and #2 are not that different except for the area rugs and art and just a tad bit of a softer line in the sofa style. So, you can see it’s easy to change your mood or style if you just change a couple of items. You don’t have to be modern or too traditional.
Now I think I’ll have to work out something for all the single ladies out there in order to attract those single bachelors.
hahaha...