|
|
| What Will The Future Bring? A Return to Home Fall brings about the natural instinct to nest. A pot of chili simmering on the stove wraps our senses in a warm hug. We begin to spend more and more time indoors as leaves change from green to reds and yellows until a brisk wind frees them onto weathered piles of brown and orange. It happens every year sometimes sooner, sometimes later. Fall 2008 reminds us that even with the uncertainty of a new political administration or the economic outlook, life still goes on. There is beauty around us as well as things we can appreciate and enjoy. Home is important and is beginning a transformation to a personal embrace that inspires both inhabitants and guests. As people become more mindful of their spending habits the home returns to a haven for living and entertaining. Kids and adults will relish the concept of home where it is their place to be safe, warm and comfortable, a place they want to be. The dining room will finally earn its keep as families return to dining together, rather than being that room used once or twice a year. Entertaining at home will become the preferred choice to dining out. Job shifts will force us to create a serious and efficient home offices rather than the laptop in a cupboard at the corner of the master bedroom. Creating a spa like bathroom will be preferable to attending one. Function takes precedence along with the budget. This fall is blowing through seeds of change that will have a significant impact on how we live in our homes. Budgets are for everyone. Excessive spending on showy interior items is no longer impressive. Home is about reality. The way a family lives and functions is now the primary determining factor for what goes into a home. Wants are overruled by needs, real needs not perceived ones. One may want silk draperies that cost thousands of dollars but there are numerous other cost effective options that fulfill the need of window treatments and look good too. The home furnishing and accessories industry is changing. Ostentatious offerings are being replaced by a renewed interest in how people live rather than fluff or trendy items intended to be thrown away and replaced. Planned obsolescence wasn’t a smart management choice for the auto industry. For good interior designers this is nothing new, we've always preached value and function over the have it now its pretty syndrome. Keeping up with the neighbors will take on a whole new meaning. Being mindful to what you put in your home; flooring, furnishings, finishes and accessories rather than stuffing one's home with buy-it-now filler will be a sign of a beautiful home. More is now seen as waste. Waste becomes reinterpreted as greed which nobody admires. Green is a commendable lifestyle choice not just a color. It is a topic of conversation and pride in stating what you have done lately. People are shifting their focus to the investment value of an item. Whether it is a sofa or a refrigerator, it's no longer about selecting the least expensive option but what will provide the most value for the dollars spent. Energy bills are given real weight in purchasing decisions as people compare past purchases to items which are new and have higher upfront costs. The incandescent light bulbs is an example of this transformation. So as you spend more time in your home this fall and come up with new decorating projects or remodeling ideas, look with new eyes. Go shopping with the intention of achieving a purpose and meeting your family's needs rather than buying it because you want it. Look for options that are good for your environment and lessen the overall environmental impact. Ignore trendy throw away fillers which are cute for a year or two until they become a dated dust catcher. If you embrace this new attitude you can create a home which works for your family, inspires comfort and pride, and will be a welcoming embrace to all those who enter. These two ottomans used to have big puffy skirts and curved tops. We redesigned, reupholstered and repurposed them for use in an active family room where they work for feet and are firm enough to balance a cup of coffee. They look nice outdoors too! |
Trends...What "Is" and What "Was" Do you decorate from the "Is" side or "Was" side?
When it comes to interiors there are things are current and those that are oh so yesterday. This list is fun as well as a light attempt to enlighten those who may have rooms in their home or interior décor items that scream retro-no-no. Things on the "Was" list aren't necessarily wrong today if used appropriately, but items or ideas on the "Is" list are definitely what helps to create a modern (a.k.a. current or up-to-date) look in today's home. Elaborately festooned draperies with swags, tassels and pelmets are appropriate in homes with historic architecture of the same proportions but they look silly in a present day builder home. The point is your interior can be trendy and appropriate. Trends are supposed to be fun and fresh. Even if you have a historic home there are things you can do to breath a little life into your home's interiors and still look appropriate. Warning this list may inspire memories, some good or some bad.
The 2008 Is and Was List.
Is Was
Suzani Kilim
Restraint Ostentation
Simple Fussy
Drama Cutesy
Liveable Over-decorated
Comfortable and real Decorate to impress
Customizing Off-the-floor or buy-it-now
Matte metallics Shiny brass lamps and chandeliers everywhere
Flat-screen TV on low cabinets TV hidden in armoire
Appropriately scaled homes Mc Mansions
Duvets Bedspreads
Customized closets Numerous dressers, dressers with mirrors or armoires
A "Look"
Brunschwig & Fils and Donghia Laura Ashley
Art Deco inspired Country – ducks, geese or mice
Patterns and/or Fabrics
Big paisley Mini prints
Damasks and super-sized damasks Cabbage roses or harlequin
Cut velvet Chenille
Embroidered fabrics Over quilting to enhance fabric pattern (beadspreads)
Windows
Simple window treatments Elaborate festoons and swags in any décor
Monochromatic sheer in unusual textiles White or off-white pleated polyester sheers
Plantation Shutters Vinyl mini-blinds
Natural fiber roman shades Fabric shades
Walls
Gracie and Zuber Wallpaper murals Handpainted landscape murals not of artist quality
Texturizing and Venetian plaster Faux finishes (sponge, rag, brush)
Artistically applied wall treatment Do-it-yourself wall treatments, spatter paint, cutesy stencils
Wallpaper in select areas Wallpaper on every wall surface
Furniture
Mixing styles and finishes A full set or suite in any one room
Cerused wood White washed or color washed wood
Appropriately sized furniture Over-stuffed upholstered furniture with arms bigger than your head.
Asian fretwork Heavy Chunky wood (dark stained pine)
Sideboard or buffet Hutch
Floors
Dark stained walnut Naturally stained oak or pine
Bamboo High gloss pre-finished hardwood veneers
Sisal or sea grass Berber
Area rugs Wall to wall in every room
Color and Combinations
Blue and brown Orange and brown
Lime Avocado
Orange Peach
Turquoise and lime Turquoise and terracotta
Pink and green Rose and soft blue
Violet Mauve
Red with pink or orange Burgundy and hunter green
Ocean or watery blues Teal
Kitchens
White or colored cabinetry Cherry or golden oak cabinetry
Frameless Framed
European hinges Exposed hinges
Recycled material counterops High gloss granite
Bill paying center is in the home office Bill paying center in the kitchen
Color in the kitchen 100% neutral kitchen
Mix of countertop materials One countertop material used everywhere Wasn't that a fun trip through the decor of yesteryear. Remember those cute little ruffled kitchen curtains with ducks running across the bottom? Today that would be hideous. Or how about that really gross brown or beige plaid one would find on every sofa in guys' dorm rooms in college...eeek! The problem is sometimes we are too close to things and we look our own interiors with a blind eye and may not realize that chair we have been moving from house to house over the last 25 years - while still in good condition is desparate for new fabric. Take a look around your home after you study the list, is there something you need to address?
Texture... There is more to it than most people think!
Texture is an interior design element everyone enjoys. We all like how things feel. However we often forget to consider texture as its own interior design component. All interior design elements have some type of texture. When creating a room design it is vital to coordinate all the textures in a room to achieve visual and tactile interest. A well designed room incorporates a careful selection of different textures.
Texture can be visual or tactile or both. It may have dimension or it may have none. It goes way beyond smooth or rough. Texture is not always obvious sometimes it is only implied. This occurs when an object looks one way but feels completely different. Tactile impression is the way an item makes us think it will feel. Can you guess how these feel?
  The two pictures above are foolers, they look like fluffy fur and some type of soft fiber in reality they are flat, smooth wallcovering. Texture is as important on items in a room we would never touch (ceiling, walls, architectural details) as it is on items people would be in consistent contact with (floor, carpet, upholstery).
People tend to get caught up in the way a few items feel and forget the rest. This works in reverse too like when one is overly concerned the scratchy feeling on a wool drapery fabric. You aren't going to snuggle up with it! The scratchy aspect happens to be part of the filament fiber which gives wool its' superb ability to hang beautifully. One aspect of this people are often most familiar with, other than in furniture is paint. Do you want flat, matte, semi-gloss, or gloss? If you haven't considered the texture of everything else in the room, you aren't ready to answer that question yet.
For the same reason one doesn't fill a living room with all and only chairs, you need to be mindful of mixing textures. Variation is essential. Texture and the mix of such is a secret to creating a comfortable interior and a vital component in a monochromatic color scheme. In this picture there are four items. All four are the same color. Three items feel soft to the touch. Two of the items feel warm and the others cool. Two items have what you could call sharp edges. The items are made up of silk, plastic, wool and metal. All items are in the room pictured at the end of this article.
 In clockwise order from the upper left: Carpet is made of 100% New Zealand wool, very soft. Source: private label to the trade Wallcovering is a bendable plastic has hard edges and feels cool. Source: Wolf Gordon Fabric appears darker than the others but it is 100% wool mohair, soft but has a crisp edge. Source: Stratford Hall Fabric is 72% metal and 28% silk, feels soft but cold. Source: Fadini Borghi
The materials as well as the actual composition of an item contribute to the texture. Wood is considered hard but in certain furniture, cabinet or floor applications it provides a soft and warm quality. Shiny is a common description for metal though one would not ordinarily attribute soft as a tactile element of metal, but when woven with silk into a fabric it can feel soft and have a shiny luster. Mohair resembles fresh cut grass the way each wool fiber stands up tall and straight. It has a crisp edge yet it is really wonderful to use in upholstery because it is very comfortable, feels luxurious to the touch, shapes well and is incredibly durable. In a monochromatic scheme using such opposing textures and materials can allow for what appears to be color changes when in fact they are all the same color.
Mixing textures creates interest and is a requirement of any well designed interior regardless of the color scheme. It is equally important to place the right texture in the appropriate location. Items people are going to sit on or feel should be of materials that are comfortable and pleasant to touch. Shiny pink patent vinyl may be the look your daughter has to have in her bedroom but rather than use it on a chair seat which would feel sticky on bare legs, it would be better as an upholstered headboard where one leans against pillows and doesn't actually come in consistent contact with the vinyl.
Items that aren't necessary great to touch can be fabulous to look at. Reclaimed, unfinished barn siding can look great on an interior wall in the right room but it would loose much if its characteristics if it was planed for flooring or cut-up for furniture. Glass beads are cool on wallcovering as created by Maya Romanoff but would not work well on upholstery or as floorcovering. Tiny glass beads are invisibly attached to wallcovering in various colors or patterns which achieve a very glamorous effect on a wall or ceiling as light passes through the clear glass. This look belongs in an often seen location because it will have all your friends salivating.
 A simple tip to remember when combining textures is that old saying that opposites attract. High gloss can be great paired with rough hewn timbers. Thick and luxurious rugs look fantastic on wood or stone floors. A cork kitchen floor provides visual texture as opposed to the flatter/sleek aspect of kitchen cabinets and countertops and against the hardness of those surfaces cork has a soft sound absorbing quality. The opposing combinations are endless.
The next time you are planning an interior design project or just adding something to an existing room make sure you carefully study all the textures involved. Be especially careful to mix different and opposing textures so you can pull off a well designed, comfortable and happy living space. Mixing is where the real fun comes in. So go out and mix things up!
Design Basics Balance
Balance is a fundamental of life that everyone seeks, consciously or subconsciously, whether in your checkbook, relationships or home. This makes us comfortable, gives us stability, reduces stress and gives us peace. This is the most important element to achieve when creating or changing the design of a room. For interiors balance takes into account the physical and/or psychological weight of an object. Balance is important in all facets of room design from the physical architecture, to the furnishings, materials used, and accessorizing. 
There are different types of balance: • Formal or symmetrical - This is very traditional and quiet. The focal point is often in the center. One side is the mirror image of the other. An example would be two sofas on either side of a fireplace facing one another with a large coffee table in the middle.
• Informal or asymmetrical – This is much more active but also more subtle. The focal point may not be in the middle. There is no mirror effect but the visual weight plays a more important role. It could be as simple as having two completely different chairs sitting across from one sofa in the previous example.
• Radial – All elements radiate around, toward or from a focal point. There is a lot of repetition of form and color used.
Scale and Proportion
Both of these relate to the size and shape of an object.
 • Scale deals with the absolute size or character of an object or space when compared to other objects or spaces.
• Proportion is relative describing the ratio of one part to another.
In this picture there are two pillows one is large and the other is small. On the large pillow there is a large scale fabric. The small pillow has small scale fabric and small scale trim. If the large scale fabric was put on the small pillow the proportion would be off. Also the small scale trim would not work on the large scale pillow or with the large scale fabric, it would get lost because the proportions would be inappropriate. Rhythm Simply defined this is natural movement. Rhythm is indispensable in a well designed room and home. It creates life, beauty and character. There are four ways to create rhythm in interior design. Contrast – Purposeful placement of colors or objects to create an abrupt change – a dark object on a light wall, a round table beside a chair of hard straight lines, opposites perform this well.
Transition – Unlike contrast this is a much more gentle or soft movement of visual elements as they form a regular pattern. The restful flow around the room of furniture placement where there are no hard or jarring interruptions. Gradual transitions are often achieved with curvilinear lines or arrangements such as a chair placed across the corner of the room thereby softening the hard corner and creating flow around the corner.
Repetition – Repeating like or similar items provide us with unity and harmony, it creates comfort. Using a main color or fabric more than once in a room generates the feeling of familiarity and can be soothing.
Progression – This is like a long crescendo or decrescendo in music. There is order to the increase or decrease of a change towards a goal. This can be the simple placement of a collection of decorative objects from large to small or the way furniture is placed to direct the inhabitant towards a focal point.
|
|