It's Market time again! Hip, Hip, Hooray! Leaving today and can't wait to blog about some fabulous finds and hot new trends! Stay tuned...

Pulley Light Debut

I am LOVING this new pulley light designed by Architects & Heroes Interiors for Four Hands that will be introduced during Market this weekend! A&H are the leading designers of counter balanced pulley lights and I can't wait to see their entire collection!

Ask the Designer: Lofting it!

Ok Tracy, this one's for you and thanks for asking such great questions! 

Here's the questions I received:

1. How to decorate for an open loft space, where decisions need to be considered holistically

and keeping in mind...

2. Decorating rental spaces (i.e., not painting the white walls, but making them feel less generic (and less bare!)

1- Keep your furniture lines similar throughout the loft. Meaning, if you have modern furniture, then keep the same look in each section of the space. This will make the area look larger and your eye will flow throughout the room instead of halt from piece to piece which becomes too jarring and breaks the space up too much.

2- In keeping with similar furniture lines, you should maintain the same color palette throughout the loft. However, you can mix it up a bit so it doesn't look too much alike. For instance, if you have a grey sofa and you pop in some purple and yellow pillows, then you could use purple bed linens with varying purple and grey tones as bedroom accents. 

3- Add long window treatments, either straight panels or curtains. Window treatments add so much depth, warmth, and height to a space. It is always good to keep the same window treatment fabric throughout the loft. This will make the flowing rooms look cleaner and feel larger.

4- Fake a window(s) by adding curtains or a shoji-type window flat panel system (Ikea makes some great panel curtain systems) on a plain wall. This adds depth and color to the room without adding a lot of artwork and clutter. It also takes up some the "dead" wall space that is often in lofts and shhhh! no one will look behind them :). Another great look is a large floor mirror. A mirror will add more light throughout the space (with light bouncing off the mirror) and will give the illusion that the room is larger. 

5- Wrap a colorful fabric around canvas stretchers and make either a series of small 12"x12" boxes or just one large 48"x36" piece. Even a series of tall 60"x24"' panels would be fun. This is an inexpensive but creative way you can coordinate the colors in your fabric with your palette throughout your loft decor. 

6- Add separate rugs (even if you have carpet) to each area (i.e., eating area, living room, study, bedroom). The rugs can either be the same pattern but in varying sizes and shapes, or different patterns from the same color-way (different rugs from one manufacturer all with the same color tones). This will break up the spaces enough but will also add color and depth to your space. I can't stress enough to make sure to keep some constant feature (colors or patterns) throughout all the rugs in order to maintain flow.

7- Use "removable" wall decals on your walls to add a graphic as well as depth without adding nail holes. I love Blik wall sticks and Etsy has some great finds too!! You can choose from many different colors but can get very creative. Add them to your walls, kitchen cabinets, hardwood floors, mirrors, windows and furniture.

8- To keep nail holes to a minimum, use 3M wall hooks and picture hangers. They are easy to install and removable without any wall damage.

Hope this helps! Good luck and please let me know if you need anything else! 

 

Ask the Designer...

I am starting an "Ask the Designer" Wednesday blog. If you have any questions about your house and/or decor and want free advice, please let me know. I will select the questions in the order I receive them and will blog about them on Wednesdays. 

Please ask, I am here to help!!!

Tip Tuesday: Trim Colors

Everyone thinks that choosing your paint colors will change your whole room, and to some degree, they are right. However, selecting the proper trim color is extremely important as well (and no, all whites and ivories aren't the same)! Picking a trim color is very difficult because some have grey, pink, yellow, green or blue undertones. There are many, so called "whites" out there that it becomes overwhelming.

The most important thing to remember is that you shouldn't just slap up the painters white on your trim. You want to choose a trim that will compliment your paint colors. So, I am going to try and ease your selections by giving you my three favorite Sherwin Williams trim colors.

My tendency is to avoid using the traditional painters bright white and to select a softer ivory tone instead. It will still stand out against your walls (except if your walls are white) but it just doesn't glare at you like some of the whites out there. You want the trim to be an accessory in your room and not the focal point.

These trim colors I am sharing with you also compliment many paint colors that you may choose for your walls.

1- Decor White

SW 7559

2- Roman Column

SW 7562

3-Dover White

SW 6385

I prefer using a semi-gloss or glossy finish for the trims so they clean well and make a little "pop" around your rooms.