Decorating Guides

10 Ways to Go Coastal Using a Modern Edge

Spending my Fourth of July at the beach, I adored nosily peeking into peoples’ windows as I walked by and discovering their beachy decoration (in the road, of course). While coastal decoration which goes way over the top may be a great way to celebrate your environment, a lot of us are searching for more modern looks that avoid seagull-and whale-theme overload. Here are 10 ways to have a clean, coastal appearance that’s modern and uncluttered — also provides relaxation the moment you let the screen door slam behind you along the way indoors. Barnes Vanze Architects, Inc 1. Glean inspiration from a spartan ship. This kitchen is clean and spare, which lets subtle marine accents such as the chrome pendant lights, deep blue tile backsplash and mild blue modern klismos chairs stand out. Elliott + Elliott Architecture 2. Look to regional architecture for ideas. This beautiful waterfront house’s inspiration…

Decorating Guides

Engage the 5 Senses for Decorating Appeal

Have you ever thought about your favorite room in your house? Does it relax you, wake up you or make you feel contemplative? A thoughtfully designed room can have a calming effect, stimulate memory or refresh us. Chances are that your favorite room exudes positive emotions by appealing to one or more of the five senses: sight, hearing, taste, touch or smell. Maintaining these perceptions in mind is not difficult or even expensive once you’re placing a room together. It is just simply part of the specifics of an area. These details could be contained in the smallest of rooms or produce the scale of a large room feel human. I always attempt to keep these five senses in mind when designing a room for somebody else, a key step in making this room feel more personal. Below are a few tricks for designing your rooms with all these five…

Decorating Guides

Felt Gives the Warm Fuzzies to Bathrooms

When’s the last time you wondered sensed as anything apart from a crafts material? This gentle, nonfraying fabric — made by compressing wool or other fibers collectively rather than weaving them is creating a name for itself in the home design arena. Not a lot of textiles can boast felt combination of sturdiness and downy softness, and its unfussy character dresses down formal spaces and pairs perfectly with casual ones. Here is a peek at just some of the ways inventive architects and homeowners have elevated felt to celebrity status. decordemon Felt rosettes adorn a little girl’s chair seat for an impact that’s as cushy as it’s pretty. See more of this sweet kids’ space The Painted Home Here’s a more adult take about the idea. Felt rosettes pair well with a textural burlap lampshade and put in a little depth to the palette. Andrew Snow Photography A felt-covered sideboard…

Decorating Guides

Bamboo Sprouts Up in Bountiful Home Uses

Believe it or not, there is a completely renewable, organic, secure agricultural product which may be used for virtually everything. Bamboo has been around for centuries in pretty much every program. This elastic material may be worn out, made into paper and background, transformed in to shaped and countertops to eat from and with. Here are some suggestions for making bamboo perform in your house. Greenington Currant Six Drawer Dresser, Dark Walnut Bamboo, a grass, is among the most used materials on the planet. This durable material can be chosen every five to six years — unlike walnut, which requires 30 to 50 years to replenish. This fast turnaround makes bamboo an superb choice for furniture. Bamboo also is a popular wood alternative since it can grow almost anywhere. TEORI Laminated Wood/Bamboo Trays Bamboo’s clean grain and texture make it an outstanding choice for modern accessories. Various things, such as…

Decorating Guides

Talk: Learn Cushions' Lingo

Cushions and pillows in almost any space introduce colour, texture and form — all vital design elements when you’re finessing a room. These days we’re bombarded with all kinds of styles and shapes of cushions, and here you’ll learn the ins and outs of the amazingly complex part of decor. Then you can impress your cushion maker with your knowledge of terms such as “bobble fringe,” “knife edge” and “Turkish corner.” Deborah French Designs The term “cushion” was used in writings as far back as the Middle Ages. Made of sackcloth or leather, filled with wool or hair and often embroidered, these big items were much more like the floor cushions of today. In the U.S., the terms “pillow” and “cushion” can be interchangeable. In a number of other Western nations, a pillow is usually larger and for sleeping, while a cushion is used for lounging. Most standard cushions available…

Decorating Guides

Cantilever

A home that’s cantilevered signifies that it overhangs that the portion of the structure that supports it. The projection is supported at one end. Universal Joint Design Associates This home includes two elements that are cantilevered: the eave above the balcony and the balcony itself. Ian Engberg Structures that are cantilevered seem to hover, defying gravity. Universal Joint Design Associates The component of the home that extends beyond its support is the cantilevered portion. Paul McKean design llc The technology behind this cantilevered home starts to make sense when the steel trusses are exposed under it. Read more cantilever photographs See related

Decorating Guides

International Textile Icons: Batik

Beloved for their daring patterns by tastemakers such as Diane von Furstenberg, Jonathan Adler and Nate Berkus (and seen all within their spring decoration sets), batik fabrics discuss the cultural textile trifecta with ikats and suzanis. Batik originated in Java, Indonesia, spreading and morphing in design as it reached other countries like India, Malaysia, China and parts of Africa. Even though the designs and application techniques have changed and modernized to integrate block-printed batiks for mass production, the wax-resist way of producing batik cloth has more or less remained the same: Melted wax is painted onto cloth, after which the cloth is dyed, with the components covered in wax resisting the dyes. Because of Indonesia’s important role in global tourism and the prevalence of cultural fabrics in the design world, various iterations of batik cloth have made their way in North America, including unmistakable splashes of pattern, texture and color…

Decorating Guides

12 Antique Store Finds to Nab Today, Place Later

I get asked fairly often where I find the accessories in my projects. My response is stores. “Antiquing” is my favourite type of searching — and occasionally my favorite contact sport, as well. Antique stores offer you one-of-a-kind objects, reasonable pricing and immediate gratification. Beware, though, of competitive shoppers eyeing the thing you merely inquired about. It is best to wear flats to your next stop for an antique store; you might have to do some fancy footwork. It is helpful to know what you are looking at as you wander through, specifically, whether or not a bit is truly classic or contemporary. And there are a handful of things that I constantly buy if I find them. These objects are about the “buy now, ask later” listing: When I see one of these objects I simply buy it and then determine where it will go after. For some people,…

Decorating Guides

Cast Stone

Cast stone is made of moldable, curable combinations containing elements of pure sand, cement, fine or coarse marble, limestone, granite, quartz, calcite and coloring pigments. It has a dense, stonelike texture that’s highly durable and can be reinforced and colour matched. Architectural Justice Cast Stone Backsplash An antique ceiling tin has been used as the mould with this particular cast stone counter tops. The corbels are cast stone. Veranda Fine Homes Mantels are a terrific example of how cast stone can be used in place of carved stone. Beautiful Kitchen Layout This cast stone mantel continues up the wall to create a frame for the tv. Erotas Building Corporation Stone can mimic cut limestone. Rustico Tile and Stone This doorway is cut and carved stone, but a mould of cast stone could be used to create something similar. TranDesign, Inc. / Foam Design Center.com This fountain waterfall sports a cast…

Decorating Guides

8 Rapid Shifts for the Impatient Decorator

Sometimes I should freshen myspace and get a wild hair. This doesn’t mean that I leave to get a shopping excursion each time the urge strikes on me. I could not manage to given the number of occasions I ‘m stricken with what I consider to be “The Designer’s Curse.” According to my partner, we’re never pleased. Fussing with this, going that, slightly to the left. You get the concept. within an attempt to to save funds and maintain my union, I execute quick-fixes in some places to quench my desire to have change. Though I Have never been a smoker, I think of it as having a stick of chewing gum rather than a smoke or somewhat of wonderful chocolate as an alternative to the whole candy bar that is infernal. What does one do when you are risen up within by the impatient decorator? Andrea Schumacher Interiors 1….