DIY Lamp

For this project I took a basic lamp and redid it. We had to change the base, shade and add some sort of decorative feature.

As you can see my lamp was white as well as my shade. To start off I scruffed up the base so the paint would stick. The paint I used was Krylon Natural Stone in charcoal and it gave the base a nice texture. The shade I spray painted with Krylon Colormaster in Pimento. It gave the shade a reddish-salmon color. Then I added this sequin trim on top and bottom.

And this was the results of the paint and it lights up nicely.

The Forgotten Top Hat

What is one of the common things forgotten when leaving the house? A hat! or possibly sunglasses. In interiors the ceiling is like that hat because it is usually the forgotten part and usually gets a plain coat of paint so here are some exciting and interesting ceiling options.

 THE ATRIUM

This room has English style chairs by Rose Tarlow and a reproduced Dutch style table under a pyramid skylight that resembles a garden trellis.

LIVING ROOM

The tongue-and-groove redwood ceiling in this living room hides the insulation, pipes and mechanical apparatus for the room. The furniture includes a wool chair and leather Poltona Frau sofa to match the concrete walls, dry stacked stone and painted steel railing.

DINING ROOM

Who knew you could do a rustic firebrick ceiling? This dining room also has dusty blue walls and an aged French oak floor.

SUN ROOM

Let there be light! Ceder beams and custom Marlin windows enclose Raleigh armchairs and fumed oak and metal tables. The flooring which extends outside is basalt tile.

KITCHEN

The barrel-vaulted ceiling is done in tiny mosaic tiles with two dramatic lights. The counter tops are waterfall granite from Walker Zanger.

Pictures and information from Luxe Interiors+Design, article Ceiling that Excite.

10 Trends for 2013

Movements in Interiors

1. Designs are leaning toward masculine designs, less of the cuteness stuff and more sober furniture details, less flashy colors and more functionality. If you look at it, the space is balanced and can be pleasing to both partners.

2. Designing in groups instead of a single designer makes the project more efficient and the group can share responsibilities therefor speeding up the process. The design will also have a groups personality instead of a personal style.

3. DIY projects are taking over!! Self expression is becoming a major factor in home designs. It gives the home owner complete control on how they want things to look. Re-purposing various objects and materials is now both a passion and a form of art.

4. Texture is becoming more noticed in interiors, people are paying more attention to the feel of surfaces. They want touchable textures that bring warmth and comfort into the atmosphere. The two top textures are suede and wood. Using a variety of textures is key to a great interior.

5. You may have learned it from your grandmother but embroidery and knitting are coming back into style. From carpets to covers it provides a particular charm that industry produced goods can not achieve.

6. Stripes are appearing more in interiors to inspire vibrant living and energy. Carpets, wallpapers, upholstery, graphic art-each of these elements can wear the distinct feature of movement as long as they are defined by stripes. The concept is make things stand out without losing the elegance and harmony.

7. Floral patterns are coming back but with a white background. They leave a romantic touch and bring in the holiday spirit.

8. Interiors are getting wild! It's said more modern villas are bringing in African elements like animal skins, wooden furniture with carving and iron work, sculptures and hand-made decorations.

9. Here's a fun one- designer and clients are coming together to create hand sketches and wall writing. Imagine your favorite quote or saying creatively written on the walls, ceiling or floor even.

10. And the last one bringing in green walls and garden rooftops. The advantage of having a green walls- air cleansing, humidification, evaporation of the air and guest appreciation. 

"Top 10 Most Talked About Interior Design Trends for 2013" in Freshome Design and Architecture

Zen-like Home in California

     Bob and Siri Marshall bought a plot of land in the mountains near Santa Barbara, California as a place to retire. They loved it because of the sun-washed landscape that could have been a Van Gogh painting. The house they tore down and was rebuilt by Christopher Manson-Hing becoming a clean three bedroom villa with lots of windows and wide loggias supported by classical columns. Almost every room had steel and glass French doors that opened to the outside where wicker and teak furniture sat. 

     

     For the interiors the Marshall's hired Suzanne Rheinstein who created an interior that would complement the ever changing light from outside. The walls were painted in sandy shades, on the floors were antique carpets and they used bleached teak for paneling and cabinetry. Siri and Bob are big on collecting art and antiques so naturally there pieces are scattered throughout the home. The landscape they altered and up in paths and terraces making it possible to walk around barefoot. When the mist comes over the hills Siri said "It becomes very Zenlike and peaceful."

Armchairs are paired with vintage iron tables from Hollyhock and steps are made from Cherokee sandstone.

Living room has a circa 1800 Italian settee.

The picture above the fireplace is a antique Chinese wallpaper, lamps are made from Han Dynasty wine jars. Rheinstein designed the sofas and are grouped with 18th century Italian chairs.

The kitchen counters are made with Caesarstone and island topped with limestone.

Antique botanical's decorate the room, the bed is also designed by Rheinstein with Kravet fabric. The master bath has a large sink vanity and large dressing table. The room has a ocean view.

Pictures and information from "Suzanne Rheinstein Designs a Montecito, California Home" in Architectural Digest August 2013 issue.

Max Mid-century Design

Kelly Wearstler

Kelly Wearstler was born in South Carolina and now lives and works in Los Angeles. Her father was an engineer and her mother was a closet interior designer and antique dealer. She graduated from Massachusetts College of Art and briefly worked in the film industry. She also briefly posed for Playboy under the name Kelly Gallagher that helped pay her student loans and helped start her interior design business.

Wearstler’s career soared in 1999 with her design of the Beverly Hills’ Avalon Hotel. Her signature style was bold, maximalist mid-century design with fearless aesthetics.

This is Tides Hotel in South Beach

 

Viceroy Miami

 

These are her three major commercial projects Avalon Hotel, Tides Hotel and Viceroy Miami Hotel. She has also done residential designs at Evergreen, Hillcrest, Malibu, Maison, Spring Street and Pied-a-terre.

Evergreen Residence

 

Spring Street

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Hillcrest

 

Kelly Wearstler designed her own jewelry and clothing line and she has a couple articles in Elle Decor.

Pictures from www.kellyweastler.com

Tips From Designers

Tips & What Not To Do In Interiors

Found this article in House Beautiful called 10 Home Makeover Mistakes and it provides tips from multiple people.

“Enjoy the process! Have fun. And trust your instincts. Once the fear is gone, the fun begins. If it’s not fun, don’t do it.” – Jeffrey Bilhuber
1. Fabric: Having an actual sample of fabric before it purchased is always best. You have to feel the fabric and actually see the true color and pattern with your own eyes.
2. Budgeting: Sometimes you have to give a little to get the look. One interior designer wanted antique wide-plank floors for a huge house but couldn't get is so she bought commercial white oak and hand brushed it with a deep stain.
3. Accessorizing: We have all seen those bedrooms with the gazillion pillows on the bed, its like a puzzle putting it back together. Accessories do not have to be over the top they just have to feel good.
4. Seating Arrangements: One designer said it was never a good idea to put two sofas facing each other and creating an alleyway.
5. Mirrors & Small Spaces: Big mirrors can be your best friend in making a room look larger and doubling the space. The same goes for furniture; the smaller the room the larger scale the furniture it adds dimension.

   

And another tip about kids rooms- less themed rooms like Disney or superheroes and more listening to them and create a space that can grow up with them. 

 Extreme theme

 Can grow into

View of the Future

Report on “The House with View of the Future by Simone Micheli”

Article from Home Dsgn by Magaly and photos by Juergen Eheim

            This house Simone Micheli designed is like no other, built in Florence, Italy it’s a mix of rustic with “futuristic modernity that borders on sci-fi.” The house is colored in white and naturally light materials. It has multiple mirrored surfaces with pops of bright green and orange walls. It first being two apartments was combined into one through a difficult demolition process creating an open living space. The front door was disassembled and put together on an armored door with the other side being laser cut on a mirrored back.

The other doors on the first floor include a bath and guest room which resembles the entry door having white door with chrome handles. Micheli left a part of the house in an ancient brick covered in white lime plaster that shows the details in the brick. The furniture and furnishings were all designed by Micheli. The floor being bleached parquet where the sofas sit around a round corner TV. The dining table is made of scented cedar trunk with the chairs upholstered in cacallino leather and you can see the bright orange that accents the walls.

            There are mirrored pillars that lead into the dining area and there are roller screens that can be closed to section off rooms.

            In Simone and Roberta’s bedroom they have floor to ceiling white lacquered shelving with an island bed and upholstered headboard. The bedroom has access to the bathroom through a sliding glass door. The other bedroom has a splash of color with a yellow lacquered bed and wall mounted shelving.

            As we move up floors it is illuminated by an opening skylight. This floor contains a TV room, a fitness area and “bookshelves set on an asymmetric stainless steel structure and two deep storage areas screened by roller blinds.” The third floor is like a patio with a barbecue area and seating area and can be covered by a movable blind.

The sci-fi part of this house is that there are a lot of electrical things that can be controlled by a universal remote. All the movable screens and dimmer lights. I like that he added a little color to the house and the mirrors help make it not so hospital like. There is texture in the floor and some of the seating which interrupts all the white also. It’s a mix of rustic with future technology.

Report on “Ready to Build” by Ken Shulman

From Metropolis Magazine July-August 2013 issue

            This article reflects on Brandon Clifford and Wes McGee and creating Matter Design. McGee was a graduate student in industrial design with a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering and went to Graduate school of design at Harvard to run a digital fabrication lab (which he was recommended to by Clifford). Clifford was an undergraduate in architecture with interest in theory and history. The following year of their conference they created Matter Design.

            Matter design looks for ancient architecture and their methods to bring into the modern world. Their vaulted ceiling La Voute de LeFevre, made of plywood supports itself entirely. The article takes us through the process of how they designed their helix staircase from CAD to computerized machine-code files and was completed in early 2013. This helix staircase was a series of interlocking case concrete blocks with only a center core support. They idea of interlocking came from the Incan walls.

            Matter Design is a well thought out combination of for McGee and Clifford, combining theory and history with architecture skill. Their ideas of creating modern innovations with past architecture and methods can produce industrial structures. Today domes and vaults are not as common but taking the ideas and turning them modern could create diverse architecture.

Pictures by Matter Design

http://www.metropolismag.com/July-August-2013/Ready-to-Build/

Wallpaper

Wallpaper is one of those come and go trends and there are tons of different patterns, colors and textures. They can set a flow to a hallway or a focal point to a room. Here are some of my favorite uses for wallpaper.

It can create an accent wall

http://www.homedit.com/a-sneak-peak-at-the-design-and-decor-trends-for-2013/

It can be an neutral, low key pattern like this...

http://sherborn-kitchens.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Nabhan_Powderroom.jpg

or a bold, colorful print with the other walls painted in a like color.

http://homeklondike.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/1-Nono-Living-Room-Design.jpg

There are other places to place wallpaper, like on the ceiling.

http://signedbytina.blogspot.ca/2012/05/ceilings-wallpaper.html

Here they used wall paper to line to back of shelves.

http://pinterest.com/pin/544302304934083705/

As art work...

http://ext.homedepot.com/community/blog/wp-content/wpuploads/Wallpaper.jpg

and maybe stairs.

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/idea-to-steal-mixed-prints-serena-lilysmall-167212

DYI Fun

DYI Fun

Hello everyone! For this old table they sanded the old paint off, primed and repainted it.

Then they cut out fabric that was the same shape for the surfaces. Mod Podge they used to seal the surface of the fabric to the table top so they could apply resin after it dries. The resin gives it a nice surface and its water-proof!

http://tatertotsandjello.com/2011/06/fabric-covered-resin-table-redo-plus-23.html

Tatertots and Jello