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.