Powder baths are great places to introduce a little bit of drama into your home. The are small spaces, allowing you to get a lot of “wow factor” for your design buck. It is the perfect place to use some wallpaper with punch, interesting lighting, and great plumbing fixtures. Powder baths are a great spot to bring in the unexpected, and your guests will love it!
Can there really ever be enough storage in a home? It seems like no matter how much storage space we put in our homes, it always gets filled. Closets for clothing are no exception. The bigger, the better, which is why it is great to have your interior designer with you when plans are being drawn up with an architect. Check out some of these fabulous closets in master suites. They look great and are very functional.
I was just thinking…if we have to be cold with wind and snow, why be in Austin, Texas…wouldn’t be nice to be in the Swiss Alps? I started looking for interior spaces where I would love to be curled up by a fire, and I came across these amazing buildings in the Alps. Apparently, the mountains of Switzerland are a hot spot for architectural experiments, some by design students, others by commercial investors. Check out some of our cool finds below:
We love entryway courtyards here in Austin. They are inviting and really allow for a sense of entry. Not only that, they create a first impression of things to come once inside a home. Another great thing about courtyards is that they can go with any style and really add ambiance.
American interpretations on Tuscan architecture have been around for a long time, but Austin home builders are starting to “clean things up” while staying true to Tuscan inspiration. Instead of using carved stone mouldings everywhere, they are keeping things simple and elegant, allowing for an overall cleaner look. Also consider interior design. Using transitional style furnishings is more unexpected for such a traditional space, helping to create a softer look.
TON Art has the “Battle of the Sexes” resolved…it is a tie!. Well, maybe just as far as home entertainment goes. Women typically want their home entertainment spaces to be aesthetically pleasing, first. We want the equipment to be non-intrusive. Men, while also wanting the space to look good, typically are striving for function over form. Here is where TON Art comes in…they have created speakers that are completely hidden in art forms, and they are beautiful. They are a great resource for interior designers to utilize in order to please both husbands and wives. Below are two examples of their creations. One is a “tabletop” piece, the other is wall art. For more from TON Art, visit www.tonartllc.com
If Salvador Dali was alive today, I am sure he would have this surreal wallpaper in his home. Surrealien is a German based company that has developed a process of placing wallpaper so that it looks distorted by the objects it surrounds. They do it by taking careful measurements of your space and the things that are on or within the walls (doorways, wall sconces, that perfect piece of art) and designing the paper for your interior space specifically. This is a very cool commercial application, but it could be a little too much for the average homeowner’s everyday living. Either way, it is intriguing. For more on Surrealien, go to http://www.surrealien.de/Surrealien.pdf.
The term “Going Green” typically refers to utilizing sustainable materials in the building process and being environmentally friendly, something most people in Austin care deeply about. I would like for us to also consider the value of real (not artificial…sorry for those of you who don’t have green thumbs) plants for your indoor application. We all know that plants help clean the air that we breathe, but did you know that it is advised for you to have one 6″ plant/100 sq. ft. of interior space? Now, that doesn’t mean that you need to fill your home with pint-size plants. Consider some tall palms or bamboo. Besides creating a healthier environment in which to live, plants help to give a space that finished look. Clearly, artificial has its place in the home (everyday dining table centerpieces, entryway tables, etc.), as well. Whether arificial or real, plants soften things up and can really add to the beauty of your interior space.
Color is at the foundation of interior design. It has the power to stir emotions. Calming colors, such as green and blue, can make you want to stretch out and relax, or vibrant colors can actually raise your heart rate, and make you feel energized. Color is something that can be changed relatively easily and inexpensively, to give a total makeover to a room. Below are some before and after shots of rooms that had “face-lifts.” It is amazing what a little paint can do…
We love this chair. It’s clean lines and soft curves work. It is one of those pieces that could really fit into any setting, with the right fabric application, which is something we see great value in. It’s frame is great, allowing your interior designer to re-upholster it every decade to keep it current…this is a forever kind of chair.
