Infloormation

Whether you like blue or not, prefer traditional or contemporary, this room can give you clues to make your own home’s design work better.

A lot of smart decisions went into this room. In spite of the strong blue tone, the designer did not make the mistake of keeping other colors out of the picture. The floral curtains work with the white trim to keep the blue from giving the room an underwater feel. Instead, the blue is an inviting fresh tone against the white.

Pattern choice provided another carefully-thought-out design element. The brocade light blue walls is a classic for this traditional style and is muted enough to feel almost like a solid color. The strongest pattern comes from the rug, which is also the strongest and darkest shade of blue. The rug’s pattern helps it connect to the upholstered furniture, with light blue flowers that echo the tones of the chairs and sofa. The lightest pattern shows up on the chair toward the front of the photo, with a white background and just a few light blue flowers to link it to the room. With a careful balance of tone and style, it can work well to have three or more patterns in one room, even with a primarily one-color palette like this one.

Take a look at the proportions of this room. The ceiling is high but enough features reach toward it to make the room fit into the vertical as well as horizontal space. Most of the furniture is centered in a nice conversation space in the room with just a few pieces along the walls to keep everything connected. Finally, the daring touch of a clear coffee table eliminates the choppy look a solid table would create on the rug.

Are there lessons you can learn from this room? Remember the smart decisions here as you decorate your own spaces.

What makes this room so inviting? A number of elements combine in harmony to create a feeling of calm and simplicity.

The room itself has a natural charm. The wood floor is a lovely medium brown with personality coming from the dark brown graining and edges. This is a floor with style. Its strength is supported by the furniture choices. The black and white furniture means that the only color in the room itself comes from the floor.

Take a look at some of the other architectural elements that add to the character in this room. The French doors make a beautiful focal point. You have a combination of doors, surrounding glass panes, and wood frames and molding. Beyond the doors, the railing and view invite you to step onto the balcony. The green view joins the floor as the only other color in this room.

The fireplace and crown molding carry through on the feel of this space. Look up, however, for the most inviting element in the space – the chandelier. This elegant feature has lines that almost seem too delicate to hold the unusual glass globes. It has a vintage look with a sculptural style. It feels as if it is original to the house, but a number of stores these days carry rescued architectural elements from the U.S. and other countries, so it may have been added later.

This room is definitely traditional and every architectural feature works well with every other. But the furniture is totally contemporary. This eclectic approach works because of the simple approach to design. Lines are clean and both furniture and accessories are kept to a minimum. The final result is a space that balances warm and cool, traditional and contemporary, to welcome visitors.

If you want to make a small space feel bigger, take a few tips from this dining area. Barely the size expected in an eat-in kitchen, this space provides a comfortable and stylish entertainment space for four.

The first key to expanding the feel of this room is limiting contrast. Without a dramatic shift in color or tone that catches the eye, there are no stopping points to indicate limited space.

If you’re going to eliminate contrast, be sure to add texture. From the semi-gloss bamboo floor to the shiny white chairs, pendant lights and glass decanters in the small bar, texture is a good substitute for contrast to keep this room interesting.

The next step is exposing as much floor as possible. There are no rugs to cover the appealing floor choice, and the buffet space and bar are built-ins rather than free-standing furniture. This keeps the amount of floor space covered to a minimum. Imagine this room with a full buffet in the back. The room would seem much smaller.

Finally, expanding slightly beyond the supposed boundary of the room provides just enough additional space to handle that shelf and provide comfortable seating for four. An open space feels roomier. Add some coordinating artwork and pendant lights and you have a cohesive and inviting use of very limited space to create a valuable area to entertain a few friends.

The sophistication and style of this room stands out so that it takes more than a moment to realize that this is actually a basement space.

One reason for the high-end feel of the room is the dramatic staircase. The homeowners removed the standard stairwell and walls to create an inviting entry to their ground-floor space. However, other than this change, the rest of the room was redesigned on a tight budget. Let’s take a look at how this was done.

First, the flooring enhances the space but is less expensive than many other options. By choosing solid surface commercial-style flooring, costs were kept low and maintenance is easy. However, the high gloss turns the flooring into a strong and positive design element. First, the shiny floor mirrors the stairway above it, almost creating a sense of artwork in the reflection. The darker trim around the wall makes the floor feel almost like an area rug and adds another nice design element to compensate for the minimal use of furniture.

The wall of contemporary artwork uses simple prints matted in a number of matching store-bought frames. The layout turns this low-cost choice into another inviting and contemporary design element in the room.

There is an interesting conversation area defined by a zebra throw rug ringed by a white sofa and loveseat. Coffee table and accessories are simple but dramatic and stay with the black and white theme. Bright white walls also create a sense of light in this basement space.

With this much personality and daring, it’s easy to look past its basement origins to recognize this space as an intriguing addition to any contemporary home.

High-end hotel lobbies provide a great source of ideas for adding drama to your home. Combining a residential feel with a sense of luxury, they employ the best of combinations to catch your eye.

This lobby is a good example. It all starts with the flooring – a light wide-plank wood set on a diagonal. This gives the room the contrast it needs to compensate for the squared arrangement of the rugs and furniture. Beyond the flooring choice, this room continues to use contrasts to develop its sense of drama.

The columns represent a classic look that works well with the old oriental rugs. Style contrast shows in the very contemporary furniture with its dark rattan in a simple style and pillows that echo the white of the columns and the walls.

There is a lot going on in the room, but nothing on the walls. This gives the rugs the opportunity to be the real artwork for the space. With a variety of rug patterns in the same traditional shades, they are the only significant pattern in the room.

Coming back to the floor – the diagonal encourages people walking through the lobby to head over to one of the seating areas. Diagonal flooring makes a room feel larger, and in this case helps all the disparate seating areas connect with each other. When you plan your flooring, think beyond standard layouts and consider whether a diagonal installation will improve the flow and style of your room.

Outdoor areas can be an extra space to cook, entertain and relax. Create an intimate space where memories are made. With Spring around the corner; now is the time to show your outdoor area some TLC.

Make sure your seating is comfortable. New brightly colored seat pads and chair cushions can easily be added to outdoor furniture. Metal or wicker outdoor furniture can be painted to look brand new. Natural wood outdoor furniture (such as Teak) should be left natural and oiled each season, in order to maintain the life of the natural exposed wood.

Lighting up your space can transform this outdoor space into an intimate/warm place to converse during pleasant Spring and Summer evenings. Tiki torches can be placed anywhere there is soil and/or grass. Bug repelling candles provide warm light and deter pesky insects. Freestanding/portable fire pits and terracotta Chimeneas are excellent for gathering seating around and roasting marshmallows or to stay warm during chilly evenings. White Christmas lights can be wrapped around railings and provide light for walkways.

Stones can be laid to make a hard surface to place furniture, accent tables, a grill and other items that need to sit on a solid surface. Lanais can be made by laying real flat rocks, pebbles or made by pouring concrete into molds that look like real paving stones.

Interesting flowers, greenery and other landscaping looks even more intimate when illuminated by outdoor accent light. Plant short grasses along walkways that can be illuminated with solar powered lights.

Utilizing available outdoor space can act as an area for an overflow of guests when entertaining. These cozy areas can also be transformed into a relaxing haven, simply by hanging a hammock or adding a freestanding swing. Get in touch with nature during the warmer seasons and utilize your outdoor area to it’s full potential!

Beautifully eclectic rooms that pull bits and pieces from different styles and time periods are seen in homes around the world. Perhaps one of the main reasons eclectic style continues to grow in popularity is that it allows us to merge our favorite furnishings and accessories with newly discovered pieces as our tastes change. With a diverse collection of furniture and decorative objects, we are also able to move effortlessly from one home to another over time. Whether the new space is traditional or contemporary, our eclectic collections will look great in any environment.

This stylish dining room exemplifies eclectic style with an Oriental flair. The wood floors and neutral walls, the classical feel of the stone fireplace and the updated traditional chandelier work well together as does the black framed mirror and contemporary wall art. The area rug under the table adds its vintage touch to the space.

The dining table is decidedly contemporary with its dark wood and metal fittings.  The vibrant orange red upholstery and nail head detailing on the wing back chair and its out of sight twin at the other end of the table add modern appeal. In total opposition, the Asian side chairs somehow exist harmoniously with the more contemporary elements of the design.

The furnishings and accessories in this dining room would work equally well if transported into a more traditional space. Because they are an eclectic mix, the transition would seem effortless as it merges the old with the new. It’s easy to understand why eclectic style seems here to stay.

A fireplace generally becomes the focal point of any room, adding a warmth and coziness to the space. However, it’s important to plan your fireplace to protect the rest of the room, particularly the floor.

A few simple precautions will allow you to enjoy your fireplace without worrying about safety or any possible fire damage.

To start, make sure that you have a fire-safe hearth installed with your fireplace. Your local building codes will provide the right size hearth. Recommended hearth sizes are based on the size of your fireplace opening. Tile such as the option shown in this photo will work extremely well as a hearth. It can handle sparks and even burning logs if any fall out of your firebox, and the rich variety of choices will complement any home’s décor.

The fireplace opening shown has a three-part frame. The center section provides a grate to keep sparks under control as well as two vents to help bring the heat into the home. The tile surround provides an additional layer of protection, and the wooden frame connects the fireplace with the rest of the room.

Is your fireplace safe and secure as well as stylish? With a careful selection of hearth and screening, you can have a lively fire with no threat to your wood or carpeted floor.

Would you like your kitchen to be more daring and exciting? Adding a tile backsplash is a great way to modernize your cooking space.

This glass tile is a single size and only four colors. But the random pattern creates the sense of an abstract mural on the wall, adding color and style to a simple kitchen design. When you need all your surfaces for cooking, an interesting backsplash takes the place of the colorful accessories you have in other rooms.

Visit our showroom to see some of the newest tile choices, and we can help you turn your kitchen from functional to fascinating. But remember, a tile backsplash gives you more than a pretty face. Tile is an excellent surface for a kitchen. Spills and splashes wipe up easily, and if your grout is sealed, you will have no stains.

Is your kitchen traditional or Tuscan? There are tile options that will complement your taste while adding personality. Every year, new colors and styles of tile come on the market, limited only by your imagination.

Let us show you some of the possibilities a tile backsplash can open up for your kitchen. Turn the space into something that makes you smile every day.

Do you have a spare room designated as the guest room; and yet you are unsure where to start? Ask yourself “What makes me feel comfortable and welcome when I am a guest?” For instance some sort of storage is optimal. It would be ideal if there were enough storage for at least one suitcase. A comfortable bed is also important. By asking yourself you will be able to distinguish which amenities you can provide given the space you have to work with.

Try to provide comfortable sleeping for at least two people. If you don’t have room for a bed, consider a comfortable sofa sleeper, futon or air mattress.

Carpet in bedrooms is usually favorable as it can be cushy and warm on your feet.  If the room has hardwood, place an area rug under the bed, this will also add style.

Providing space to get dressed is a nice amenity in a guest room. An accent or lounge chair is great for putting panty hose or shoes on.

If possible keep an alarm clock within this space. Having general lighting and accent lighting makes for a comfortable space when you have adequate light to perform different tasks like getting dressed to winding down for sleep.

And lastly, ensure adequate privacy for your guests. Window coverings are a must in this type space.