Creating Faux Tiles

 Last fall my mom wanted to do a small kitchen update. Along with painting the cabinets white, changing the cabinet hardware, getting new accessories, we also created faux tiles as a back-splash to bring interest to the kitchen. To create the faux tiles; I found a 1/8th inch thick painters tape. We created grout lines using the tape and painted over the area with the same color as the walls. We also used a little white paint to add texture to the tiles.  When we released the tape a faux tile appeared.  It turned out great!

To my surprise, I was looking at the latest addition of This Old House magazine and I saw a project for faux tiles. In 5 steps they showed you how to inexpensively update your walls creating faux tiles. I felt so proud, to have been ahead of game in this design idea. 

http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/magazines

This is an awesome project!!! You should try it!

January Newsletter

"Gathering" and "Retreat" Spaces

What are "gathering" and "retreat" spaces?
I am reading this great book, that I got from the library. It called, "living in style, without losing your mind." This book is very cool and in only 25 short pages in, it is changing the way I think about design and style. One thing about the book that I thought would be neat to share is the concepts of gathering and retreating in our homes. Gathering rooms are just that, the kitchen, living/family rooms and the dinning room. At the heart of any gathering space is usually dip, whether it may be on an island in the kitchen, at the dinning table or even the coffee table-or "dip table" in that matter. Gathering places are essential for a healthy family dynamic. And retreat spaces are just the opposite spaces, they are where you can go and as the book says,"dream."  The author says, "every home must provide a place to get-a-away." These spaces can be a bedroom, bathroom, a study, garage or even an alcove. The idea of these spaces are to be cozy and private. Just as we need time with people, we need time alone too.

Having balance
The equal balance of these spaces are important parts of the home. I personally have noticed  is that the main gathering places are not being used often becasue they are drowned out by many retreat spaces. Family's are branching away instead of coming together. Homes are so big now they have two dinning rooms; a family room, living room, bonus room, sun room, finish basement and even large landing at the tops of stairs. On top of these extra spaces, everyone has their bedrooms and bathrooms. Large homes effect the way a family gathers. Even if you have small homes when you don't have the rooms, creating retreats isn't hard. You can create window seats or reading corners or even make a large retreat closet space full of fluffy pillows.

Designing these spaces
Gathering spaces are just as important as retreat spaces and visa versa. When assessing or designing your gathering spaces make sure their is lots of choices for people to sit or lounge. Seating can be anything from a couch, to an over-sized chair, to folding chairs, to pillows against the wall or cushions on the floors. Give people choices, it helps them to feel more at home. Also, have people over, that is important in creating any home!

In designing retreat spaces ask everyone in your home, their favorite spaces. If someone doesn't have one, create one for them. It doesn't have to be expensive or tacky, just give them a space to really unwind and refresh too. The book gives a quote from architectural theorist Christopher Alexander, "No one can be close to others without also having frequent opportunists to be alone." Everyone should have a space to retire or dream.

Things to do with wax paper!

Click to enlarge

The Paint Factor

A fresh coat of paint is one of the quickest, simplest, most inexpensive ways to make a big impression to any space. Not only can paint freshen up your space, but it makes it look updated, cleaner, and more expressive. A fresh coat of paint truly creates a before and after! But before you paint, there is lots to know! Here are 3 factors about paint to consider:

Paint Factor 1: Color evokes emotion

Don’t hesitate to take a risk when choosing a paint color. Yellows is a cheery color. It is a sunny hue that makes you feel creative and inspired. Lighter yellows add a warmth to your space while brighter golden yellows provide a glowing quality. 

Blues harmonize and add a calm quality to your spaces. This sincere color combats any tension and supports relaxation. Deep blues add sophistication while grayish blues accent well with aged woods. The picture to the right is blue in a kitchen. I chose the color for my mother's recently painted kitchen, it is not a color typically seen in a kitchen, but I wanted to stretch the bar since her heart was set on white cabinets. The color is a chalky blue which added the sophisticated feel she was going for and accented her black appliances well. 

Red conveys excitement and a dramatic first impression. This vivid color feels cozy. Earth tone reds add to the coziness, while brighter reds convey drama. Green encourages serenity. Green provides a refreshing atmosphere. Deep greens complement sunny spaces while softer greens add a youthful tone. Purple is passionate, sexy and romantic. This color is seductive and mysterious. Choosing the color purple is a risk but playful.

Paint Factor 2: The quality of paint is important

Paint that is under $20/gal is good but often requires two or more coats. Paint that is up to $30/gal is better and paint that is up to $55/gal is the best. It is the highest quality of paint and often requires only one coat. You should also choose a paint with low Volatile Organic Compounds. VOC gas is released as the paint dries, this causes long term health problems, impacts global warming and has a strong odor. I recommend Dutchboy Refresh paint. It is a high quality paint for the cost, less than $25/gal, and it has low VOC and no smell as it dries. Both rooms featured in this blog used the Dutchboy Refresh paint.

Paint Factor 3: Make sure you have the right finish

Matte or Flat finishes are durable and great to conceal imperfections. It is hard to clean but conceals surface imperfections. This finish is typically used for ceilings. If your walls have lots of imperfections try using a roller that gives your walls an orange peel texture.  Eggshell finish is scrubbable and smooth, and good for most rooms. Eggshell finish also makes bedroom walls look more cozy then harsh, like glossy walls can imitate. The picture to the left is my client Gina Miller's bedroom. The eggshell finish looks beautiful and adds a warmth to the already warm cougar brown. Satin finish is very scrubbable and good for high-traffic & humid areas. Satin finishes are what most people use and recommend for any room. Semi-gloss and high gloss finishes are mainly used for trim, woodwork and molding. Semi-gloss can also be used in children rooms and bathrooms, because it is durable to moisture, fingerprints and crayon. 

Remember the factors and get painting!

My 5 Design Principles

1) Make conversation spaces:

Problem: Many people just throw furniture together and make a big mess of dysfunctional objects.

Psychology: When your space feels messy, unorganized and incomplete you feel extremely uncomfortable, discontent, and disconnected in it.

Solution: This is how you avoid doing this; Ex. You have a couch, a coffee table, an end table and three arm chairs. Use the couch coffee table and 1 of the arm chairs as a sitting space for the living room. Then in a corner of the same room put the other two chairs and the end table together and make a reading corner. And viola, you have created two spaces in one room.

Result: You will feel like your space has a purpose, meaning and the feeling of closeness with the people around you. Also, creating two spaces in one room allows two people their own private space, but both are still enjoying each others company.

2) Place nothing against the wall:

Problem: Putting all of your furniture against the wall, makes your space feel awkward.

Psychology:  It makes you feel uninvited, it is like all of your furniture has spread to the walls and is running away from you, like they do not want you to sit or enjoy them.

Solution: If something needs to be near a wall, still keep it at least 5 inches from the wall. Also, use your new knowledge of making spaces to avoid doing this.

Result: Never putting anything up against walls places your furniture closer together and invites conversation and security.

3) Put furniture on angles:

Problem: Without angles your space lacks class and points of view.

Psychology: Your space will look like it is out of a magazine if you effectively put something at an angle. In art there is always just one thing that is off a little.

Solution: Put your biggest piece of furniture on an angle, like your entertainment set or your dinning room table. You can even place small pieces of furniture on an angle for a little less of a dramatic effect.

Result: You will look at your room as if you are looking at a piece of art.

4) Entourage:

Problem: When you have no plants or greenery in your space, your space looks dead.

Psychology: We never want to feel like we are alone. Plants and flowers make us feel calmer in a space.

Solution: Invest in a large house plant. They are super easy to take care of. Also try putting fresh flowers on your dinning room table each week. Or buy a fake flower arrangement (your brain can’t tell the difference) and sit it on an end able.

Result: A Challenge, Put a plant in a room and just stare at the room and evaluate how you feel. Then take the plant out and look at the space and assess how you feel. Now put the plant back in the space. You will notice a difference.

5) Focal points on the walls:

Problem: A space looks finished when you have a wonderful piece of art on the wall, but on the other hand a space can look tacky and over done if you have too much stuff on the walls.

Psychology: We hate blank space and walls are a huge amount of negative space.  Negative space aggregates our emotions when they have no purpose.  It makes our space feel empty, making us have feelings of depression and worry. However, when overdoing the negative space on the walls we can feel overwhelmed.

Solution: Create a focal point with one or two piece of art, by clustering the pieces and hanging them at eye level.  If you have a large piece of art just stand it alone on the wall, if you have a rather small piece of art collage it with other like pieces and center them on the wall.  Note: Putting focal points on every wall is over doing it, just put art on one or two walls. Balance the focal point by putting a large or high piece of furniture on the opposite undecorated wall. Also, you can just add a splash of color on one wall, it also gives the eye something to look at much like a piece of art would.

Result: A finished space.


Note: None of these principles/suggestions will substitute the expertise of a Designer

Rethinking Refrigerator Art

When was the last time you actually looked at what was on your refrigerator?  

Cluttered Refrigerator

We seem to keep everything on our refrigerators [all the important stuff] and also never take it down. We have old magnets from pizza places that don't exist anymore, report cards with grease spots on them; pictures of people kids we don't know and art that is older then when the kid was when they made it. Well, just because it is magnetic doesn't mean that we should cover it full with anything that will adhere to it. Simple fact is, we seem to overlook our refrigerator as something that is adding to our clutter and even something that is making our kitchen look messy when it isn't.

A while back I was in this beautiful gourmet kitchen but when I entered the kitchen, my eyes didn't go to the exquisite marble counter tops but to the Frigidaire covered in crap. Who wants to have this magnificent kitchen be dulled down by a cluttered refrigerator? Also, some of us may be unfortunate and have been blessed with a very small kitchen, we don't realize how much smaller we make the space feel when we clutter up our refrigerators with scraps of paper and magnets.

My Tidy Refrigerator

De-cluttering your new Maytag doesn't mean that you have to leave it solemn and bare. You just need to do a little spring cleaning and organizing, just like you would do to any room or closet. First of all, throw away all the old dusty pizza magnet and at least take down the outdated art and put it in a scrapbook. When organizing, maybe use only one side of your fridge to display things[things like the art or report cards]; or leave only a few pictures up and update them monthly instead of adding more; or you can even buy refrigerator organizers with pockets and small drawers to keep your fridge tidy.Whatever style or organizing technique your prefer, do! Just please promise me that the kids on your refrigerator still look like that now.

What Does Your Space Need? The Opposite!

Is your space full of neutrals; like browns, whites, grays, beige's or black?

Then your space needs an accent color! Neutral spaces can create a bland uncreative space. Look at your space and zoom in on any trace of color. If you see a tiny hint of faint orange in your rug, then voila you have found your accent color. Now as a solution to your neutrals problem, place orange in your space thoughtfully with accent pillows on the sofa, a piece of art on the wall, a large vase, a lamp, or a beautiful bouquet of orange flowers.  Note: don't over due the orange, it is an accent after all. Also, know there is no need to match your oranges, keep it classy with a variety of shades. The space to the right is a neutral space jazzed up with a small splash of yellow and orange hues.

 

Is your space full of hard surfaces like tile floors, wood floors, leather furniture, hard pillows, glass accents or lots of wood?

Then your space is in need of something soft! Hard surfaces present your space as cold and lacking comfort. Adding a shag rug, a soft textured pillow, a thick throw blanket, a pile of large floor pillows or plants/florals can soften your desperately hard space. Softness is especially needed in lounging spaces like bedrooms and family rooms. The space to the left has many hard textures, but the the warmth and comfort come from the added soft textures with the blanket, pillows and plants.

                   Is your space full of patterns, floor to ceiling?

Then you need to burn it all! Just kidding, you just need to replace some of your patterns for solids. Patterns give you a case of  "pattern overload." Which makes you feel unsettled in the space. One of my design rules is to use only one [maybe two with my help] large patterns in the space. Patterns create focal point and our eyes focus on them first. If you have too many patterns our eyes have a hard time focusing. If you are able follow my rule, if not do some subtle changes. Examples: Place a solid rug between your floral carpet and striped couch or switch out your pattern accent pillows with a more solid color [it can have a texture but avoid  pattern]  or a new window treatment can be very inexpensive to change out for a solid more calm alternative. Above the space has several patterns but it works because the largest piece of furniture is solid and the floor is simple.

Is your space square? Literally?

Then you need some harmony! Square furniture with square accents in a square shaped space lacks harmony. All the furniture is fighting against each other, instead of working with each other.What your space needs is round shapes and soft edges. Harmony is achieved when the right amount of square is comforted with the right amount of circular. The round shapes and soft edges are also accents, over doing the circles could make your space look like an Austin Powers shag pad. To the left is a square room with large oversized square furniture with a wall length rectangular fireplace. The harmony in this room was achieved with the rounded soft edges of the reading chairs, the roundness of the floral accents and massive circular mirror highlight the entire space.

Is your space none of these but is an outdated, 

unorganized, tacky mess?

Then you're in need of an Interior Designer. Call me! I would love to help you turn your space into something worth relaxing in. The picture to the right is an example of a huge, outdated, unorganized tacky mess of a space. [Whoevers home this is I will help you out for free.]