30th
12 -
2010
|
comment closed
New dining room and living room furniture can transform your current residence into the home of your dreams. You do not need to move into a new apartment or buy a new house to get that sense of renewal and rejuvenation so many of us desire. With beautiful, high quality furniture you can achieve the comfort and style you have always wanted.
New living room furniture can give your home a bold, modern look full of sleek, clean lines or a traditional feeling with soft, upholstered pieces. Whatever style of décor you choose, you and your family can enjoy total comfort and relaxation in your transformed living spaces.
Living rooms are typically designed around sofas or couches. The design and placement of sofas play a major role in socializing and communication in a living room. Sofas can give a room a feeling of intimacy, spaciousness, simplicity, elegance, or opulence. They can encourage guests to curl up for a long, friendly visit or sit up straight for a more formal exchange.
If you want to provide the maximum amount of seating for the available space, consider a sectional sofa. Sectional sofas work well in large rooms and in small rooms. They come in sizes ranging from quite small to fairly large. Before you buy a sectional you need to decide on the configuration that is best for your room. First, plan the configuration you want, and then take measurements of your space so you know the minimum and maximum sizes that will work for you. You will have the opportunity to customize your sectional by choosing the fabric type and color and cushion styles that best fit your décor. Many kinds of fabric are suitable for sectionals, including leather and nubuck. New microfiber materials are sturdy, attractive, and easy to care for.
Coffee tables fit nicely within sectional configurations. You may be surprised when you see how large a coffee table you can comfortably place in front of your sofa. In fact, your living room may be complete with just a sectional sofa, coffee table, and side tables. Complete, that is, in terms of furniture. You room will not be fully decorated until you add accessories such as artwork, paintings, rugs, lamps, and decorative items. In fact, you can best express your unique style and sense of design in the accessories you choose for your living room.
While for practical reasons you may want to refurnish one room at a time, the living room and dining room often go together as a unit and are best redecorated at the same time. By no means do styles and colors have to be the same for the living room and the dining room, but they do need to be coordinated because these rooms typically flow into each other. Bedroom furniture can share the décor of the common rooms, or each bedroom can each have its own look and feel.
29th
12 -
2010
|
comment closed
Small spaces have great potential when it comes to house interior design. Make more room while giving each space your unique design expression by applying these 7 rules the pros use!
1. Slim Down – Get a large box, basket or bag and sift through those small accents. Too many little things sitting around a small room will clog of the room’s space quickly. It’s amazing how much air space you will create by being super specific about what you have placed on table tops and shelves.
2. Trim Down – Heavy, bulky window treatments not only block the limited light in your small room but are also space hoggers. Free those windows by using shades, blinds or even shutters. There are some gorgeous options to be made or purchased at your favorite house interior design store. Have a little extra money to spend, have your blinds custom designed in fabrics that compliment the rest of your room’s decor.
3. Color Down – Though a variety of color breaks up a large house, too much color in a small one will work against your already limited amount of space. It is best to paint all the walls one color or use a similar pallet hue for small subtle changes from room to room.
4. Lighten Up – Pull in that limited light with the use of mirrors positioned directly across from a window. Use semi gloss paint to reflect the light and keep your furniture polished and your appliances clean.
5. Fabric Up – It is better to fabric up your accents and leave the large furniture pieces to solids. If you already have a busy couch with a floral print, shapes or strips, consider toning things down a bit with a slip cover. Then, bring in those extra fabrics in your accents to provide some visual depth and emotional interest. Have fun with this part of your house interior design project!
Bring in those weaves, patterns, and quilted fabrics for this.
6. Liven Up – Nothing says open space and health like fresh plants placed around a room. Potted plants are preferred but bountiful bouquets regularly freshened up will also work well.
Limited for room? Positioning a potted plant in front of the fireplace mantle during the warmest time of the year is a great use of that space. Angle your furniture and use the extra space to display an indoor tree or palm.
7. Step Up – Light bare wood is always the best and beautiful of option for giving a small room a larger appearance. Flooring in an apartment cannot be changed but it can be changed up! Place a lighter area rug on top of the existing carpet. Or in the case of a dark linoleum find a light bamboo or Berber to bring out the light.
29th
12 -
2010
|
comment closed
Is interior design a natural talent or learned skill? I say both. You can attend school forever and never possess the creativity required for interior design. Residential certification can take just 4-6 months of studying and teach future designers how to plan projects, choose the right materials for the right purpose, use contracts, space plan, furniture design, architecture and so much more. Not to mention it can save you a ton of money when compared to a four-year college which focuses more on commercial interior design.
Adding an easy to follow certification course to your bag of skills will help you utilize your natural raw talent with basic techniques and business expertise required for your success. Training gives you the confidence and knowledge to succeed in a residential interior design career. Most colleges are too expensive and geared more towards commercial interior design. Some of the most successful interior designers in the country have studied the basic techniques and gained national attention because of their talent.
One of the best things about interior design is that there are infinite ways to express your artistic talent. Some interior designers use their artistic talent to paint a signature piece of art for their client’s design. This makes them stand out as a designer and they are forever remembered by their clients. The reality is that the artistic expression is endless in this career choice. With that being said, there are still many aspects of the business that have to be taught.
Before you work with a client you should learn how to bill clients, use the right contracts, posses the proper terminology, locate wholesale items, prepare a space plan, collect useful samples, manage budgets, and understand project management. Those are just a few of the necessary skills that you’ll be learning in a reputable residential course. Bring your natural talent to the course and then build upon it!
Design is a career of choice for individuals with artistic talent. This career is constantly evolving with art, color, products, green choices, ergonomics, and style. Professionals love learning about the latest products available to bring added value to their clients, as well keeping up with industry news to stand out amongst their colleagues. This is a competitive field and product knowledge is power!
The biggest pitfall for most designers is that, as artists, they do not typically posses the business skills needed to succeed in this career. Also artistically minded individuals such as designers typically possess a “flower child” mentality that provides volumes of imagination. A typical designer thought would be as follows: “Let’s make the world a more beautiful place even if I have to sacrifice my income!” This is where the starving artist who does not realize his or her self-worth comes into play. Imagine having an experienced colleague protecting you from the pitfalls, helping you realize your worth, and teaching you how to charge properly.
We don’t hear about the start-up struggles because, like other professions, we are a proud bunch. However, if you get a group of interior designers together in a room and bring up their first several years in the business it will go something like this: “I was so excited about designing Mrs. Smith’s house that I felt guilty charging them anything! I did charge them a small amount; after all I was lucky that they liked me enough to allow me to design their three million dollar home. Yes, I had to get a roommate to meet the rent, but I didn’t mind (chuckle) because I made them so happy. I lived on three cans of tuna a week and boiled noodles for seven months. They said that I did a great job and that I was lucky they chose me. Oh well, at least I stayed thin.”
If that sounds like it was spoken from the heart, it was! That was just one of my first four years of experience in this industry. The early years of designing homes worth $500,000 and up, barely paying my rent, and struggling to survive are just a few of the reasons that I love to protect young designers. Yes, you guessed it. I was one of the designers that attended an expensive college, costly 2 years specialty college which left me in dept for several years after graduation and I was never taught the secrets of success in interior design, nor was I told how to avoid the pitfalls. Not to mention the fact that I was one of the few graduates of my class that actually continued into a lifelong career as an interior designer.
Though many of my fellow students may have possessed more drafting skills or auto cad skills than I did, they did not necessarily posses people skills or natural artistic ability to become an interior designer. That’s when I came to the realization that it does not matter how much an interior design student spends, they either have it or they don’t! Education is of the utmost importance with regards to an interior design career. In fact, a successful interior designer never stops learning and discovering the latest products available for her clients. You will succeed in this career if you have true passion for it.
You may be reading this and thinking of how many times you moved around your living room furniture or repainted your walls. Designing is such an adventure. If you get excited about new fabrics, colors, and are easily moved or inspired, you’ve got it – you’re a designer at heart! Follow your heart and live your dream. Just make sure you are backed by technique, knowledge of contracts, and the basic skills that every interior designer should know before entering this highly competitive field. I wish there had been something like the residential interior design course certification available when I was starting.
Next Page » — « previous page