Most of us have collections, but are unsure how to display them! The best way to start is to give them all something consistent to start with. Like this layout of old rulers. But keeping the bottom horizontal line the same they’ve given some consistency to it and allow you to better see the individual rulers.
(Photo via Trip Press Print)
Tags: collection, display
Last night I had the opportunity to hear Mary Hoffman, a Color and Design Specialist for Benjamin Moore! I heard a little bit about Benjamin Moore and their process for choosing their color palettes for the year.
This is one of their color palettes for next year. I love the European feel to it! Very clean, chic, and contemporary!
I absolutely love color theory and anything having to do with color. I find it fascinating that they forecast the colors about 2-3 years out. So yep, back in 2007 they forecasted that purple would be big this year…and sure enough, we’re seeing purple everywhere now!
To choose the color palettes they come up with a theme (or a few themes). The particular color palette above was based on Ingenuity. They saw that designers would be using color in unconventional palettes. Their other palettes were based off of New Luxury and Genesis. The New Luxury color palette featured rich purples, yellows, oranges, and darker bronze neutrals. Almost Eastern inspired. Their Genesis palette featured a much more monochromatic palette which focused on colors found in nature. Texture was a big factor in this particular color palette to provide some relief from the monochromatic colors.
She talked some about their paint (which I’ll share later) but she hid paint chips throughout the store (Pottery Barn) and made it a game of finding them. She was showing some colors that coordinated, and some new color palettes we would start to see next year. Mary mentioned that along with more purple next year we’d start to see navy pop up again. (You heard it here first folks!) Here are some of the paint chips I found in the store:
We’ve seen a lot of yellow, grey, white color combinations, but pinks will be added to the palette next year too.
Love how this gorgeous green provides a soft feeling to all the dark wood tones.
Here’s some more purple! Love it with the neutrals and metallics!
Be sure to check out their site! They’ve got lots of great resources and inspiration photos too!
Small spaces can seem challenging to design so I’d like to give a few general tips today that might help you expand your small space.
General tips:
{via Apartment Therapy}
Kitchen:
{via Apartment Therapy}
Bedroom:
Do you live in a small space? If so, how are you using your space to your advantage?
Tags: apartment, bedroom, Kitchen, small spaces
We get lots of questions when we meet with clients! Many are specific to the project, but there are a few that we get asked quite often so we thought we’d share some of those questions and answers here:
Where am I supposed to hang these pictures?
Usually this refers to where to place them on the wall. The general rule of thumb is to hang them all at eye level, though I find that this is not really true. When we hang pictures, especially in front of a console, buffet, or sofa we’re looking to complete the arrangement of art, accessories, and furnishings. If you have a low, modern sofa, hang your art piece no more than 12″-18″ above the back of the sofa. If you place it at eye level in a situation like this, your picture may end up a few feet above the sofa and seem like it’s floating and not a part of your arrangement.
How do I pick colors for this room?
This is a great question! Usually we’ll start with one piece, maybe a piece of art, accent pillow, or rug, and base a color scheme around it. It’s perfectly alright to just match paint colors from the inspiration piece for your room! Don’t get hung up on which color will work, if you like the color, and it coordinates with your furnishings and accessories, go with it! Your home should be a reflection of YOU, not everyone else! If you just can’t decide, or need someone to let you know that yes, it is alright to paint your walls grey and your ceiling black (hypothetically speaking, of course), be sure to sign-up for our phone consultations! We’ll look at pictures of your space and guide you through the process!
How big of a rug do I need for my living room?
I usually go bigger, you want your rug to be larger than your sofa. A rug helps to pull your furniture arrangement together, and if it’s smaller than your sofa, it’s hard to feel cohesive. Can’t find a large rug for your space? Consider putting 4 smaller ones together!
Tags: DIY
So remember last week when we talked about what type of testing they do on fabrics to see how durable they will be? Today we’ll talk about something else found on the fabric label: Cleaning codes.
Many times the furniture stores will tell you the wrong information on how to clean your upholstered pieces. Or try to sell you solvent cleaner, when your fabric can be cleaned with water as well. The best way to check is to ask them for the cleaning code. There are 4 different cleaning codes you’ll see on your upholstery and window treatment fabrics. Here’s a brief synopsis of them below:
|
W. ( water based cleaners) |
S. (solvent or dry cleaning products) |
W-S. (solvent and/or water based cleaners) |
X. (vacuum or brush only) |
| To prevent overall soiling, frequent vacuuming or light brushing to remove dust and grime is recommended. Spot clean using the foam only from a water-based cleaning agent such as a mild detergent or non-solvent upholstery shampoo. Apply foam with a soft rag or brush in a circular motion. Vacuum when dry. Always pretest a small area before proceeding. | To prevent overall soiling, frequent vacuuming or light brushing to remove dust and grime is recommended. Spot clean using a mild water-free solvent or dry cleaning product. Clean only in a well ventilated room and avoid any product containing carbon tetrachloride which is highly toxic. Pretest small area before proceeding. | To prevent overall soiling, frequent vacuuming or light brushing to remove dust and grime is recommended. Spot clean with a mild solvent , an upholstery shampoo or the foam from a mild detergent. When using a solvent or dry cleaning product, follow instructions carefully and clean only in a well ventilated room. With either method, pretest a small area before proceeding. | Clean this fabric only by vacuuming or light brushing to prevent accumulation of dust and grime. Water based foam cleaners or solvent based cleaning agents of any kind may cause excessive shrinking, staining, or distortion of the surface pile and therefore should not be used. |
The biggest thing to remember is to always test it on a small, inconspicuous spot on your sofa. A favorite place of mine is on the fabric between the seat cushions. The fabric is never seen but provides a flat surface for testing. Always leave the test space fabric for a day or two. One time I performed a test, and it looked like it worked, then the next day there was a ring around both my test spot and where I cleaned in a very conspicuous place. Yikes! So, after you test, wait a day to make sure this doesn’t happen to you!
Are you finding these helpful at all? Again, if there’s any questions please leave them in the comments!
Tags: cleaning code, DIY, fabric
