A-Mazed
Area rugs contribute handsomely to a design plan.
An area rug can serve to define a space. Placed within a seating arrangement, a rug creates a little island floating in the sea of the rest of the room. A well placed rug should beckon. “Come on over. This is where you are supposed to be.”
Because rugs define an area so well, they can also become a large maze when used too frequently in a space. “Scatter Rugs” or tiny carpets all over the floor were once used to protect hardwood floors from dirt and abrasion. This look is confusing to the eye and impedes proper flow. More than two rugs in one line of vision are enough, and sometimes even that is too much. If the floor under all those rugs needs that much protection, perhaps it should be replaced with something more suitable.
Harsh Realities
Although it is common to choose a paint color by exactly matching a color from a fabric used on furniture, this rarely works.Use a lighter or darker version of the color instead, or better yet, paint the walls a color not used anywhere else in the room. Remember that paint is your backdrop, just as a blue sky is the backdrop for green foliage.
Decide whether the colors used in your room are warm or cool. Remember to consider the flooring material when planning for color. Warm and cool tones can be present on wood work, fixtures and window treatments as well as the more obvious furniture and walls.
The harsh reality is that most people struggle when mixing warm with cool tones, so why try?
Stick to one and ensure success.
Lofty Impressions
Hanging pictures can be such a hang up. But really, it is quiet easy, once you know the strategy.
When in doubt, hang it lower. When hanging art over a sofa, between the bottom of the frame and the top of the sofa back there should only be about 18 inches at the very most. It should be possible to view the sofa and art as a coherent group. The eye should not have to travel up from the furniture to the art above it.
Another sign of confusion: A pair of pictures hung staggered horizontally. Sometimes they are hung with the left one higher, sometimes with the right one higher, and often over a bed or on a blank wall. Either way—always wrong. Glance through decorating books and magazines. This is something you will never see done by professionals, yet homeowners do it all the time.
If two or more pictures are stacked vertically, they need not always line up on the center axis, but they should be stacked in relation to something else. Note in this photo how the vertical arrangement reflects the form of the secretary.
Sometimes pictures are “worked in” to make a cohesive grouping. In the image below, hanging the art centered over the console would be odd, since the “wall” is really the stairs. The lamp and statuary balance the grouping and add dimension.
Paint Palette Problems
Obviously, a well designed home is one that functions as well as it looks. However, it may be surprising to hear that a home with a discordant color scheme can actually cause discord. Just as a lovely song cannot overcome sour singers, a haphazard color scheme can ruin a design plan.
The easiest way to avoid paint palette problems is to plan! Coordinate your home by choosing a color palette for the entire house, entire floor, or at least the entire room. Choose two main colors and three accents and use these in different tones and values throughout your home. Many of my clients like the idea of using one favorite color in some way in every room of the house.
Certain color combinations work:
- Monochromatic uses different tones of the same.
- Analogous schemes use colors that lie next to each other on the color ring.
- Complementary schemes use colors opposite each other on the color ring.
A tight scheme can be accented with “pops” of color, but again, the key is in the planning.
By the Book
The proliferation of “shelter” catalogues, paired with the popularity of home decorating television shows has contributed to a heightened awareness in decorating trends. Certainly, increasing desire by Americans to create stylish interiors is good for business (both for mine and for the companies who ship the glossy tomes every month) but I have seen a negative side to this as well. My Top Decorating Dilemma # 11 is not terribly common, but when it occurs it is just that: terrible.
A few of my clients have taken a favorite catalogue image, and have duplicated it exactly in their own homes, down to the tininess accessory. Why is this terrible? Well, aside from the obvious lack of creativity , magazine and catalogue displays are not made for USE. The picture is taken in a way that best highlights the item for sale without any regard for how practical the plan is. So when I see a home that looks exactly like a scene out Pottery Barn, I inevitably see a homeowner unhappy with the functionality of the space.
Thankfully, the solution is simple. Rearranging the furniture to improve traffic flow and accessorizing with a couple of items that have meaning to the client are easy starts. Avoiding this dilemma is even easier. If the urge to recreate a scene hits—RESIST—no matter how perfect the scene may appear. Tear the page out and add it to an idea file instead.
Size Does Matter!
Face it, its true! One of the most common problems I encounter with my clients is dealing with furniture that doesn’t fit in its space. My solution is usually to move it, but this doesn’t address the root of the problem.
Before tackling any decorating project, MEASURE TWICE! Clients are just as likely to purchase furniture that is too small for a space as too large. Although it may seem tedious, it really does help to draw out your room. Use grid paper and draw your room to scale. Be sure to draw it large enough to work with. Although it is not conventional, I like to use one graph square for every 6 inches. When arranging your furniture, remember to add comfortable distance between walls and objects. Allow 24 inches for traffic flow but keep seating close enough to allow conversation.
Choosing furniture in the appropriate size is crucial to its appear-ance and functionality. Always measure the space around the item, and I even recommend measuring out the space a piece will fill right in the furniture store.
In good design, planning is the key it success.