Happy New Year - Lucky 13!

Wishing you all a healthy and prosperous 2013!

Happy decorating,

Design Tip Tuesday - Artwork Arranging

When I'm styling a space and need some art to decorate with, I don't immediately turn to paintings or framed prints - I try to think outside the box as well as always keep in mind the client and what they're tastes are and what they enjoy doing (or have done).

Image Via abode love

Art can be a beautiful painting that speaks to you, a photo that takes you back to a certain place or an object that holds special meaning to you. Art is anything that makes you happy and stirs an emotion within. Keep an open mind about what art can be.

To me, a perfectly decorated room is one that tells the story about my client, and nothing does this better in a room than the accessories - artwork included. I often try to incorporate objects that are special to clients onto the wall ... perhaps I'll frame an object that has sentimental meaning to them or incorporate the object onto the wall even without being framed - a hat perhaps hanging on the wall. 

Whatever you decide to place on the wall, unless you have an entire wall dedicated as a gallery, you need to hang your art in relation to the room’s surroundings. You don't have to necessarily match art to your furnishings, but make sure they relate and create a connection - either by subject matter, style or colour to create a unity. 

Image via Brabourne

Match the shape of the art to the shape of a wall – hang vertical art and groupings on vertical wall spaces and horizontal art and groupings on horizontal wall spaces.

Image via Little Things

Art over the fireplace should be sized to fill from 2/3 to the full width of the mantel – do not extend mantel art beyond the mantel’s width and art less than 1/2 the width of the mantel will look too small proportionately.

Image via House and Home

Art should be no higher than 5″ to 9″ from the back of a sofa or chair or the top of a table in order for the furniture and art to read as a visual unit. A single piece of art or a grouping of art should ideally cover approximately 2/3 of the width of the furniture it hangs over. In order for the proportion of the art installation to work well with the furniture it should never be wider than the furniture and never less than half its width – aim for 2/3.

Hang art to increase the visual weight of a piece of furniture. If you have a bookshelf that is tall and a bit narrow, hang art on both sides to increase its visual width. If more height is needed on a wall, top a piece of furniture with a piece of art.

Image via decorpad

Create groupings in which the individual art pieces relate to one another in terms of subject, colour, material, or framing. For example, don’t mix colour and black and white photographs in the same grouping – stick with one or the other. If grouping floral images arrange them so the colour is balanced throughout the installation.

Image via time worn

When hanging multiple pieces make sure the frames are the same or complement each other well.

Image via ipo Pinterest

Hope these quick art tips inspire you to create some great 'art' walls in your homes!

Happy decorating!

Monday Muse - Grohe Ladylux Faucet

Being an interior design professional I'm constantly being asked about my favourite products, so I thought it would be a neat weekly feature - my weekly product muse if you will.

So, for my first Monday muse, I thought I would introduce you to my favourite faucet.

Meet LadyLux. 

Beautiful, yes. A work horse, yes.

Grohe as a name has been around for years - since 1911 as Berkenhoff & Paschedag and since 1936 as Grohe. And there is a reason this company has been around so long - quality. They put out a super product and a warranty that leaves you feeling confident in your purchase.

Made of professional quality stainless steel it looks and feels like a top of the line product - but to me the most impressive part of this faucet is the pullout hand spray that is weighty in hand and boasts a tension spring that allows the hose to glide smoothly and retract easily.

One of my pet peeves is a faucet that feels cheap - and the majority of the pull out sprays available at big box stores have a plastic hose pull out that is awkward to pull out and feed back. Who has time to fiddle with that?

The LadyLux is my personal favourite for kitchens. It's always at the top of my mind when I spec for a kitchen. The price tag may be a bit more than most are used to spending on a faucet - but its worth every penny. It always amazes me that clients will reno their kitchen to a cost of $50k plus and when it comes down to the faucets (usually at the end of a project when the budget has taken a bit of a beating) they try to cut corners. It's an instrument in your kitchen that will be used daily - many times a day - it needs to stand up to the wear and tear. If you cheap out, you'll be reminded of it every time you turn on that tap.

If you know me you know that I'm a form girl - but function is never far from my mind. In some cases form takes the lead over function, but in the case of a faucet, function trumps form. It's much more important for this type of item to be functional rather than beautiful. But, luckily in this case, the form is quite appealing too!

Grohe sales offices can be found in throughout the world and production plants in Germany, Canada, 
Thailand and Portugal.

Do you have a favourite kitchen faucet?

Happy decorating!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hi everyone!
It's officially Autumn and nothing makes it feel like Autumn more than Thanksgiving weekend. The leaves are all changing colours - beautiful reds, oranges and yellows - the days are sunny and crisp - my favourite time of year!

Hope you're all enjoying your Thanksgiving weekend with family and friends!

Happy decorating!
Lenore

Interior Design - A Designers Tool Bag

Every interior professional has their own set of trade tools and today I thought I'd do a fun post and show you some of the things I use on a daily basis - hope you enjoy!

Big Work Surface

My desk, while big, never seems large enough. Although I consider myself to be an extremely organized and tidy individual, my desk never seems to convey this. Once I'm into a project - it completely takes over my work surface - it's no wonder I'm always losing my phone beneath the piles of papers, samples and books!

Coffee

To stay and to go! Especially needed when budgeting and trying to stay on top of the daily paperwork that unfortunately goes along with what I do - I much prefer the creative side. 

View

A good view is essential to inspiration - this is mine daily (Toronto looking South/East) from my desk and on the road too!

Computer

My trusty Apple computers have been my business partners since I began designing (a long time ago). Today it's my 27" iMac - great for multitasking on screen. When I'm on the go, my iPad fills in. 

Paper

Notebooks filled with project notes and inspiration are always in my hand, no matter where I am. Projects are kept in files - white of course, and in office on clipboards hanging on the wall for easy access by anyone to quickly jump in and take over. 

Music

I just couldn't possibly work without music in the background - selection changes daily depending on my mood. Lately there's been a mixture of Daughtry, Ricky Martin and Kenny Chesney - I know, eclectic right?

Writing Instruments

Pens, markers and highlighters are constantly strewn across my desk - as most of you know, the G-Tec is my absolute favourite pen - there's nothing like it in my opinion. For quick/rough sketches and drawings I reach for a .3 or .5 black ink marker - highlighters are used in my notes as reminders.

 

CAD Tools

Floor Plans and Elevation Drawings are completed mostly with CAD tools. I love it because its an add on to Adobe Illustrator which I've been using since school (about 20 years). Makes dimensioning and scaling a breeze with the added drawing features of Illustrator.

Number Tools

A measuring tape is always at my side when planning, sourcing and on site. Stanley tends to be my favourite but I have a few 'prettier' ones that I use from time to time. A calculator is always useful for budgeting and converting.

Reference Materials

I'm a major book lover. I have dozens of books - on design mainly - I never tire of looking at them and am always eager to get my hands on the latest one. And I can very often be found at my local library researching and signing out more. (Love that I can manage holds and requests on-line these days.)

Photographic Equipment

My large Canon is great for capturing finished rooms and finished custom furniture. My smaller Canon is handy to have in my purse to snap a photo of something I'm sourcing. And my iPhone is used when I want to send a snap of something that could be perfect for a project to an assistant or client for quick approval. Also always handy to capture inspiration and the canvas being worked on.

Phone

Ahhh ... my iPhone. Don't get me started on this - there is no better phone - I'll stop here. Keeps me connected in every way and backing up to my iMac and iPad is a breeze thanks to iCloud!

Glasses

What can I say, I need them daily.

Markers

They make my CAD drawings come to life and help to pull a colour concept together - I'm a fan of Prismacolor - guess it's due to the fact that it's what I was trained with.

 Templates

I have a template for everything - it's the compulsive organizer in me. My budget template keeps things on budget and ensures nothing gets forgotten when procuring.

  

Swatches

Fabric swatches and  paint chips help to pull a colour scheme together and create the direction and mood for a space. I get lost in paint chips and even more so in fabric samples. Right now I'm loving all the traditional patterns done in modern and contemporary ways. And as for paint colours - any grey with a mauve undertone is working for me.

Bag and File Case

I spend a big part of my week on the road meeting with suppliers, sourcing and seeing clients. And there is a lot I need with me - so, my oversized leather bag is big enough to throw everything into and chic enough to not look like a 'work bag'. My travel file case is always in my truck - it's the template thing again.

Flowers

And last but not least, something pretty. There is nothing better than getting to your desk to start a day with some pretty flowers next to you. Always makes me smile!

So, I hope you enjoyed my post on my daily tools - there are more, but these are the most used ones!

Happy decorating everyone!

Lenore

PS - We're posting daily decorating tips on our facebook page - Like it to receive them daily!

Highgate - Interior Design Closing Day! - Part One

Hi All!
I'm always asked what it's like to finish a room for a client and how we do it ... so, I decided to blog about it with visuals - it's not a glamorous day, but certainly rewarding in the end. There are a number of photos I want to share with you for this post, so I've decided to break it up into two entries. This one will feature the rooms before photos (provided by the client pre consultation) as well as the start of the closing day photos.

First off ... the before photos ...

Closing days are always bustling with activity - from installations, to deliveries, to set up, it's definitely hectic. It involves packing my truck and assistant's car with all the accessories and props. Draperies and hardware are also packed with us because drapery installation is usually one of the first things done on this day - and we don't want to be waiting for them to be delivered.

Props and accessories area ... yes, it's messy - always best to close when the client isn't home - this can be scary for some!

Drapery hardware goes up...

Drapes hung and rug in place...

Some furniture delivered and set up...

Starting to come together...

Now that all of the large pieces are delivered and in place, my assistant and I get to work on organizing all of the elements and placing accessories and props for the client's reveal.

Want to see the finished space? Check back soon for part two of this post which will feature all the afters and details.

Happy decorating!

Lenore