Making A Beautiful Choice in Interior Design

 

Sustainable . . . It’s not exactly a word which brings to mind a sultry, sexy image.  In fact, the concept can be so complex it can create a bit of a yawn. 

Paul Hawken has said:   "Sustainability is about stabilizing the currently disruptive relationship between earth’s two most complex systems—human culture and the living world.” 

A titillating discussion for some, while not so much for others.  I promise, if you’ll stick with me, this post will become more exciting!  (And if you’re an interior designer, who will be attending the High Point Furniture Market, you should continue to read on to the end.  There’s a juicy tid-bit waiting just for you! . . . No reading backwards, either!)

First, here’s the “skinny” on BiOHpolyols ' Project UDesign:

It’s a contest, in collaboration with the Savannah College of Art and Design (On Twitter as @SCADdotedu), Century Furniture, and Toray Ultrasuede, to crowdsource the next generation sustainable wing chair.  (Crowdsourcing is simply where a group or community is asked to participate,through an open call, in order to collaborate on an idea or a project.)  In the case of Project U Design, you get to help to decide, (via your vote), which design, created by one of the students at SCAD, moves forward to actually be manufactured by Century Furniture, a truly glam furniture manufacturer who also happens to be interested in incorporating eco-friendly, sustainable products into their production process.  Beauty isn’t always in the eyes of the beholder, it’s behind the scenes, too!

There are currently six designs and five semi-finalist students in competition for the decision. Between now and Oct. 3rd at 11: 59 pm, everyone can vote for the three finalists. They will be selected only by those who vote online and the 3 finalists will be announced on Monday, Oct. 4th on www.facebook.com/BiOHFans.   

(Okay, I promised to spice things up so I thought you might enjoy a visual reference for all of the key partners in this historical design adventure.  The Tortoise Chair is one of the six designs, for which you can place your vote.  You’re getting warm if you’re wondering about my vote.)

(The Tortoise Chair, designed by Colin Jones.  You can click on this picture to read his comments about this design’s inspiration.)

How can you place your vote?

The voting for the three finalists, (who will be announced on Oct. 4th), will end at 11: 59pm, Tuesday, Oct. 19th. The designer of the chair who has the most votes will win. The winner will be chosen only by online votes and none of the partners or related parties have any say so in the winner. It is completely the public's choice.

What will the winner receive?  (Aside from your vote of confidence?)

1. A thousand dollars from BiOH – immediately!  (What budding new designer couldn’t benefit from that?)

2. Their winning design will be produced and put into Century's regular line up for intro at the Spring 2011 HP Market!  (Can you imagine?  I would have to be tied down with a ton of bricks to keep from hitting the ceiling!)

3. The winning student will be paid royalties by Century on all sales of their winning chair, once it's produced! (Mom and Dad would sure be proud to know “sustainable” could live up to it’s other application!)

4. A lot of publicity!  (You can say you knew them “when” and helped to put them in the pages of “House Beautiful”, “Forbes”, “The New York Times”, or perhaps they’ll even be chatting it up online, with you, as they develop their next big idea!)

Now for My Big Reveal!

For those of you who don’t know me, I’m southern born and bred.  Having created interiors in the Charlotte, NC area, for the last fourteen-plus years, I like to say I have a foot in the past, (as I have an affinity for antiques and history), but with an eye towards the future.  I happily embrace the style which is being referred to the “New Traditional” or “New Classic”.  The Tortoise Chair, by Colin Jones, appears as if it would nest just as comfortably within an antebellum estate or in a mid-century modern ranch.

(Please click on my inspiration board to enlarge it for a better view.)

When I looked at Colin’s design, I thought about some long past days when I was in interior design school.  I imagined it might be fun to see if I could utilize the colors of my alma mater, East Carolina University.  They aren’t always the first hues I would think about bringing into an interior – purple and gold – but then . . . 1.  I am an interior designer, after all, and I should be able to address most design requests  . . . and . . . 2.  Purple has been making a grand entrance at recent market events. 

(This was my color combo challenge!  How well did I do?)

Thanks to Alluminaire.com, I was able to create a custom shade, for a ceiling pendant fixture, which helped me to incorporate another accent color, timely for the fall season. . . Pumpkin!  I also added in a little gray as I envisioned it to be the background color of the walls in this room.  (Painted in Sherwin William’s Harmony paint, of course!)  It was fun, as well, to peruse some of the latest runway fashion statements, as I knew those trends can eventually work their way into the lines created for home interiors.  I loved this photo of singer, Joss Stone.  She had the perfect backdrop as she posed in her embroidered silk dress and with a lovely plum shock of hair!  (I could just envision that dress being made from some draperies yanked down from windows, Scarlett O’Hara style.)  I decided to tweak the original chair’s covering and selected Wild Plum from Ultrasuede’s line-up of eco-friendly fabrics.  (A soft landing at the end of a hard day.)  Duralee provided a great little accent pillow fabric with their line from Clodagh - coincidently, in the color pumpkin!  The modular carpet tiles, from Flor, offered a curvilinear backdrop as well as the “Sensuous” gourd vases from a local Charlotte area gallery, Red Sky.

Good design should always be about making a beautiful choice.  The beauty of the choice will be the one where it’s based on being all about you!  As a designer, I bring it to your home with the selection, the knowledge, and a bit of gentle guidance. 

Please be sure to vote.  The industry needs your feedback to develop sustainable products, which are stable, sultry, and sexy!

PS – I didn’t forget my interior designer friends!  Are you attending the High Point Fall Market?  Be sure to put October 18th at 5pm on your calendar.  All registered market/trade attendees are invited to share time with the traditional shelter print press in the Century Furniture showroom.  It’s a great opportunity for mixing and mingling.  Come meet the folks involved in creating your favorite publications!

Read more

Living Room Inspirations & The Universe

Today, I’m meeting with a client about several different interior design projects.  Two will involve areas where demo work will create loud noises, as the guest and master baths are being remodeled, but there will also be lovely results.  The other area should provide a place for a soft landing – the living room.  (A comforting escape for whatever her heart desires.)  It’s a room, oft overlooked, for anything but to be “on show”.  I wonder why we refer to this space as the Living Room when there can be so little “living” taking place in it?

(If this room doesn’t just make you smile . . . from the “humble opinion gallery”.  The colors make it come alive!  I just want to sink into this living room’s sofa.)

Before I head out the door, for this meeting, I’m sharing the inspiration board I’ve created to show my client.  An inspiration board helps to move the discussion forward about the style and experience I envision for a room, as well as to see if I’m on track from the previous list of design desires.  It’s not a literal translation as everyone’s architecture is different.  (I can’t take a photo of a haircut, to my hair designer, and expect I’ll look like the model who is wearing it. *Smile*)  I also use these boards to pop in some unexpected combinations of hues, patterns, or textures.  It helps us to think outside of the box, while we are looking at a room in the present.  I want her to be able to have a clear vision for the future.

I do love working with many different color palettes.  Lately, there has been a big trend towards grays, neutrals, and subdued tones.  I’m ready for a big laugh in color!  I’ve decided to put it out to the Universe. What’s your color inspiration?  Are you ready to smile?

Read more

Creating “Cool Points” With Antiques

In chatting with a new client, one of the first areas I address is in regards to preferences, be it design style, color, patterns, lifestyle . . . general likes and dislikes.  I do this, even before I make an in-home visit, because they may or may not want to use some of their current possessions and I would rather let the “could-be”, versus the “what-is”, determine the direction of their project.  Now - that’s not to say I overlook any prized possessions.  I’m definitely about repurposing, as it honors items of use and keeps the carbon footprint a bit smaller, while it brings forth the client’s personality.

On the occasion that we are starting from scratch, I do ask about using antiques.  In some cases, there may be a crinkling of the nose, and I can tell the imagination has run amuck to the idea of bringing forth a certain stiffness, in the genre of A Room with a View, or there’s a concern of a cluttered collection of “stuff” arriving across the threshold.  I can almost feel my “cool points” floating out the nearest window.

The fact of the matter is, I do love working with antiques or vintage pieces, and the reality is, not much in the world of design is truly unique or 100% new.  My vanity doesn’t preclude me from sharing too much about my age. I grew up during the period of Mid-Century Modern, Danish Modern, and George Nakashima. 

My mother, who did later turn her attention to a more traditional decor, was a modern, young woman of the fifties and early sixties, and joined her peers in outfitting our home with this latest trend.  It was the period when girls swooned over the likes of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Peter Lawford, and Sammy Davis, Jr.- just a few of the members of the “Rat Pack”, a group of Hollywood “it” guys.  I remember my mother twirling, in the living room, as their music came from a piece of functional furniture, we called the “Hi-Fi”, carefully chosen to go with the rest of room.

I think I had better go onto some great pictures.  I see my cool points quickly floating out of that afore mentioned window!

 Contemporary?  Yes, it was and is!  Kaare Klint Faaborg Chair - 1914

A French Victorian sofa, a spoon foot, cloverleaf table, a vintage footstool, and a Modern chair play well with one another in this citrus-hued room.  (Courtesy:  Country Living)

This small dresser, while rather simple, receives it’s retro cool from the frieze twist carpet, (ahem – shag), gourd lamp, neat knobs and Robin’s egg wall color.  (Courtesy:  Real Simple)

The classic cabinetry, chair and accessories, while not qualifying as modern, do get a boost towards “being of the day”, with a current color palette of tangerine and aqua.  (Courtesy:  Martha Stewart)IKEA?  Not quite.  Arne Jacobsen Seagull Chair - 1970

A little Mediterranean breeze can almost be felt, blowing through this bedroom.  Walk through any antique mall, and you may see a dark,walnut night chest, in a similar style as above.  Some sanding and a few coats of paint, and you have your own one-of-a-kind treasure!  (Courtesy:  Traditional Homes)

A minimalist approach can often benefit from a little texture.  This table has had plenty of time to achieve the “worn” look.  It’s 16th century.  (Courtesy:  Veranda)

What bungalow banquet wouldn’t benefit from a round table shape?  Easy access in and out.  Easy, breezy upkeep, too, with a metal garden table.  (Courtesy:  Country Living)

While furnishing a home is definitely a personal decision and choice, I do like to open ones thought to the possibility of considering the use of antiques and vintage items.  Aside from having something different from everyone else, they do allow us to recycle and renew.  Antiques often hold their value and may even appreciate, over a period of time.  They add an element of history and a story to share.  And, the thrill of the hunt is ever so fun!

“Cool Cat” Cheers to You!  Wanda

Read more