Archive for the ‘Dining Room’ Category
20 Great Transitions in Flooring
Tuesday, August 23rd, 2011
Flooring transitions can be tricky in lofts and open plan homes! Where to start and stop each kind of flooring may not have a simple solution when there aren’t clear divisions between living areas. Here are 20 photos of great ideas on ways to transition from one type of flooring to the next in bathrooms, kitchens, entryways and living rooms or great rooms.
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Tags: Bathroom, concrete, entryway, Flooring, flooring transition, floors, great room, hardwood, Kitchen, Living Room, stone tile, tile
Posted in Bathroom, Design Tips, Dining Room, Flooring, Interior Design, Kitchen, Living Room, Lofts, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Interior Design From All Angles: Dealing With Open Upper Floor Views
Saturday, August 20th, 2011
Lofts and open plan homes often have upper floors or hallways that overlook the main floor. Don’t forget the view from above when selecting furnishings and planning your furniture arrangement and other design elements.
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Tags: balcony, chandelier, chandeliers, coffee table, dining table, Living Room, loft, mezzanine, open floor plan, open plan home, random light, second story, suspension lamp, two story, upper floor, upstairs
Posted in Design Tips, Dining Room, Furniture, Interior Design, Living Room, Lofts, Space Planning, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Dining Area Lighting: Dealing With a Poorly Placed Chandelier
Friday, July 9th, 2010
Chandeliers are bullies!! There — I’ve said it! When there is a chandelier in your dining area, you’re immediately stuck having to center your table under it — or ARE you? When it comes to dining room chandeliers, do you ever wonder “Why did they have to put that THERE?!!” This past month alone, I’ve had 4 clients all with the same problem. The chandelier in the dining room — or dining area in an open floor plan — is placed in a spot that forces them to put a table in an awkward spot. Here’s what we are doing in each case.
The first client has a chandelier and a large window in their kitchen dining area which don’t line up. If they center their table under the chandelier, it is noticeably out of alignment with the window, and vice versa. So, since it’s easier to move the chandelier than to move the window, we’ll have an electrician move the j-box about 10″ over to the correct position and use a large, simple ceiling medallion to cover where the old location was.
Client #2 has a large, ornate, dark bronze colored ceiling fan in her dining area. If she centers her table under it, then the table and chairs are smack in the way of a heavily used traffic flow area to the back door. The table really needs to be about 18″ further away from the door area. Since the client really needs a ceiling fan my recommendation in this case is to change to a much lower profile “ceiling hugging” version in white to match the ceiling. That will really minimize the visual of the ceiling fan, allowing it to become a non-issue in the placement of the table. The client is going more contemporary in their decor, so this kills two birds …
Client #3 had a tiny eat-in area in their kitchen with a door to the garage that opens into the kitchen. Centering the table under the chandelier meant that the door would hit the table when it opened. The client was thinking of swagging the chandelier chain, which is certainly a viable option. But that would really call attention to the ceiling and the fact that the whole business (table-chandelier) has to be off center. Since the client already had a 3-light track fixture at the other end of the kitchen, I suggested installing a matching 3-light track fixture instead of the chandelier. Now the table can be toward one side without any off-center visual issues, plus they are able to light the table and put a spotlight on wall art.
Client #4 just bought a new condo. They have an open plan kitchen/dining/living room. There is a nice large niche with a bay window that is a natural spot for the table. But of course, the chandelier has been placed too far into the room so that centering their table under it will mean that it is too close to one of the pathways into their kitchen area. The rest of the room has recessed can light fixtures, so this time we will retrofit a ceiling can light in place of the chandelier (which the client didn’t like anyway).
Is there a chandelier in your life giving you trouble? Give me a call. For all 4 of these clients, I came up with a solution that fit their particular situation on my initial consultation.
Tags: chandeliers, dining area, Dining Room, dining table, furniture placement, Lighting
Posted in DIY, Design Tips, Dining Room, Home Staging, Interior Design, Kitchen, Lighting, Mistakes: Avoiding & Fixing, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Portland Interior Designer’s Picks: Top Ten Sexy Chairs
Tuesday, June 1st, 2010
Are you tired of your furniture? Is it boring?
Ho-hum?
Vanilla?
White bread?
Do you see the same styles at Costco?
When you shop for new pieces do you end up with safe, predictable and brown or beige?
Then maybe what you need are Pangaea’s Picks to add some sizzle!
These chairs have as many voluptuous curves and shapely legs as a Victoria’s Secret catalog. But if lean, strong, masculine lines are what you want, there are a couple chairs in here that would look right at home with Kellen Lutz – Calvin Klein’s new male underwear model.
Here are Pangaea’s Picks: Top Ten Sexy Chairs
1. Cherner Chair Barstool in Red Gum Wood
2. Maison Ventury Paris – Divine Collection Millesime 2010
3. Perillo Lounge Chair for Zuco
5. Ziliani Furniture Collection
8. Christopher Guy “Chris – X” Dining Chair
A little ho-hum in plain ivory, but it sizzles in hot pink!
Related Posts:
A Rainbow of Cutting Edge Seating Options
Baby It’s Cold Outside: Pangaea’s Picks – Top Ten Fireplaces
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Tags: Ad Hoc Chair, barstool, Bernhardt design, chair, Cherner, Chris X, Christopher Guy, Dania, dining chair, Divine Lounge, Jamie McClellan, Jean-Marie Massaud, Kravet, loft chair, Maison Ventury Paris, Odin chair, Perillo Lounge, pink, Seating, sexy, sleek, Turin chair, Viccarbe, Ziliani, Zuco
Posted in Cool Stuff, Dining Room, Furniture, Interior Design, Living Room, Seating, Top Ten, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Serving Up Sustainable Style: Eco-Friendly Serving Trays
Thursday, December 3rd, 2009
During the holidays, if you are the type who loves to entertain, serve up your refreshments on sustainable and stylish serving trays. Whether you use serving trays to place on an ottoman in your living room in lieu of a coffee table, or you want a convenient way to get your hors d’oeuvres (yes, I had to look up the spelling) from the kitchen to your dining table or buffet, these trays will make a design statement while being kind to the environment. I hope you see one that will work with your decor. I’m a fanatic about detail and color coordination, so I have different trays to complement my color palette and design style for the living room, family room, dining room and my bedroom. One of my personal indulgences is to have coffee in bed every morning. It’s enticing to have a beautifully set tray and an inexpensive way to add a little elegance and style to your entertaining.
This first tray will complement even the most minimal modern decor. The Enos serving tray produced by Staach is hand made in the USA out of solid maple from domestic wood from certified sources . The bottom is lacquered in clear, white or red and the top is finished with food safe mineral oil. I think it is destined to be a classic design icon. Found at 2modern.com.
The Ibride Tray is made from reclaimed wood and totally rocks in an eclectic decor. Hang this up on your wall as art in between use. Found at Clio-Home.
And for you DIY types, here’s a fun project. Find an old cupboard door and use paint, handles and a little creativity to make your own serving tray in any color or style you like. This one is from Craftynest. It would be very fun to do a collage on one of these if you don’t have painting skills. A great way to recycle and re-purpose. Remember to use zero VOC paints, adhesives and finishes.
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Tags: 2modern, Art, color, Dining Room, DIY, do it yourself, entertaining, environmentally friendly, green design, modern design, portland interior design, serving tray, sustainable, sustainable materials, sustainable style
Posted in Art, Bedroom, Cool Ideas, Cool Stuff, DIY, Dining Room, Kitchen, Living Room, Sustainable style, Uncategorized | No Comments »
A Rainbow of Cutting Edge Seating Options
Saturday, November 28th, 2009
Cutting edge design is bringing all the colors of the rainbow to interior spaces in unique ways. The trend in new furniture designs coming our way uses state of the art technology and creative thinking to give us interior options never before seen.
Mood Chair:
The Mood Chair by Aether & Hemera, visual artists in the UK, incorporates sensors that react to the colors in the immediate surroundings. The fusion of light and color creates a dynamic and ever-changing mood.
Here’s what Aether & Hemera have to say about the idea on their website: “Responsive installations can complement the architectural space: the idea is that digital interactive fixtures will contribute to create an innovative and high-quality environment responding to the behaviour of its users by visually expressing the activities surrounding them.”
Personally, I love color so much and change my preferences so often, that I can imagine whole walls that can change color like this. Wouldn’t it be nice if we never had to paint a wall again, but could just walk in wearing our favorite color?
Side Stacking Rainbow Chairs:
Traditionally when you got stacking chairs, they all stacked one atop another until you got a tall pile of chairs which was compact, but not useful while stacked. Danish designer Christian Flindt has a better idea for stackable seating. His Rainbow Side Stacking chairs fit into each other’s sides and when several are stacked together, not only are they compact, but they are still usable as a bench. Made in an array of semi-translucent colors they appear like a rainbow when put together. The molded plastic chairs can be used indoors or outside.
Cappellini Rainbow Chair by Patrick Norguet:
You’ll be sitting pretty in your dining room, but this acrylic dining chair will set you back about $13,000 … yes, that’s per chair. Designed by Patrick Norguet, manufactured by Cappellini and included in the collection of the New York Museum of Modern Art, this deceptively simple looking side chair is made by fusing multiple colored acrylic plates together using ultrasound technology. One can only hope that someday, like most technology, it will eventually become more affordable. If you just can’t wait to have the latest in dining chairs, and you have plenty of discretionary income, you can purchase these through Europe by Net or Unica Home.
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Tags: Aether & Hemera, cappellini, Christian Flindt, Colors, dining chair, Dining Room, Europe by Net, furniture design, interior design portland, modern design, MOMA, Museum of Modern Art, Patrick Norguet, Seating, Trends, Unica Home
Posted in Colors, Cool Ideas, Cool Stuff, Dining Room, Interior Design, Outdoor Furniture, Seating, Trends, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Metropolitan Home Magazine Being Discontinued
Monday, November 9th, 2009
I could hardly believe my eyes today when I saw that Metropolitan Home Magazine is being discontinued. It knocked the wind out of me! Being an interior designer, you might think I subscribe to dozens of magazines, but I don’t. I subscribe to just three … Metropolitan Home, Dwell Magazine, and Interior Design Magazine. For years I have loved Met Home for it’s elegantly sophisticated interiors. Their style has been characterized by modern interior design that is warm and graceful. Exactly the type of warm contemporary interior decor that most informs my own aesthetic. It was full of wonderful interior design ideas using the latest innovations and materials in a way that felt classic. I found out about many artists whose work I love by first seeing them showcased in a fabulous living room, an innovative dining room, or a bedroom that was a haven of serenity.
This is a sad day. Met Home, I will miss you!
Hachette Closing Metropolitan Home
Posted in Art, Bedroom, Dining Room, Interior Design, Living Room, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »