Archive for the ‘Living Room’ Category
Wall Texture: Beyond Paint & Wallpaper for Creative Wall Treatments
Thursday, September 22nd, 2011
I love to see walls with unique textures! Not a faux finish which just looks textured — but the real deal that you can feel! Check out this collection of inspirational ideas for deeply textured wall treatments using glass, metal, wood, wall coverings, fabric and more.
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Tags: copper, Design Tips, drapery, fabric wall panel, glass art installation, Interior Design, interior design portland, upholstered wall panel, upholstered walls, wall coverings, wall texture, wall treatments, wallpaper
Posted in Bathroom, Cool Ideas, Cool Stuff, DIY, Living Room, Uncategorized, Wall Treatments | No Comments »
Getting the Room Right: Avoid the Top 10 Decorating Mistakes – Part 1
Thursday, August 25th, 2011
If you have been struggling with decorating your home and just don’t seem to be getting the room right, chances are you’ve made one — or two, or seven — of the top ten decorating mistakes. Check out these great examples of rooms that have successfully dealt with these common design issues. This is just half of the list, so if you don’t see your particular issue, read Part ll for the second half of the list. The link is below the photo.
Navigate through the photos by clicking on the little dots under the photo, or click on the text under the photo to open the full Ideabook, complete with other readers’ comments. See what others have to say on the topic.
Click here for Part ll of Getting the Room Right: Avoid the Top 10 Decorating Mistakes
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Tags: accent lighting, curtains, dining chair, Dining Room, drapery, fabric, furniture arrangement, Lighting, Space Planning, task lighting, Window Treatments
Posted in Design Tips, Dining Room, Furniture, Interior Design, Lighting, Living Room, Mistakes: Avoiding & Fixing, Seating, Space Planning, Top Ten, Uncategorized, Window Treatments, windows | No Comments »
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 »
Where to Put the TV When the Wall Won’t Work
Saturday, August 20th, 2011
Finding a great spot for the TV is a challenge in many homes. For people with open plan homes or lofts with few walls, placing the television can be even tougher. You can float the TV away from the wall if you follow these practical design tips.
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Tags: furniture arrangement, hide tv, IR repeater, open floor plan, placing tv, Space Planning, television, television placement, tv, tv placement
Posted in Cool Ideas, Design Tips, Furniture, Interior Design, Live/Work Spaces, Living Room, Lofts, Space Planning, Storage Solutions, 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 »
Could Your Living Room Be Better Without a Sofa?
Wednesday, June 1st, 2011
Do you find that just about no matter where you place your sofa in your living room, it just never seems to work? With smaller homes, the living room may have doorways or windows on almost all walls making it tough to find a good direction for the sofa. Well — did you ever think that maybe you don’t actually need a sofa? After all, there is no “design law” that says you must. Check out these examples of living rooms that work beautifully without a sofa in sight.
Click on the dots under the photo to navigate to other photos. Click on the text below the photo to open up the full Ideabook and also see the comments from other readers. People had definite opinions about this!
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Tags: chair, chaise, couch, daybed, Design Tips, furniture arrangement, Living Room, Seating, sofa, Space Planning
Posted in Cool Ideas, Design Tips, Furniture, Interior Design, Living Room, Lofts, Seating, Space Planning, Trends, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Interior Design Trends at Las Vegas Design Market Winter 2011
Thursday, February 10th, 2011
Thought I would share this video highlighting the interior design trends at the Las Vegas Design Market. I particularly noticed so many natural materials such as live edge wood pieces and bleached wood in furniture. Enjoy the video!
Tags: color, color palette, design trends, honeysuckle, Interior Design, Las Vegas Design Market, Lighting, Living Room, modern design, pantone, portland interior design
Posted in Colors, Cool Stuff, Furniture, Interior Design, Lighting, Living Room, Shopping, Trends, 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 »
Space Saving Furniture Designs – Perfect for Lofts, Small Spaces & Live/Work Spaces
Thursday, May 27th, 2010
I am always looking for beautifully designed multi-purpose pieces of furniture that work for lofts, small spaces and live/work spaces. In my relentless searching on the internet for these space saving furniture ideas, I’ve come across almost all of these. But I just found this great demonstration video from Resource Furniture in New York, showing how these pieces work. I’m including photos of just one of their designs – but you’ve really got to watch the video to get the full awesomeness of these pieces!
Watch the video here: Space Saving & Multi-Purpose Furniture
The sofa below is beautiful! It SO does not look like your parents’ over-stuffed sofa-sleeper.
If you need extra space for overnight guests and don’t have a guest room, this sofa would be fabulous in the living room. So many sofa sleepers either look big and clunky or they look very skimpy and cheap. I’d put this one in any high-end loft without batting an eye.
If you have a live/work space or a home office set up in your guest room, the desks on the video that can be converted to beds are a great multi-purpose option. It’s all about wise use of space.With the advances in technology making it possible for more and more people to work from home, it’s nice to know that advances in furniture design are making it possible to have more flexible use of your space.
Although these pieces run more than your average sofa, desk or bed – when you think about the fact that you are buying only one piece of furniture to take the place of two, and you save all that space, they are a pretty smart use of your design dollars too.
Related posts:
Ten Great Tips to Make Your Small Space Look B-I-G-G-E-R! part 1
Ten Great Tips to Make Your Small Space Look B-I-G-G-E-R! part 2
Designing a Home Office That Works for YOU!
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Tags: bed, desk, Home Office, live-work, Lofts, multi-purpose, open plan homes, Resource Furniture, small spaces, sofa
Posted in Bedroom, Cool Ideas, Cool Stuff, Design Dollars, Furniture, Home Office, Interior Design, Live/Work Spaces, Living Room, Lofts, Seating, Space Planning, Storage Solutions, Trends, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Portland Interior Designer’s Top 10 Tips to Make Your Small Space Look BIGGER: part 2
Tuesday, April 6th, 2010
Are you selling a small home that is vacant? There is a bonus tip at the end of this article just for you!
Have you moved into a small home, either because you’ve downsized or it is what you felt was best for your budget? If it’s feeling a little claustrophobic, it doesn’t have to be that way. Click here to read Part 1: Top Ten Tips To Make Your Small Space Look BIGGER!
6. Paint Color Tricks of the Trade: Lighter and cool, soft colors like pale aqua, pale blue or pale green all tend to recede and help make a small room feel larger. Conversely, vibrant warm colors like red or orange, advance and feel closer to you, so opt for lighter, cooler colors. Painting adjacent rooms in the same color makes them feel visually more like they are part of the same room. This is especially effective if you have open entryways between the rooms.
7. Monochromatic Color Palette: A serene, monochromatic color palette will go a long way toward making a room feel larger. Highly contrasting color schemes and lots of pattern tend to make the room feel smaller. This doesn’t mean you have to make everything beige! Not by a long shot! Look at these three rooms in shades of lavender, aqua and neutrals.
Besides a monochromatic color palette, the lavender room above also employs a see through coffee table and a minimum of furnishings. Notice there are no side tables. The floor to ceiling curtain panels make the most of the ceiling height and pull all the way back from the windows to expose the entire view.
Although I would like to see all the clutter off the floor, this small room is enhanced by the shades of aqua.
Notice that the single large painting makes the space feel big even though it just accommodates a loveseat and two smaller chairs. The side chair and coffee table are not bulky and have long legs, allowing you to see the floor. Notice also that the pattern on the rug is on the diagonal.
8. Move Away From the Wall: When furniture is all pushed back against the wall, it feels like they are lined up like prisoners in front of a firing squad. Whenever possible, create furniture groupings that are away from the walls and that leave room to walk around them. Keep natural traffic patterns clear and avoid placing the back of a sofa toward the entry. It feels like a barrier to entry and immediately psychologically shrinks the room. In super tiny rooms, you may not be able to group furniture away from the wall, but might be able to angle a loveseat in a corner. This is another great trick to making a room feel a little bigger by directing the eye along the diagonal, which is the longest line in a room.
9. Light Expands Space: A well lit room always feels bigger. Maybe it’s because you can actually see the whole room! Provide lighting in all 4 corners. To preserve precious floor space, consider using track lighting, wall sconces or table lamps instead of floor lamps. Accent lamps pointing upwards and torchiere style lamps wash the ceiling with light and make the most of the volume of the room.
10. Stealthy Secret Storage: Clutter is the nemesis of a small room. But you do have “stuff” and need to keep it somewhere! Choose closed storage over open front storage to keep a room serene. A book case with doors will hide paperbacks & other less attractive belongings. Think floor to ceiling and wall to wall when building in storage units. The long lines don’t break up the room and give you maximum storage space. Find secret spaces like a storage ottoman to keep extra items. Entertainment units that hide all of your dvd’s, cords and audio-visual equipment are a blessing to the small room.
Bonus Tip!! Selling a Small Vacant Home: If you are selling and your property is small and presently vacant, this tip is just for you. PUT FURNITURE IN THE HOUSE!! It is absolutely true that a tiny room will look bigger when furnished than it does empty. If you are looking at the small rooms and worried that they will look crowded with furniture — potential buyers will be worrying about the same thing. A professional home stager — ME of course 
— will use all of the above tips to furnish your property so buyers will see that it can look beautiful and that furniture fits with room to spare.
For more help with any of these tips for making your small space look and feel bigger, call me today to set up an in home consultation. You’ll be on your way to getting the Look of Large! 503.816.4394
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Tags: aqua, Art, chair, coffee table, Decorpad, Design Tips, Flooring, Home Staging, Jeffrey Bilhuber, lavender, Lighting, monochromatic. colors, paint color, Rafael de Cardenas, small space, storage
Posted in Colors, Cool Ideas, DIY, Design Tips, Furniture, Home Staging, Interior Design, Lighting, Living Room, Space Planning, Storage Solutions, Top Ten, Uncategorized, Window Treatments | 2 Comments »