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When you work with Perla Lichis high-end interior designers, you can expect your project to go above and beyond your expectations. With Perla Lichis complete range of professional interior design services, your project will be handled professionally from beginning to end. The initial design process with our renowned interior designers is carried out with the best architects, builders and contractors needed to make your vision a reality.

We create all of our custom pieces through our own factories and workrooms. Everything is handmade with incredible attention to detail. We have offices in Florida, Dubai and Abu Dhabi, but are capable of creating beautiful, custom, luxury projects worldwide. If you would like custom luxury interior decorating and design for your home, hotel, office, or property, contact Perla Lichi today.

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Luxury Home Interiors | High End Interior Designers ...

If you are considering pursuing a career in interior design, one of the first decisions you will make will be in reference to your education. Education lays the foundation for developing the skills and knowledge to not only practice a profession, but also to protect the publics health, safety, and welfare.

The current educational requirements for interior design registration in the State of Tennessee are: 1) a two-year, three-year, four-year, or five-year interior design degree that has been accredited by the Council for Interior Design Accreditation (CIDA, formerly FIDER), or 2) an interior design degree determined to be substantially equivalent to a CIDA-accredited degree.

Accreditation is a voluntary, non-governmental process of peer review. It requires an educational institution or program to meet certain defined standards or criteria and serves to notify parents and prospective students that a particular interior design program has met minimum educational standards for its graduates to enter professional practice.

For a list of Tennessee higher education institutions with CIDA-accredited interior design programs, see the Resources and Links page.

Note: Other institutions in Tennessee offering acceptable interior design programs include those located in Tennessee on April 16, 1991 that were either accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) or licensed by the Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC).

For further information:Regarding accreditation of interior design programs, how to select a program, and a complete listing of accredited programs in the United StatesClick Here.Regarding interior design registrationClick Here.Regarding a career in interior designClick Here.

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Interior Designers - TN.Gov

It's no easy feat to find an affordable apartment in many cities. Renters will scour the city streets for a decent deal, searching uptown, downtown and increasingly, underground.

But basement dwellings often have low ceilings, cramped rooms and little natural light, making them challenging to decorate.

We asked designers how renters can optimize these tricky spaces and make basement dwellings feel like homes. Here are their tips:

Keep it cool:

"Lighter, brighter, cooler colors help the walls recede," said Jaye Langmaid, owner of Hudson & Crane, an urban design studio in Washington, D.C. Light blues and grays can make a small room feel larger and enhance limited natural light. But don't be afraid to accent a wall in a darker color, which can lengthen an oblong room or hall. Stay away from warm colors, which may make a small space feel crowded.

Raise the roof:

Shannon Claire Smith, a D.C.-based interior decorator and design blogger, said that renters have a number of ways to make low ceilings appear higher. "I always have clients try to stretch the walls as high as they can," Smith said. "A darker color on the ceiling makes it look like the night sky -- you don't know where it ends." Hang floor-length drapery panels, or arrange artwork gallery-style so that it fills walls from floor to ceiling. If you don't have enough artwork to do that, a few large pieces can have the same effect.

Add mirrors:

Decorative mirrors create an illusion of space and light. "Mirrors can help reflect what little natural light comes into a basement apartment," said Sarah Roussos-Karakaian, who co-founded the artisan contracting and design team Nestrs with her husband, Nick Karakaian. "The light bounces around your space." Floor-length mirrors, too, can make a low ceiling look higher.

Look to the past:

There's nothing new about trying to make the best of a small, oddly shaped space. To find furniture that will fit down narrow stairwells and into cramped rooms, check out French, English and Japanese antiques, said Rachel Dougan, founder and principal designer of ViVi Interiors. "In Paris, you had really tiny alleyways and stairwells," Dougan said. "These vintage pieces were made for smaller spaces to begin with . . . and they're made to be disassembled and put together again." Dougan especially recommends "campaign furniture," originally made for soldiers on the move. If you don't like the old-timey aesthetic, she said, you can always add a fresh coat of paint to an antique piece.

Lighten up:

Overhead lighting in rented apartments tends to be less than flattering, said designer Anna Matthews, who suggests buying lamps that will warm up the space. For an affordable option, try Robert Abbey; if you're willing to invest, Matthews recommends Bunny Williams. "I love to put good table lamps on either side of the sofa because it makes it feel more like a home," she said. "It personalizes the space, which is so important."

Multitask:

Get the most out of a small space by purchasing furniture with more than one function. "Have all your furniture be multipurpose," Roussos-Karakaian said. Couches can pull out to double as beds for overnight guests, and coffee tables with built-in shelves can serve as storage space. Roussos-Karakaian also recommends wall-mounted shelves: Use them as bookcases or fill them with decorative storage baskets.

Privatize:

English basements often have ground-level windows that may allow passers-by to see inside. Solar shades or privacy blinds allow light to come in while preventing pedestrians from peeping into your bedroom. Jo Kerrigan, district manager for Next Day Blinds, recommends the brand's Honeycomb Shades, which have a soft, delicate look and offer total privacy. The shades, made out of a polyester fabric, also absorb sound, making them ideal for a basement on a busy street.

Go green:

English basements are often accessed through narrow alleyway entrances, and plants placed by your front door can help welcome guests into your home. They can also improve air quality in basement apartments, which may get hot during the day. Smith recommends the snake plant, also known as mother-in-law's tongue, a leafy indoor plant that helps purify air. She also suggests that basement renters invest in air conditioners and humidifiers.

Read the original:
Underground and overwhelmed? Brighten up your basement digs - SCNow

Patrick J. Frederiksen 78, of Minneapolis and formerly of Aurora and Brookings died Sunday, Aug. 20, 2017, at Hennipen County Medical Center in Minneapolis. Patrick was born June 27, 1939 in Sioux Falls.

Funeral services are at 11:00 a.m. Wednesday at Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic Church in Elkton. Burial is in St. Marys Cemetery in Elkton. Visitation will be one hour preceding services at the church.

At 2 weeks old, he was adopted by his loving parents Axel (Ak) and Sarah (Sadie Hurney) Frederiksen. Patrick was raised on a farm near Aurora. He attended District 33 through eighth grade and graduated from Elkton High School in 1957. Pat was very active in 4-H projects, especially dogs. He raised, bred and sold purebred collies throughout the United States. He won many state judging contests through FFA. He showed his collies at various dog shows throughout the Midwest earning Best of Show in Omaha.

In a Danish and Irish family, celebrations and family gatherings were frequent especially at "Aunt Eva and Uncle Andrew" Andersen's farm, and St. Patrick's Day celebrations in Elkton. Fourtth of July picnics were an annual celebration for the "Hurney Clan" at the Frederiksen farm. Patrick had many talents, one of which was singing. He would often sing in the church choir.

He loved nature-animals (especially dogs and birds), flowers, and the great feel of dirt. He would collect marvelous pictures of sunsets of the desert while in Arizona, and flowers while in Oregon. Pat was an interior decorator in Minneapolis in the 1960's, a realtor for Red Carpet in Phoenix in the 1970's before he returned to Brookings to pursue a degree at SDSU. He moved to Eugene, Oregon in the 1980's where he completed his bachelor's degree and attained a master's degree in Landscape Design.

For many years in Eugene, he owned and managed his business, Landscape Dimensions. Pat moved back to Brookings in 2004 to be closer to his mom. In Brookings, he worked in real estate again until he moved to Minneapolis. Declining health forced him to retire.

Patrick is survived by his brother Richard (Beth) Frederiksen, Elkton, three nephews; two nieces and their children; two half-sisters, Glynis, (Al) Kock, Wentworth, and Lori Schultz, Monticello, Minnesota and their families.

He will be missed by his special friends and clients through his businesses and his mentoring with AA.

For online condolences, visit http://www.skrochfc.com

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Patrick Frederiksen - Minneapolis - Brookings Register

In 1959, the design world became briefly obsessed with a living room in a tiny town in Columbus, Indiana. A lavish 20-page feature in the February issue of House & Garden magazine showcased the impeccable home of Xenia and J. Irwin Miller, designed by the great architects Eero Saarinen and Alexander Girard.

At the heart of their modern home was a 2.5-ft-deep conversation pita sunken 15-foot-square section of their living room, lined on all sides with couches.

Saarinen had began experimenting with pits in the 1940s as a way to create divisions in open-space floor plans. He later used a version of the conversation pit in the iconic TWA terminal at New Yorks Laguardia airport. The polymathic Girard, who had ground-level built-in banquette pits in his own home, worked on the houses interiors.

For the Millers, he chose colored textiles for the throw pillows as a counterpoint to the houses stark white-on-white modernism. House & Garden described the pit as a brilliantly cushioned well that hid the unsightly tangles of chair and sofa legs, the ubiquitous end tables.

The Millers were great patrons of modern design, so they were game for the unusual architectural feature. But not everyone was sold on the idea. Building in a conversation pit is no easy feat: More than a sunken living room, it involves excavating a hole deep enough to submerge furnitureakin to digging out a shallow indoor pool.

In 1963, TIME published a strongly-worded call to arms against conversation pits, imagining all the dangers lurking in the craters that had begun appearing in a growing number of bourgeois living rooms:

At cocktail parties, late-staying guests tended to fall in. Those in the pit found themselves bombarded with bits of hors doeuvrcs from up above, looked out on a field of trouser cuffs, ankles and shoes. Ladies shied away from the edges, fearing up-skirt exposure. Bars or fencing of sorts had to be constructed to keep dogs and children from daily concussions.

The only solution, TIME suggested, was to remove all trace of these regrettable architectural features. A few cubic-yards of concrete and a couple of floor boards will do the trick. No one will ever know what once lay beneath.

A 1962 book called Design for Modern Living, had chapter on the conversation pit, as designer Timothy deFiebre recalls. Predicting its wide appeal, German authors Gerd and Ursula Hatje wrote:

An idea for a new shape in sitting areas originated in the United States and will certainly be copied abroad for its mixture of romanticism and practicalityThe conversation pit is a solution that combines an intimate and impromptu atmosphere with the possibility of seating a lot of people without much furniture in a relatively small area.

True enough, conversation pits popped up in modern homes around the world.

My grandparents house in Manila had one. My aunt and uncles remember how the indoor pits use evolved through their childhood. My aunt Dreena that my grandmother, who we called Lola Aning, called the pit the inside garden.

She planted different indoor plants to make it look like a Japanese garden, Dreena recalls. Mom hired a flamboyant decorator named Manny, adds Francis, the youngest in the family. They put large white stones and plants in there.

Over time, my grandmother decided that maintaining an indoor garden was too much of hassle. She had granolithic flooring poured in to level the ground and transformed the pit into a music nook for guests and a hangout for her seven children.

Designed by the Filipino architect Marcos de Guzman in 1956, the six-bedroom houses main flaw was the see-through roof above the conversation pit. No match for the regular onslaught of tropical typhoons in the Philippines, water constantly dripped from the ceiling.

The conversation pit saved the house from being completely flooded, functioning as a reservoir until someone could fetch a pail to catch the dripping or get a repairman to patch the roof.

Since the Miller House was opened to the public in 2011, its meticulously preserved conversation pit has become a pilgrimage site for fans of mid-century modern architecture. Never mind the incredible gardens and landscape design by Dan Kiley. Everyone wants to see the living room.

On a day trip to Columbus, Indiana last month, I joined a tour of the Miller House led by the site manager, Ben Wever, who pointed out some fascinating details: The angle of the steps down to the pit was calibrated so sitters couldnt see up ladies skirts. The back cushions were thicker than usual to help sitters get in and out of the couch easier. The underside of the piano nearby was painted a bright reda la Louboutin heels todayso sitters could have a nice field of vision when they looked up.

In the Millers senior years, a brass handrail was added to the floating steps.

Wevers stories about the lengths Xenia Miller went through for the pits upkeep reminded me of my grandmothers travails with maintaining her modest indoor pit.

By the late 1960s, conversation pits had become ubiquitous to the point where they lost their glamour. Saarinen himself called them more or less a clich in a speech as early as 1960, according to architecture critic Alexandra Lange. In the decades since, they have generally been regarded as curiosities or nostalgic throwbacks.

But the feature is making a comeback, argues Kyle Chayka on Curbed, and with good reason:

Rather than sitting and watching Netflix, the enclosed pit meant that visitors watched each other. The people near and across from you were the entertainment, ringed around the fireplace or capacious table that often provided the pits center. Some of the more wholesome images, drawn from ads or interior decorating books, depict entire families lounging around a sunken couch, playing board games and strumming guitars.

Still, Maureen Dietze, a realtor with Alton & Westall Real Estate Agency, tells Quartz that selling a house with a conversation pit today would probably be a challenge.

I think people would find it odd, she says. I think most would find it possibly a tripping hazard. A house shes trying to sell in Hancock, Massachusetts has a conversation pit with a safety wall and a hidden entertainment center. She has tweaked the pitch, calling it a conversation-slash-media pit.

Of course for lovers of mid-century design, a conversation pit is a selling point. Perhaps it has to do with the obsession with Mad Men-era style. Don Draper had one in his swanky Manhattan pad, which his ex-wife Betty examines with awe in this scene from the show:

Millennials, in particular, are avid about mid-century design, says the design historian Alessandra Wood, director of style at the interior design start-up Modsy. (The sites online style quiz indicated the same.)

Millennials love experiences, and the conversation pit is the ultimate mid-century modern experience, explains Wood.

Or perhaps its has to do with that deeper yearning to be in a circle with other humans, instead of burying ourselves in the feeds from our devices.

Historically, the conversation pit was about connecting with people, having personal conversations, and creating a more intimate environment to get to know someone or spend time together, says Wood. While older generations might see the pit as a marker of dated design, younger generations are likely drawn to its novelty and ability to create a safe and intimate space in a world thats increasingly full of impersonal experiences,

The cover of the latest issue of Dwell magazine features a conversation pit in a glass-enclosed room in the heart of Silicon Valley, complete with a grape-colored Tufty-Too sectional. Captioned with the words Design the Future: Enhance the World, the cover might be read as a call for balance amid our overly-wired tech environments.

When so many of us are addicted to our mobile devices and subsist on virtual messaging, perhaps it isnt so ridiculous to dig a crater in the middle of the living roomif thats what it takes to remind us to sit down with one another and to converse.

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In praise of the conversation pit - Quartz

Alice (Reese Witherspoon) is a single mom living in Los Angeles whose life changes unexpectedly when she allows three young men to move in with her. (Open Road Films)

With her filmmaking debut, Home Again, a romantic comedy about a 40ish single mom who embarks on a fling with a much younger man, Hallie Meyers-Shyer proves that shes her mothers daughter.

Mom, in this case, is filmmaker Nancy Meyers, a cinematic powerhouse with a track record of hit rom-coms that includes What Women Want, Somethings Gotta Give, The Holiday, Its Complicated and The Intern along with a reputation for luxe production values that has earned her the sobriquet of queen of interior design porn. No slouch in the romantic comedy biz himself, Hallies father, and Nancys ex, is writer-director-producer Charles Shyer (Father of the Bride).

In Home Again, theres no mistaking the influence of Meyers, who was a producer on the new film. The story centers on interior decorator Alice Kinney (Reese Witherspoon), who, after an ugly breakup, has moved from New York to the comfortable Los Angeles home she grew up in with her late filmmaker father and retired actress mother (Candice Bergen). True to the values of a Nancy Meyers movie, that house which is sure to inspire design lust takes center stage. Its there that Alice takes in three 20-something filmmakers as lodgers: a sensitive writer (Jon Rudnitzky), a tech-savvy actor (Nat Wolff), and a sexy director (Pico Alexander). The latter becomes, briefly, Alices boy toy.

Meyers-Shyer, 30, spoke by phone from Los Angeles about her debt to her parents and her desire to make her own way in the Hollywood jungle.

Q: The apple obviously doesnt fall far from the tree. Your mothers influence is apparent, particularly in your films attention to meticulously curated domestic interiors. I was struck by one scene around the breakfast table that featured platters of bacon on blue-and-white china. It was so mouthwatering and pretty, it was almost distracting. How important is production design to you?

A: Of all possible things I learned about from my mom, food on the table is just the smallest possible thing that she could have taught me. The larger lessons about having great heroines and great stories, about how warm and inviting her films are and how feminine they are are the themes I hope I carry on from her, more than anything having to do with set design or food. That said, my film does take place largely in a home and many of her films do as well where the house is a big character. I really hope that Home Again reflects me and my sensibilities.

Q: After graduating from the New School in Manhattan, you spent a year studying film at USC. But youve said your real education came on your parents film sets growing up. If youre trying to cut the apron strings, why work with your mother?

A: Carrying on the family business is a hard thing. As a debut filmmaker, you want to feel like you are paving your own way. But there was nobody better to have with me than someone who has been making, for so many years, romantic comedies with strong female characters. The thing I learned most from my mom was about layering my characters and making them nuanced, and not just types.

Q: Alices parents, like yours, are filmmakers. They seem to have been based on director John Cassavetes and his actress wife, Gena Rowlands. Is that deliberate?

A: Youre absolutely right. The character of [Alices father] is an amalgam of several 1970s filmmakers: Cassavettes; [Peter] Bogdanovich; [Paul] Mazursky. They were my influences while writing the film. The way in which I wanted to portray Los Angeles was inspired a lot by 70s films. I wanted to find a way to infuse that into the story, so I made him a 70s filmmaker. I wanted him to be someone who these three boys who are true lovers of cinema would be excited about to thumb through his scripts and photo albums. I consider the movie a love letter to film and Hollywood.

Q: Are you a particular fan of 70s American cinema?

A: Yes, I am. Its my favorite era. I watched a lot of movies from that period for research.

Q: You werent even born until 1987. How did you fall in love with that period?

A: I went to film school for a bit. Mostly, though, I watched a lot of movies with my parents. Movies of the 70s feel very grounded and character-driven to me. I love Jack Nicholson. I love Warren Beatty in Heaven Can Wait and Shampoo.

Q: Who do you relate to most in this film?

A: I find a little of myself in every character. I relate to Alice, of course, but also to the three boys trying to make it in Hollywood. I relate to Alices anxious older daughter, but also to the youngest daughter, because I also have an older sister. I can even relate to Alices ex, Michael Sheen, back in New York City. I put myself in every character.

Q: Do you perceive a decline or, as some have said, a crisis in romantic comedy?

A: It used to be a more commercial genre for studios, for sure, one in which big actors would star, going back to Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn. It had great actors, major studios, big budgets. But its not just romantic comedies that have declined, as I see it. Movies about human beings are not being made as often. Theyve been replaced by superhero movies, action films. Its not as easy to get a romantic comedy made, but there is an audience for it. The Big Sick was a great example, and it showed that people want to embrace the genre.

Q: Is there a gender divide in the audience? Is there something about rom-coms that has ghettoized them as womens films?

A: Home Again is a womans story, through and through. Women do like romantic comedies, but in my experience, men love them, too. Im excited that an underserved audience is being served in this film.

Q: And that underserved audience is ...?

A: Women.

Q: ... or simply people who dont want to see another movie about space aliens?

A: Absolutely, that, too. One hundred percent.

Q: Theres a great line in the film about how, between the three guys who are living in Alices pool house, she has managed to combine the package into one perfect man: Ones her babysitter, ones her tech-support guru and the other is her lover.

A: I cant take credit for that line. The reference to the brains, the heart and the nerve is from The Wizard of Oz.

Q: Its a sad commentary on the male gender that it takes three of us to make one whole person.

A: I think Home Again is a really empowering movie for men. These are three passionate men who have real interests. It shows men in a really positive way.

Q: Theres another funny line, where a sleazy Hollywood movie producer tries to get the boys to change their vision for their first movie from a black-and-white art-house drama to a found-footage love story. Sounds ilke that one might come from personal experience.

A: Yes. When youre writing, you get to make a little bit of snide commentary. I definitely drew from past meetings with producers.

Q: The guy and the girl dont end up happily ever after. Are you trying to rewrite the rules with your first movie?

A: Thats just how the rom-com genre has been characterized. Home Again looks and feels like a romantic comedy, but ultimately thats not what this movie is about. Its not about a woman finding a man. Its about a woman finding herself.

Home Again (PG-13, 96 minutes). Opens Sept. 8 at area theaters.

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Her mom directed some of the best rom-coms of all time. Now she's made one of her own. - Washington Post

This might not be the case for your avocado-toned kitchen or chintz sofa, but good design advice is timeless. Decades after pioneering interior designers Elsie de Wolfe, Dorothy Draper, and Billy Baldwin had their heyday, their dos and don'ts still ring trueno matter your style. Each of these greats had a unique idea of good taste, but all had careers that championed the revolutionary idea of individuality within the home. They all knew that thoughtful, personal choices are what stand the test of time and that any so-called design rules are meant to be broken. Which is why we're still taking their advice and you should, too.

A vibrant yet edited vignette done by de Wolfe for heiress Dorothy di Frasso.

WATSON SIMON

Elsie de Wolfe is considered by many Americas first interior decorator, by others simply the most famous of her time (the early 20th century)either way, she really did start it all. "Suitability" was her way of championing practicality. And the "simplicity" she put forth differentiated her work from the dark, heavy Victorian interiors so prevalent at the time (though make no mistake: Simple did not mean boring). And last but not least, "proportion": de Wolfe was emphatic that furniture be appropriately scaled to its room to avoid the proverbial bull in the china shop effect. Revolutionary at the time, but still very much applicable today.

The iconic Greenbrier hotel in West Virginia exemplifies Drapers signature style. Here, palm leaf wallpaper mirrors aqua and white striped walls.

Photo: Beall Gordon

Another of the earliest female decorators, Dorothy Draper had an exuberant, over-the-top aesthetic that certainly didnt come from copying anyone else. In her monthly advice column for Good Housekeeping, she emphasized thinking for oneself as well as sticking to an overall concept from the beginning.

Baldwin's signature slipper chair and sofa were low and wall-hugging, which helped this room (dubbed the Tall Room) in Woodson Taulbee's Manhattan apartment feel unclutteredand yet comfortable.

Photo: Billy Cunningham

Billy Baldwindubbed "the dean of indigenous decorators" by AD in 2000knew that a beautiful room is worthless if it is not comfortable and functional. A man whose dapper style helped define American taste, Baldwin believed rooms should be lived in and enjoyed by both the members of the house and those who came to visit.

See original here:
3 Timeless Decorating Tips from the Greats - Architectural Digest

Its no easy feat to find an affordable apartment in Washington. Renters will scour the city streets for a decent deal, searching uptown, downtown and increasingly, underground. English basements in neighborhoods such as Columbia Heights, Adams Morgan and Shaw have become popular options for young people looking for a reasonably priced one- or two-year lease. But basement dwellings often have low ceilings, cramped rooms and little natural light, making them challenging to decorate.

We asked designers how renters can optimize these tricky spaces and make their basement dwellings feel like homes. Here are their tips:

Keep it cool: Lighter, brighter, cooler colors help the walls recede, says Jaye Langmaid, the owner of Hudson & Crane, an urban design studio in Adams Morgan. Light blues and grays can make a small room feel larger and enhance limited natural light. But dont be afraid to accent a wall in a darker color, which can lengthen an oblong room or hall. Stay away from warm colors, which may make a small space feel crowded.

Raise the roof: Shannon Claire Smith, a D.C.-based interior decorator and design blogger, says that renters have a number of ways to make low ceilings appear higher. I always have clients try to stretch the walls as high as they can, Smith says. A darker color on the ceiling makes it look like the night sky you dont know where it ends. Renters can also hang floor-length drapery panels or arrange artwork gallery-style so that it fills walls from floor to ceiling. If you dont have enough artwork to do that, a few large pieces can have the same effect.

[From homeowners to renters: A young couples stylish approach to downsizing to a one-bedroom]

Add mirrors: Decorative mirrors offer another way to create an illusion of space and light. Mirrors can help reflect what little natural light comes into a basement apartment, says Sarah Roussos-Karakaian, who co-founded the artisan contracting and design team Nestrs with her husband, Nick Karakaian. The light bounces around your space. Floor-length mirrors, too, can make a low ceiling look higher.

Look to the past: Theres nothing new about trying to make the best of a small, oddly shaped space. To find furniture that will fit down narrow stairwells and into cramped rooms, check out French, English and Japanese antiques, suggests Rachel Dougan, the founder and principal designer of ViVi Interiors. In Paris, you had really tiny alleyways and stairwells, Dougan says. These vintage pieces were made for smaller spaces to begin with ... and theyre made to be disassembled and put together again. Dougan especially recommends campaign furniture, originally made for soldiers on the move. If you dont like the old-timey aesthetic, she says, you can always add a fresh coat of paint to an antique piece.

Lighten up: The overhead lighting in rented apartments tends to be less than flattering, designer Anna Matthews warns. She suggests buying lamps that will warm up the space. For an affordable option, try Robert Abbey; if youre willing to invest, Matthews recommends Bunny Williams. I love to put good table lamps on either side of the sofa, because it makes it feel more like a home, she says. It personalizes the space, which is so important.

Multitask: Get the most out of a small space by purchasing furniture with more than one function. Have all your furniture be multipurpose, Roussos-Karakaian says. Couches can pull out to double as beds for overnight guests, and coffee tables with built-in shelves can serve as storage space. Roussos-Karakaian also recommends wall-mounted shelves: Use them as bookcases or fill them with decorative storage baskets.

Privatize: English basements often have ground-level windows, which may allow passersby to see inside. Solar shades or privacy blinds allow light to come in while preventing pedestrians from peeping into your bedroom. Jo Kerrigan, district manager for Next Day Blinds, recommends the brands Honeycomb Shades, which have a soft, delicate look but offer total privacy. The shades, made out of a polyester fabric, also absorb sound, making them ideal for a basement on a busy street.

[A beginners guide to window treatments]

Go green: English basements are often accessed through narrow alleyway entrances, and plants placed by your front door can help welcome guests into your home. They can also improve air quality in basement apartments, which may get hot during the day. Smith recommends the snake plant, also known as mother-in-laws tongue, a leafy indoor plant that helps purify air. (She also suggests that basement renters invest in air conditioners and humidifiers.)

Go here to read the rest:
8 ways to make the most of a basement apartment - Washington Post

Photo: Francesco Lagnese / House Beautiful

Pops of orange add an unexpected splash of color.

Pops of orange add an unexpected splash of color.

A painted floor presents promising new possibilities underfoot.

A painted floor presents promising new possibilities underfoot.

Paint moldings or muntins a color (no, not white) to outline a room like a frame does a painting.

Paint moldings or muntins a color (no, not white) to outline a room like a frame does a painting.

Pristine white walls against a checkerboard marble floor create an MGM musical moment in this glamorous foyer.

Pristine white walls against a checkerboard marble floor create an MGM musical moment in this glamorous foyer.

A large-scale mirror provides the grand gesture every room needs.

A large-scale mirror provides the grand gesture every room needs.

With a massive light fixture directing the attention overhead, you hardly need to decorate the rest of the room.

With a massive light fixture directing the attention overhead, you hardly need to decorate the rest of the room.

If its star power you want in a room, try a slash of lipstick red.

If its star power you want in a room, try a slash of lipstick red.

Style Secrets: House Beautiful editor reveals the keys to unlocking a homes potential

Its the kind of image that requires more than a simple glance. First off, theres a yellow-tinted glass vase with pink and magenta peonies across from a couch where a bolster pillow picks up the floral theme. The white candelabras and wrought-iron mirror are the epitome of elegance, but that peach lamp adds a bit of whimsy.

Ahhh, to have that kind of talent that pulls all those pieces together. Want to learn how? Just turn the cover.

That elegant sitting room fronts the more than 260 images in House Beautiful Style Secrets: What Every Room Needs, by the interior design magazines editor Sophie Donelson, which comes out later this month. Insider expert tips, ideas shared by magazines readers and tricks Donelson has picked up along the way, show how spaces small and large can be transformed with color, texture, glitz and a wow moment.

I am not a designer, but I am constantly being asked for advice, says Donelson during a phone interview from her New York City office recently. She has been editor since early 2015. There are just these elements that work and grab your attention and make you feel something. . (Its about creating) a room thats memorable for other people and truly enjoyable for the homeowner, which is really the most important thing.

Before she ever took the helm of House Beautiful or wrote about design, she was a fan of altering her environment. Growing up, Donelson and her mother would often rearrange furniture to give a space new life. It is a tradition she continues with her family, tinkering with the setup in their New York City apartment. There is plenty of inspiration in the book to help target that rearranging.

Culled from photos from the magazine, including outtakes that will be new to its readers, the images show how these elements work in an elegant foyer to a modern kitchen, from a cozy bedroom to a sophisticated master suite. Unique pieces, such as a chandelier made out of an old drum, portraits picked up over 45 years and vintage plates from Mexico are visual reminders of the vast possibilities that could be sitting around in someones attic.

Donelson stresses the book carries on with the principle that has guided the magazine (which is owned by Hearst, the same parent company as this newspaper) through its 121 years. These are ideas to try and not to just buy. They are there to give readers confidence in their tastes and decisions. All the captions and the copy is written to draw your attention to a particular idea. Its not what you have to buy or have to do, but why it works and how you can make it work.

What does every room need? Donelson goes into detail about some of the elements, which will have people asking, Whos your decorator?

A grand gesture

Huge mirrors, gigantic urns, mammoth couches and sizable chandeliers create focal points and add dimensions in rooms of varying dimensions. Make sure the overscaled object is not overdone, Donelson says, but that vase, say, that looks colossal in the store just may be the thing for a grand room.

In an interior, where you have volumes of space, natural light and a lot going on, the eye can take in much, much more. I think we underestimate our ability to enjoy a grand gesture. How many times do you walk in a hotel, or even in a restaurant, and see this jaw-dropping object and have this Oh, wow! moment. Why shouldnt you feel that way at home?

Tactile temerity

Creating texture, whether underfoot, on the wall or with the furniture, provides a sensual experience, as well as visual stimulation. I dont think I have done a good enough job incorporating it into my own home, she says. I love tassels, fringe and nailhead (trim). I looked at my living room recently and I thought, where can I apply a little more texture? Maybe the next throw pillows I get, Ill get something that is embroidered.

Small spaces, big expectations

Donelson has learned from the best that making a small space shine is entirely possible. Absolutely, you should invest either time or money, or both, into a small space. Just because it is small, does not mean it should be bare bones or neglected.

In a small Manhattan apartment, for instance, a room that triples as a foyer, dining room and library gets a splash of class and versatility with a faux-marble painted floor.

Wall-to-wall inspiration

Dont be afraid to use wallpaper. It adds a layer of interest without busying things, so that adds a real designers touch in a way that has staying power and longevity. I am a huge wallpaper fan. I especially love it in a powder room or somewhere where you can enjoy it tremendously, briefly, and then you step away from it, in a way. Something like grasscloth, similar to fine paint, will change throughout the day. Wherever the light is hitting it, it will take on different tones because of its depth. My living room would be grasscloth if I could get around to moving my family out a couple of days, she says, with a laugh. Maybe next summer.

chennessy@hearstmediact.com; Twitter: @xtinahennessy

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'Style Secrets': House Beautiful editor reveals the keys to unlocking a home's potential - CT Post

Ask most designers what color they usually paint interior trim -- no matter the wall color -- and they will tell you the same: white.

My go-to trim color for years has been Benjamin Moore's Decorator's White, a crisp chalky tone. Occasionally, I will use Benjamin Moore's White Dove, a softer, creamier white that works particularly well in more traditional rooms.

But lately I have seen several designers breaking the mold. They have gone bold and painted window casings, door frames, baseboards and crown moldings bright, saturated colors.

Most prolific in this gutsy movement is New York designer Steven Gambrel of S.R. Gambrel. He likes to choose a deep-toned accent color -- plucked from another element in the room, such as an accessory or a fabric -- for the room's trim. "Painting the trim a bold color better defines the scale of the room, and it gives the room's architectural elements -- windows and doors -- more prominence," Gambrel says. He thinks of a room's trim as he would a picture frame: A strong-colored frame focuses your eye and outlines that which is most important.

Of course, to paint trim a bold color, it needs to be in good condition and worthy of the attention color will draw. Neither is a problem for Gambrel, who works with some of the most prominent architects living today and who typically remains involved in the architectural choices from the beginning of a project.

When Gambrel's clients agree to go bold with a trim color, he always cautions them to wait until the room is finished before they judge it; only once the textiles, furniture and accessories are in does the room make sense. "Painting trim against a neutral wall in an unfinished room feels too strong," Gambrel says, "but when you start layering in carpet, trims, art and objects, it all becomes more balanced."

Balance is important to Gambrel, which is why when painting trim a bright color, he usually uses a textured wallcovering such as grass cloth or rough-cut plaster. The texture of the walls balances out the brightness of the trim; without the texture, he says, the room would feel too "jumpy."

For trim paint, Gambrel once used only the glossy oil paints from Fine Paints of Europe, but he has switched to Benjamin Moore's Aura semigloss paints, which are free of volatile organic compounds. (He still uses Fine Paints of Europe for front doors and very special cabinet details.)

Designer Meg Braff likes to paint the trim a vibrant color in rooms that have lots of windows and doors because, she says, "it unifies the space and makes the room feel less choppy." But unlike Gambrel, Braff does not always keep walls neutral and textural. Instead she opts for vibrant wallpapers, which typically inform her trim color selection. In her rooms, the bright trim balances and anchors the busier wallpaper. In some ways it's the opposite of Gambrel; he uses textured walls to balance the bright trim, and Braff uses bright trim to balance the vibrant patterned walls.

Braff also likes to use vivid colors for the trim and cabinetry of butler's pantries and bars. She says these smaller spaces, particularly when adjacent to an all-white kitchen, turn into little jewel boxes.

Designer Katie Ridder paints trim bright colors, but she does so in smaller doses. Ridder likes to use bright shades on window mullions (the grids that divide windowpanes) to add color to a room. She does this specifically in more-open floor plans, when one room flows into another, thereby making it difficult to switch wall color. The other benefit of painting the mullions: You can skip the window treatments. This works well particularly in rooms such as kitchens where adding a curtain or shade might be awkward or bulky.

Before you decide to paint your own white trim a bolder color, know one thing: Painting trim is time-consuming. All those edges and windowpanes need to be taped, and the paint must be brushed on by hand; you can't just roll it on as you do on the walls.

Elizabeth Mayhew is the author of Flip! for Decorating.

HomeStyle on 08/19/2017

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Interior trimmings in bold colors a break from all white - NWAOnline