American Southwest Inspired Design

14 Monday Jan 2013

Posted by melissaoconnor in Everyday Design, Guest Posts, Jim Klossner, The Home

Tags

American Southwest, desert, design, earthy tones, interior design, Native American, pottery, rustic, southwest design, terra cotta, Turquoise

When I think of the Southwest, I think of orange sunsets, turquoise jewelry, and the neutral sandy colors of the desert. The rich colors, textures, and patterns of the American Southwest bring a feeling of warmth and comfort to any space. Here are some of my favorite accent pieces and design touches straight out of Arizona and New Mexico’s most beautiful homes.

Nature-inspired Color Palette
The Southwestern color palette combines earthy tones such as beige, terra cotta, and browns, with bold splashes of color that are evocative of stunning desert sunsets. Think earthy backdrops coupled with pops of bright red bring warmth into your living space.

Photo Credit: Best Interior Designs

Turquoise is another wildly color choice in Southwestern design, and is also highly entwined with the Native American culture of the region. This cabinet is a great accent piece to your space that also provides an attractive and practical storage solution.

Photo Credit: Great SW Furniture

Pottery and artistic designs are another great way to work subtle touches of turquoise into your living space.

Photo Credit: Etsy

Another great idea that I stumbled upon in my search for beautiful designs from the Southwest incorporates terra cotta tile into this kitchen design. The rich color of this tile contrasted with the cool green tone of the cabinets becomes the ultimate classy Southwestern kitchen.

Photo Credit: Apartment Therapy

Rustic Accents
Another unique characteristic of Southwestern style is rustic textures and accents. Distressed wood furniture pieces are often incorporated into spaces to give them a Southwestern flair, like this armoire and table.

Photo Credit: Taos Vacation Homes

If you are looking for a more drastic change for your space, the beams along the ceiling in this living area are a distinct way to get structural supports.

Photo Credit: Zunetop

Aged leather accent pieces provide a rustic feel and comfortable seating for your family and guests.

Photo Credit: Sesshu Design

Who wouldn’t want to curl up in a chair with a good book and a mug of tea, or just take a nap?

Photo Credit: Wild Wings

Bold Patterns
You can also achieve Southwestern style by adding bold patterns to your living area. I loved the subtle use of patterns on the furniture in this room. The understated design fits right in with the rustic style of the space.

Photo Credit: HGTV

Or maybe you love a bolder design. Adding a statement piece such as this patterned rug creates a unique Southwestern feel in this mountain themed living room.

Photo Credit: Mountain Living

If you really want authentic touches in your space, consider purchasing some colorful Talavera pottery to add to your living room or dining room. It will brighten up any space while adding visual interest and acting as a conversation starter.

Photo Credit: San Miguel de Allende Casa

Clay pots or adobe pots with tribal patterns can also be added for a distinct Southwest style.

Photo Credit: Darla Hallmark

A larger and more dramatic version can be achieved with a pottery mural, like this one.

Photo Credit: Etsy

Finally, if you love Native American patterns and aren’t afraid of a healthy pricetag, I recommend checking out these Navajo hanging wall blankets. These are bright, gorgeous, statement pieces.

Photo Credit: Etsy

You don’t have to live in Arizona or New Mexico to bring a bit of region’s flair into your living space. Distressed wooden accent pieces, nature-inspired color choices, and distinct tribal patterns can be incorporated into your home to add a Southwestern feel. The best way to get a Southwestern influence is to think color, natural influences, and don’t be afraid of anything that helps your home look a little lived in!

Jim Klossner is a home repair professional. Many of his designs are inspired by his travels in the American Southwest and beyond. Click here to learn more about his recent accommodation at the Thunderbird Hotel in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Creating a Flexible & Adaptable Room Theme

10 Thursday Jan 2013

Posted by melissaoconnor in Everyday Design, Guest Posts, The Home

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

furniture, home, interior design, Lamps, Matt Chappell, OKA Direct, pillows, scatter cushions

If you spend a large amount of your free time in a particular room, there is a chance that at some point you have felt less than enthused about its décor. Becoming bored with one’s surroundings is not uncommon; in fact it is an entirely natural response. There are, however, several easy ways of ensuring your décor remains fresh, exciting and invigorating. These methods do not demand extensive redecoration nor do they possess a hefty price tag. Below is a video that outlines three ways to create different looks in the same room in an easy and affordable way.

Flexibility is about having the ability to provide change without a significant impact on the current situation. This means multiple small alterations instead of a significant reshuffle of a room.

Items such as scatter cushions and small ornaments are ideal for creating adaptability and the ability to create a multi design room. Instead of having a stockpile of different cushions that take up storage space, it pays to have a reserve of different cushion covers that can be used to create several alternative styles. When used in conjunction with similarly styled curtains or throws, one may alternate a room’s theme on a whim.

Photo Credit: West Elm

Photo Credit: Pottery Barn

Lighting is another easy way to increase the interest and function of a room. With the thoughtful implementation of task and accent lighting one can dramatically alter the usability and aesthetic impact of certain areas of a room. This can be achieved, for example, by adding a tall lamp to a dark corner of a room in order to relieve the sense of dreariness as well as provide useful illumination for activities such as reading.

Photo Credit: World Market

Photo Credit: Crate & Barrel

This is not the variety of pursuit that rewards the timid decorator in the sense that one must experiment and make mistakes in order to find what truly works in a particular room. No one room is exactly the same just as no one person’s tastes are alike. In the end, if you feel a sense of reinvigoration when you finish your decorating then you have achieved your goal.

{This article was written on behalf of OKA Direct by Matt Chappell. Matt regularly blogs about interior design and furniture, recently his main interest has been traditional furniture construction techniques.}

The Cool Winter Blues

09 Wednesday Jan 2013

Posted by melissaoconnor in Color Inspiration, Everyday Design, The Home

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

bathroom, bedroom, better homes and gardens, blue, cool colors, Country Living, cream, eclectic, interior design, living room, neutrals, patterns, texture, white

I simply love the color blue. I always have and always will. It’s just one of those colors that can make you happy or make you sad, can brighten or calm a space and really help to bring the feel the nature inside your home. Let’s just say its the color thats filled with surprises.

Always having a special connection with blue, it has been used throughout all my color schemes in my spaces. You will find it everywhere in my home. I’m a big fan of the cool color palette and blue is a rising star in that category. Mix it with grays, creams and other cool neutrals, and you have a space that is peaceful, fresh and brilliant.

Here are some great examples of how to use blue in your home. I hope they inspire you to incorporate this amazing color into the spaces that make you happy.

This bedroom is certainly a place to rest. With pale blue on the walls, it enables to space to feel light and airy, like your surrounded by clouds. The addition of white makes it feel fresh with soft layers and the warm wood tones helps ground the overall design. The small pops of garden inspired colors throughout the room brings more interest and a bit of glamour.

Photo Credit: Country Living

This reading nook is all sorts of fun. Although comfy and relaxed, the various pops of color and patterns allows the space to feel alive and stylish. Blue and yellow are the main characters here and as you follow your eye around from the stool to the plaid curtains there are all sorts of details that help this room have an eclectic feel.

Photo Credit: Better Homes and Gardens

The various blues in this living room allow the space to feel fun and classic. You don’t have to stick to one hue. As long as they are close enough in the spectrum as far tone, it should work nicely. Here, the owners a light toned rug, a couch that matches the rug nicely and then included a brighter more saturated blue for pop. Using this color for the bookshelves really make them stand out as apposed to using the pale blue, which would help blend them in. Again, whites, creams and warm wood tones help to balance out the space while a few hints of green add a touch of whimsy.

Photo Credit: Country Living

The same idea as above is being treated in this bedroom. Various blues in all different patterns and textures really bring a unique feel the to space. Although the room has a neutral backdrop, the blue elements keep it lively, fresh and interesting.

Photo Credit: Better Homes and Gardens

Feminine and cottage chic, this vanity area is all dolled up in light blues, pinks and lavender. These soft colors keep the space light, pretty and fit for a queen. The addition of white and ruffle details really add a cottage feel while keeping modern with how its treated.

Photo Credit: Country Living

A nice way to express your love for nautical design is to simply use blue and white in a simple way. This bathroom keeps with the streamline aesthetic with dark blue walls and white furniture accents.

Photo Credit: Country Living

Bathroom Vessel Sinks

08 Tuesday Jan 2013

Posted by melissaoconnor in Everyday Design, Guest Posts, The Home

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Alex Jones, bathroom, Discount Vanities, diy, glass sinks, interior design, Remodeling, Single Sink Vanities, Sink Vanities Direct, vessel sinks, Virtu Vanities

With a proper sink the entire look of your bathroom can be transformed. Bathrooms are no longer considered to be a side part of the house. It is the first place one starts their day off and hence it should be made elegant and exquisite. An integral part of your bathroom is the latest equipments and accessories that are inside it.

Vessel sinks are one of the major accessories used in most bathrooms and they can be categorized under the category of sanitation fittings or bathroom fittings. The sinks one uses in the kitchen have different specifications and need to be very high and durable as well fitting in an area where utensils, dish ware and other items are kept for washing so the finish has to be tougher.

Photo Credit: List Vanities

When you are considering to get a vessel sink for your bathroom you need to take in consideration the way it’s going to be used. So you need to be sure that the faucet and drain are connected and they function as they should. Certain plumbing codes tell you the type of drains a particular sink should have. For a vessel sink, one is expected to use a grid drain rather than a plug drain, which means the sink can never get filled up. The faucets also should clear the rim of the sink.

Photo Credit: Treasured Old Mexico

Photo Credit: Signature Hardware

The most accessible sinks should be wall mounted, so that it can be used in all directions. If the vessel sink is shallow, the design should prevent splashing. When you consider a solid surface vessel sink vanity there will be no rim around the surface, which makes it much easier to maintain as water and debris that does come on the counter can be pushed back into the sink. Such counters will normally allow for holes to be drilled into them to accommodate the faucet in case it is not wall mounted. The sinks don’t add too much to the décor, but the counter is likely to draw all the attention.

Photo Credit: Wayfair

Over the counter sinks can be designed in glass, stone, marble and metal. Copper sinks that are hammered out by hand make for very unique choices that can rarely be repeated elsewhere. Glass sinks can be very decorative and you can get designs that are etched to really add to the décor in the bathroom.

Photo Credit: Wayfair

Redesigning or remodeling of a bathroom can greatly add to the value of a home and therefore requires a lot of care and expense. A vessel sink added to a bathroom can greatly add to its decoration and looks and should be something to consider on your next project.

{Alex Jones writes a blog on Sink Vanities Direct, about Virtu Vanities, Discount Vanities, Single Sink Vanities and more. He can be found on Facebook and microblogs.}