Symmetry: Two-by-Two Double Take

Symmetry is defined as “being the same or corresponding on both sides of a central dividing line; harmony or beauty of form that results from balanced proportions.” To me, symmetry in home design can be boiled down to “when you love it, buy two.”

Furniture and accessories placed with symmetry in mind are striking and very pleasing visually. It is all about balance and repeating the same placement of items opposite of each other. There are simple, standard symmetry techniques that can give a casual room a furniture leg up to look polished and professional.

Lamps are one of the easiest items to place to show a dash of symmetry. Two of the exact same lamp bases with matching shades are perfect pieces to place on end tables that flank the couch or on nightstands that flank the bed. To take it a step further, set two matching lamps on a sofa table behind the couch toward the two ends of the tabletop to provide soft light for your main seating area.

Ottomans are another décor item that can be used symmetrically. Two small ottomans placed side by side in place of a coffee table or placed alongside your seating area for additional seating or as an appealing break between two seating areas in a larger living room work well. Forgo a chest at the foot of the bed and use two ottomans instead for bedroom seating and a nice hotel feel.

Side chairs are an additional top pick for creating symmetry in your furniture layout. Flank a fireplace with two occasional chairs facing each other. Situate two side chairs beside each other with a small table in between in place of a loveseat in the living room. Create a small seating area using the same principle in an oversized bedroom or an area of the living room, a reading nook, or a landing.

Follow Noah’s example of two-by-two and double up on small furniture and accessories to lay out a symmetrical feast for the eyes that causes your guests to give you the ultimate home décor compliment: a double take.

DesignInMind column; appeared in the Valley Morning Star March 27th.

Setting More than the Table: The Dish on Dishes

Plates, bowls, cups, serving platters – they fill our kitchen cabinets and embellish our tabletops. When it comes to quantity, though, it would be no surprise if your “cup runneth over” in your kitchen space. You can put some of those lesser-used pieces to good use in new ways to save cabinet space and get the full scoop out of your dishes.

Use tea cups or small bowls, sometimes called “finger bowls,” as drawer dividers. They can hold many things from rings and earrings to ponytail holders, cotton squares, and eye shadows neatly separated in a bathroom drawer. Place a pasta serving bowl on your back entryway or foyer table to hold those everyday essentials that seem to scatter, such as keys, sunglasses, loose change, and the day’s mail. Use a collection of attractive juice glasses on the bathroom counter to hold cotton swabs, toothbrushes, and cotton balls.

Keep office supplies sorted and orderly around the home office desk by using soup bowls or good-looking mugs to hold pens, pencils, paperclips, and rubber bands. Line up individually wrapped snacks on a serving tray for easy access on a low pantry shelf. Think granola bars, popcorn, and cookie and cracker packets. Use mixing or serving bowls for the same purpose, as well as for small kitchen items like measuring spoons and cups and kids’ supplies like arts and crafts components.

Shift your attractive dishes that do not get used for daily meals into decorative pieces. Display them on a buffet or incorporate them into a table centerpiece. Bowls or other dishes displayed in a line on shelving in the den can hold movies, books, and music or note cards, envelopes, and stamps.

Think outside the plastic the next time you have a desire to turn something more formal into something more functional for your everyday spaces. And that’s the dish on dishes.

DesignInMind column; appeared in the Valley Morning Star March 20th.

NEW! iPhone 3G Case Designs Now Available

New iPhone 3G case designs are now available on Zazzle!
Check out the modern designs you could add to the technology you just cannot be without . . .

My Zazzle Gallery

10 Things: Making Spring Break Work for Your Home

Here are 10 small project ideas that can each be easily accomplished in a week while still having plenty of warm weather vacation time to enjoy.

1.) Paint one room in your home. Bring warmth to your living room, add a spa feel to your bathroom, or create a dining room ready for guests, all with the efforts of a smooth paint roller and a steady hand around the edges.
2.) Shuffle your wall art. Taking down the things hanging on your walls and reordering them to all hang in different applicable places can renew their visual interest without spending one red cent. Just get a little spackle and touch-up paint ready for unused nail holes.
3.) Rearrange your furniture. Bet you could have guessed this was coming next. Moving the big pieces around, too, can be a breath of fresh air for spring right indoors. Get some placement ideas from online images and reposition your couch, chairs, tables, and beds for a new feel and a new look without a new buy.
4.) Arrange new centerpieces on your dining table and buffet. Use simple pieces that can stick around right up until it is time to pull out your fall decorations again. Think glass, grass, sand, shells, rocks, candles, bright fabrics, and other spring and summer elements that make your list of favorites.
5.) Prep the closets for higher temperatures. As the flip flops make a comeback, get the whole family on board with arranging closets and dresser drawers to just move or remove the winter pieces and bring the shorts and t-shirts front and center. It is a great time to gather unworn or outgrown winter clothes and donate them. If those cords didn’t see one day of jacket weather this season, they probably won’t next year either. Let them go, and make room for things that will get plenty of use.
6.) Shop for shoes. As the winter boots get stored away, take advantage of early spring sales to replenish your footwear wardrobe. For kids moving up a size, tackle the size-and-select job when they are out of school and ready to show some toes again.
7.) Clean out your products. Sort through the bathroom drawers and cabinets and throw out medicines, makeup, and other personal care products that are past their prime, haven’t been used in a long time, or have changed in color or consistency. Replenish your supply with new bottles of sunscreen, aloe for sunburns, any makeup that needs updating, lotions or creams, and medicines to treat the basics of a cold or allergies.
8.) Stock up on household basics. Now is a good time to make that run to the store and purchase essentials like paper towels, toilet paper, tissues, detergent, etc., and replenish your cabinets for the season ahead.
9.) Tackle the dirt at entry points. Replace or really give the floor mats a good beating that sit at your front and back doors, inside and out. The more stuff clinging to shoes that you can stop from ever crossing the threshold, the less cleaning up you have to do this spring.
10.) Swap accessories. Whether you get together with friends for an exchange or just reorder your accessory drawers and shelves, put away the scarves and pull out the colorful necklaces and purses to get set for a bright Valley season ahead.

DesignInMind column; appeared in the Valley Morning Star March 13th.

Making Monochromatic Work in Your Home

A monochromatic decorator’s scheme can work in real homes and not just in magazine layouts. By applying some of the same techniques used by the pros, you can have a professional decorator’s touch minus the photo spread price tag.

When you flip through the pages of home magazines, it can be the layering and repeated use of a color in one featured living room, kitchen, bedroom, or bathroom that is quickly eye-catching and desirable. Look at the elements that draw you in; you are likely focusing on wall color, fabrics, wall art, and decorative pieces. Using the same or similar color palette in one room or area of your home can be pulled off to create a cohesive look.

The monochromatic look works when a.) it is not overdone, b.) it touches on the different heights of a room, and c.) it is spread out nicely in a way that looks purposed but not sterile or choppy. So, first, choose an accent color that you would like to feature in a space. This can come from similar-colored items you pull from different rooms and bring together in one area or a shade you want to keep an eye out for in items you plan to add to your home when shopping. Components to keep in mind are paint, wall art or framed photographs with a similar setting or background, accent pillows or fabric throws or towels, area rugs, lamp shades and bases, pottery or sculptural pieces, and small items such as candles and books.

Painting just a wall or a room one standout shade sets the backdrop for a monochromatic layout boldly and with purpose. That can be achieved with a $20 to $40+ trip to the hardware store. But the same goal can similarly be achieved without picking up a paint brush. To ensure you touch on all the right spots, think high, mid, and low for your colored accents. Placing a short stack of books with the same colored spines alongside a tinted glass vase on a high shelf draws the eye up. Hanging frames, artwork, and photos on the wall around eye level fills in the mid section, along with the placement of lamps and throw pillows. Scattering decorative boxes, ceramics, and modern knickknacks on coffee and end tables, right down to an attractive area rug brings the eye lower. You visually take it all in and connect the dots to see the same shade throughout the space, creating a unified look.

You do not have to be matchy-matchy to pull off monochromatic with style. The right blend of shade and neutrals can meld together to reveal a space planned out with a good eye and a crafty hand for a colorful outcome.

DesignInMind column; appeared in the Valley Morning Star March 6th.