Shelving Design, One Layer at a Time

One of the best pieces of advice I have ever heard about how to arrange pieces on shelves is to treat each shelf like its own tabletop. I think that takes the pressure off of trying to arrange an entire bookcase at once decoratively and to cohesive perfection. Instead, take one step (up) at a time.

Blending is the optimum word when trying to decorate shelving in built-ins, bookcases, and entertainment centers. Pull things together in a way that looks appealing, natural, and melded together. This starts with your decorative items. Literally, what do you bring to the table? The classics are books, pottery, vases, small sculptures, candlesticks, framed art, photos, clocks, dishes, small knick knacks, and natural elements like stones, dried naturals, grass, and coral. Pick things that reflect you and the type of display you want to create, whether that says contemporary, classic, intellectual, rustic, dressy, or thematic, like shells and sand for a beach display or sepia photos and collector’s items for the genealogy enthusiast. By choosing items - whether in things you purchase or collections you gather from different rooms in your home - that go together, you are on your way to a cohesive shelf display.

Some other tips to consider when arranging your items are symmetry, pattern, color, orientation, layering, and space. Symmetrical arrangements that have two or more items mirroring each other always look neat and well put together with purpose. Mixing complimentary patterns and textures draws the eye in and makes your display its most interesting. The use of a monochromatic color palette or picking two or three shades that pop together also draws the eye in and highlights your individual decorations. Staggering the orientation and layering of your things to ensure you have items spaced well within the back, middle, and front of each shelf, as well as the left, middle, and right sides, will provide the most balance and keep your collections from looking heavy in one spot and sparse in another. Another key point that can be overlooked in the goal of a full display is allowing for open space. Cramming too much in detracts from the individuality of what you want to feature. Adequate “white space” between stacks of books, arrangements of frames, and gatherings of glassware keeps the focus flowing.

Treat each shelf like its own canvas and work to create an artful display, one layer at a time. In the end, step back and see how each level works together to showcase an entire design that represents you, your home, and your interests with sophisticated, well-planned – and well placed - creative touches.

DesignInMind column; appeared in the Valley Morning Star July 24th.

Black and White . . . and Make Them Green with Envy

Ah, black and white. This classic color combo has been a sustaining design element through generations. It dresses up and dresses down with ease and has an air of sophistication on all levels. Incorporating black and white into your home design can be a refreshing take that both modernizes and dials up your style quotient.

A mixture of furnishings in black and white is elegant and timeless. While a white sofa is not appropriate for all homes, it is a beautiful addition with both black and white printed pillows. Black occasional chairs in a patterned upholstery fabric with white throws draped down their centers with a brightly colored throw pillow in each seat are stand-outs in a living room furniture arrangement. Additionally, large pieces of furniture, like entertainment centers, hutches, and armoires, in either black or white establish a landmark piece in a room around which other elements revolve.

Black and white makes an ideal mix in both bedroom and bathroom schemes as well. High end hotel bedding styles can be recreated in your own room with white as the standard base. A white comforter or duvet with a black outline around the bed’s top with both black and white shams and throw pillows creates an idyllic master bedroom design. A shower curtain of similar design with white spa-like towels and thick bathmats offers the same sophistication in bathroom décor as well.

A zebra print in upholstery fabrics and rugs is a standard black and white mix that stands out nicely with various décor schemes. Black and white in artwork and photography can offer up an at-home display worthy of a gallery. Stairways with painted black steps and white risers can turn a blank staircase into an attractive focal point.

Whatever your preference, integrating this traditional black and white color combination can be a great place to start to build some new style elements into your space. And you may just make a few visitors a little green with envy in the process.

DesignInMind column; appeared in the Valley Morning Star July 17th.

10 Things: Add Some Splash to Your Summer

1. Toss in a cool blue ocean shade for the season. Layer bright hues of aqua, sky, and navy on the family room sofa and the beds with multiple throw pillows or lightweight blankets. Serve off of a mix of blue platters to add another summer color to your hot weather dishes.

2. Make your own water feature for the table centerpiece. Fill glass vases of varying heights ¾ full of water and stager them down the center of the table. You can add a base of rocks or float candles, petals, or palm fronds. To brighten things up, drop in different amounts of blue food coloring in each.

3. Make homemade popsicles with fruit juice and chopped or pureed fruit. Stick to the molds you can buy or give it a whirl with paper cups and arts and crafts sticks. Either way, you should have a sweet, cold treat in the end for the quintessential summer dessert.

4. Host a water party in the backyard, pool or no pool. A series of water slides, kiddie pools, water balloons, squirt guns, and sprinklers can turn an ordinary grass yard into your own water park on a sultry afternoon.

5. Use seasonal fruit in some decorative arrangements. A pile of limes or lemons in a square glass vase is an instant décor piece for a coffee or end table. A stack of oranges in a tall cylinder vase can brighten a kitchen counter.

6. Swap out your everyday hand towels in the guest bathroom for a rainbow spectrum of towels rolled and displayed in a basket on the countertop. Mix in an inexpensive, bright, geometric-patterned shower curtain and a bath mat, and you have a tropical touch that can last into September.

7. Trade in traditional hand soaps and shower gels throughout the house for summery scents in bright pump bottles or vivid soap dishes for a simple touch of color and great aromatic additions.

8. Consider a string of paper lanterns in pink, yellow, aqua, and lime to light a patio or backyard for evening barbeques and cookouts. Tiki torches made with pest repellent help keep your outdoor living spaces pleasant and cast an inviting glow while you linger outdoors.

9. Take the heaviness out of standard drapery panels and add ironed, flat white sheets on ring clips to your drapery rods for the summer. The fresh, airy feel they offer, coupled with the billowy effect they provide as they gather at the bottom, is ideal for living areas and bedrooms alike to lighten up your windows this season.

10. Let a CD of summer hits be the backdrop that sets the mood for a laidback gathering over a buffet of cold pasta salads, summer fruits and veggies, and an indulgent combo of “s’mores” and sorbets to polish it off.

DesignInMind column; appeared in the Valley Morning Star July 10th.

Independent Design

As our nation celebrates independence, I have considered some ways in which we make our own independent mark on the design in our lives. How do we stand apart in the look of our homes? What keeps us personal and not cookie cutter? I think the key is to find how to put more of ourselves into the spaces we live in.

What reflects you? That is where to start. Take what reflects you and turn those things into design elements in your home. Maybe you feel that is as straightforward as filling your home with photos of your family and important moments. A mantle, hutch, or buffet lined with an arrangement of attractively framed pictures reveals snapshots of memories and a portrait of your family history that tells a little bit of your story. Beyond pictures of the family, an independent take on the same concept is to turn your photography into your own custom artwork. Take pictures of scenery from your travel or even a series of images on a topic that appeals to you or would blend nicely with your décor, turn them into black and white, sepia, or enhanced color images, and blow multiple photos up to any size you prefer between a 5”x7” and a poster. Frame them alike and hang as a gallery display in a living room, dining room, or hallway.

Maybe you have a really outdoorsy nature, and rustic, earthy pieces draw your attention. Bring greenery indoors, along with wood or stone components that show off more masculine textures. Maybe your passport has taken you to various countries, and elements from those excursions are things you want to surround yourself with at home. Whether it is African rugs or Chinese sculptures, cultural designs lay a good foundation to build upon to reveal personality through design. Perhaps a refined, sophisticated feel is what you favor. Rich fabrics and grand furnishings could be your style. Perhaps there is a staple hobby of yours like movies, cooking, or art that could be reflected in your furniture, color choices, and the scene you set in your day to day space. Take what you like and turn it into practical application.

Incorporate you. Home design ingredients do not have to come straight off of a retail shelf. That is what independent design is all about – taking something that reflects you and making it work in your space. Whether you buy it, inherit it, come across it, make it, add to it, or have saved it for years, what you set out and hang up at home tells a story about you to every person that crosses your threshold. What do you think your design says about you this Independence Day? And what do you want to do to further impact that storyline?

DesignInMind column; appeared in the Valley Morning Star July 3rd.