On a BUDGET?

GOLDEN RULE- define your focal point in every room, or common area.


GUIDELINES when the big dollar is a variable, and lets be honest folks it ALWAYS is!  These are some fun tools to tuck away in your designers repertoire for that rainy day.

• PLay with SCALE
• Be bold with Color

1. Sticker Graphics make a fun statement... 

atHarmonie-intérieure

2. Create your personal COLLAGE: Random or symetrical

3. Add interest with Bold WALLPAPER- accent wall or framed as art... (sorry about the random cat...) image via: haus maus

image via- yarn-ing.blogspot.com

Self Proclaimed style = Home Sweet Home

CONFIDENT personal design can be bold and this house absolutely is! WOO HOO!!!


Your home should be a reflection of what you LOVE... it does NOT have to match in order to work.  It actually creates interest to mix and match styles and price points... it does not have to be $$$ to be chic. This is where a designer comes in and pushes you to break "rules" and make your own. Its more fun this way!


Exibit A: (Check out this house)

Apartment Therapy Survey:

Our Style: We are drawn to a mix of things that are found, things that are very modern, and things that are old and have a story or capture the spirit of the time period from which they come. After that we try to be careful arrangers and then become constant re-arrangers, always sensing what color combinations make us happy and aiming to create spaces that are comfortable and clean.

Biggest Indulgence: We actually don’t have one. We are bargain hunters, thoughtful consumers, and homely object re-fashioners to the bone. And because we are always alert to the possibility of finding great stuff, we tend wait until we get lucky.

Best Advice: We keep files of images we love, both electronically — i.e. images saved from blogs — and/or culled from paper sources (i.e. magazines). These "genius files" help to form your own design ethos and will somehow filter into the identity of your own spaces in both conscious and subconscious ways.

Dream Sources: The best things are always ones that surprises us, that we didn’t know we needed but that make perfect sense when we see them, bought from a treasure trove off the beaten track that is owned by an incredibly nice and quirky person.

Other Inspiration The 70s. Always the 70s.

Resources of Note:

PAINT & COLORS

• The house felt dark when we bought it, so we just whitewashed almost every room with Dunn-Edwards no-VOC paints.

FURNITURE

• Sofa and dining room table: HD Buttercup • White chaise lounge: found at the side of the road and reupholstered • Dining room chairs: Bellini chairs from DWR • Phillipe Starck outdoor bubble club furniture: DWR and Craigslist • Midcentury Swedish chairs: Surfing Cowboys in Venice • The Saarinen tulip table is from a vintage furniture store Palm Springs • The bright blue ice cream chairs (at the Saarinen table) were found in an alley and powder coated • Yellow chair in Monty’s room: found • Orange rocking chair: found in a junk shop and powder coated • White office desk: West Elm • Black desk chair: Konstantin Gcric: bought online • Black sideboard in office and natural wood Heywood Wakefield bureau set (which Tyke has had for 18 years and is about to lacquer white): flea markets (Rose Bowl and Long Beach) • Beds: IKEA, gray sofa sleeper downstairs is from DWR. • Master bedroom bedding is from Habitat in the UK

ACCESSORIES

• Throw pillows were made out of vintage clothing fabrics and fabrics bought in India • table knick knacks are from places like OK, French 50s and 60s, and Tortoise • the Eames elephant was a baby shower gift • the silver toy "baskets" both in Monty’s room and the dining room are from Plastica

LIGHTING

• vintage chrome multi-globe lamp is from a Goodwill • rice paper pendants above the big table are from IKEA • the green and red lamps in the office are from flea markets

ARTWORK

• Jon painted and drew many of our pieces (such as the empty pool watercolor — copied from an artist’s photograph) • deer drawing is by art students at Tyke's school • many of the little pieces around are by family and friends

THANK YOU Apartment Therapy for this spot on design! LOVE LOVE LOVE 

 ~ Apartment Therapy Blog 

Modern classics

Welcome to the CLASSICS:

TIMELESS antiques jazz up any run of the mill home!  Think outside the box and add a few mid-century items to that safe traditional home of yours...  Blending the old with the new= design depth and interest...  

Check out these mid- century chairs that will turn any design gurus head IF strategically placed in the right setting.  These guys are like the icing on the cake... potentially the perfect finishing touch to a generic design scheme.

  FK87 Grasshopper lounge;Fabricus & Kastholm

T

 Egg Chairs by Arne Jacobsen 

PAPA CHAIR- designer Hans Wegner received several major design prizes, from the Lunning prize in 1951 and the Grand Prix of the Milan Triennale in the same year, to the Prince Eugen medal in Sweden and the Danish Eckersberg medal. In 1959, he was made honorary Royal designer for industry by the Royal Society of Arts in London.^[2] His furniture is present in multiple international collection including the Museum of Modern Art in N.Y. ant the Die Neue Samlung in Munich.   

-Wikipedia

Image via: ELLEDECOR.com

Platner Chairs:Below blending traditional with mid century lighting and side chairs.

image via: ELLEDECOR.com










Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman- Super comfortable and iconic. It adds a little masculine feel to any space, so of course I like to balance it out with a delicate side table (like shown above).
Typically Shown in black or white leather, Personally I'd like to upholster one in olive green velvet. Let's not forget my fave: a Missoni-upholstered version from Gossip Girl. 







Image via:Thirteen and South blog 


 
Cantilever Cane Chair by Mies Van der Rohe. Curvy, simple, textural, super sexy chair.
 
Image via:Thirteen and South blog

Louis Ghost Chair. Newer onto the chair scene, this see-thru wonder is already a classic in my book. I love that it is so versatile- looks great around a table, or as an accents in the living room, bedroom, office, even bath. Great for small spaces where you don't want to feel crowded with furniture. -Thirteen and South Blog

(P.S. I think this is a unique chair that will blend in any home due to the nod to the classic style yet funky because it's a clear chair- lucite is just FUN!  I do think this fun concept has an expiration date in the near future... HOWEVER I like it for now!!!)  

(Images above via:decorpad) 

Faux Bamboo Chippendale Chair. Whether its the Jonathan Adler variety, or the real-deal vintage version, these chairs are everywhere. Why are they so popular? For me, I like that they are little-bit classic and a little bit modern. The cushion provides comfort, the back provides a neat geometric shape and the color options are endless! Great around a table or by a desk.  -Thirteen and South Blog

(P.S. I AGREE! The geometric shape is masculine and the colors are fresh and current.) 

 
Image via:Thirteen and South blog 






Arne Jacobsen- This chair is simple, clean, yet fun. By far the most accesible. Affordable look-a-likes available everywhere (West Elm, Crate and Barrel, Room and Board...)

 
Image via:Thirteen and South blog 

Bertoia side chair designed by Harry Bertoia, 1952. Innovative, comfortable and strikingly handsome, the chair's delicate appearance belies its strength and durability. In Bertoia's own words, "If you look at these chairs, they are mainly made of air, like sculpture. Space passes right through them." A classic, modern design that enhances any environment

Womb Chairs- classic chair placed in the unexpected contemorary setting... LOVE IT!

fourwallsandaroof.com