Small-Space Secrets from a Seattle Designer

April 28, 2015

Small space secrets from a Seattle designer ~

Looking for some small-space ideas? Do you live in a city condo or apartment? I have some small space secrets for you in this post.

• Our homes tell a story about who we are no matter if they’re a small space. Don’t resist the opportunity. The trips, the family, the friends, the

The Motion Chair Gains Interior Design Status

March 11, 2015

Used to be that this Seattle interior designer groaned when a client mentioned a ‘recliner’. Some years ago manufacturers and PR firms coined the term, motion chair, and voila, the motion chair has interior design status.

Look at the sleekness of these two chairs. When the motion revolution…

Top Ten Reasons to Buy a Green Home

June 30, 2009

In my Seattle interior design practice, I like to share the importance and benefits of building green. I saw this article on the website of Central WA Homebuilders.

Here are 10 reasons for Green

1. More Money in the Piggy Bank. A built green home typically saves $ on operating costs due to efficient energy use, natural daylighting and upfront construction costs.
2. Less ‘New’ Odors and Better Indoor Air. Using low VOC and low toxic interior

Fondly Remembering Lazy Moments

June 26, 2009

I live in an older area of Seattle, Capitol Hill, and love my walks in the neighborhoods. Melding my Midwestern roots and interior design background, I notice all the homes with a front porch. In Seattle you see lots of bungalows and Craftsman style homes often painted distinctively. I think a front porch invites ‘neighborliness’. Growing up I fondly recall lots of relaxing evenings and story telling on a porch. Given our disconnected and stressful …

Makeover Magic Using Lucite Furniture

June 24, 2009

At least 20 some years ago I witnessed the dramatic impact of adding a piece of Lucite furniture to a room. At that time, I was a recent transplant to Omaha and made the acquaintance of another designer who invited me to her home. Carefully and dramatically, she chose to showcase a collection of heirloom quilts in a clear Lucite trunk.

The use of the trunk was magical in her living room. Since …

Creative Solutions to Powder Room Challenges

June 22, 2009

Why is it that the room used most frequently by guests, the powder room, is often a design challenge? In my daily design work as a Seattle interior designer, I notice that the younger members of the family frequent the powder room since is it close by. And in older homes, the designated powder room can also be the bathroom intended for the occupant of the second or third bedroom ( a teen). Keeping the …

Naturally Green Wall and Ceiling Earth Plasters

June 17, 2009

In this green design business profile, I salute Carol Sorensen-Baumgartel of American Clay. I met Carol in early 2006 in Seattle at the Home Show. Carol is the VP of Marketing/Co-founder of American Clay Enterprises, Inc. Carol studied painting and ceramics, earning a BFA in Ceramics from the University of Denver. In 1980, she entered the world of Interior Design and was President of the ASID New Mexico chapter (1991-93). Specializing in interior finishes for …

Color Charges into Furnishings

June 15, 2009

Color choices in furniture over the past decade have been mostly “brown, brown or more brown,” says Louis Slone, owner of Slone Brothers Furniture in Longwood, Fla. “People are tired of brown. We’ve been ramming it down their throats for years,” he says. “They’re ready for a change.”

Starting last winter amid the gray days of Seattle, I sensed and then witnessed that color changes were coming. As I drove by Brooks Brothers in downtown …

Link Favorites-International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF)

May 21, 2009

About the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) a great place to spot brilliant new designs and emerging trends in the design world.

More than 550 exhibitors display contemporary furniture, seating, carpet and flooring, lighting, outdoor furniture, materials, wall coverings, accessories, textiles, and kitchen and bath for residential and commercial interiors. This assemblage of national and international exhibitors affords the chance to experience the most selective scope of the globe’s finest, most creative, individual, and …

Suzani Excitement Emerges in Home Interiors

May 12, 2009

What in the world is a Suzani? It’s the Central Asian equivalent of grandma’s heirloom quilt: handmade, handstitched, and handed-down. Suzan means “needle” in Persian, so imagine embroidery, elaborate embroidery. A wonderful, intricate craft, a Suzani represent the best type of Central Asian art. Embeded in centuries of tradition, each artist interpreted a fresh new twist to an earlier pattern.