Completed project: Main Floor remodel for a large family

My client for this project was a young family with four children.  They purchased a house that had been flipped – so the quality of their kitchen was poor, with doors falling off and limited storage space.

Kitchen view from nook

The cabinets were dark, the layout claustrophobic.  Another challenge in the project was the differing tastes of my clients.  One tended toward contemporary, minimalist design and the other had more traditional preferences.

Kitchen North view

After closely studying the space plan, we couldn’t change the overall galley style of the kitchen, but we did have the opportunity to appropriate a closet pantry to bring in more cabinetry and an organizing center.

Kitchen West View

We extended the peninsula, and set a floor to ceiling shallow cabinet to face out toward the family room to create the appearance of a larger kitchen.

View from Family Room into Kitchen

The kitchen nook was updated with a large, rustic table and wooden chairs (kid proof) and a drum shaded semi-surface mount. Using a color story of greens and blues with natural woods and camel, we created a fun but sophisticated family room with a large sectional and shapely chair.

Family Room

A re-design of the fireplace was in order, so we covered the old red brick with slate stack stone to the ceiling, and installed custom walnut cabinets. 10” hammered iron hardware added a rustic touch to the contemporary slab-door cabinets.  An antique hand hewn oak mantle was hand selected for above the fireplace.

Fireplace and cabinets

The formal dining room space was transformed into a music room for the family’s four children.

Children's Music Room

 

You can see more images of this project here.

Completed Project: Author’s Home office

 

 

My client is a dating coach, matchmaker and best-selling author. She spends many hours writing for magazines and online publications when she’s not on the phone speaking to her clients.

Office view1

She required an abundance of countertop space for her piles of papers and a luxurious chair for the hours she spends on the phone. We provided an L shaped desk for computer work, and an additional writing desk under a window.

Office shelves

We needed to design a space as elegant and sophisticated as our client, so we developed a cream & white color story with touches of silver and gold. There are black painted bookshelves to house the many different language versions of her best-selling book, black & white framed prints of couples in love, and love themed accessories.

See more images of this project here.

Residential Drapery Rules

Do you decorate your home with draperies or curtains? How do you choose the fabrics for your draperies? Do you follow a set of residential drapery rules or just go with your personal choice of colors and design? In the real world of interior design, there are rules to follow when designing draperies for your home.

Residential  Drapery Rules D2D Studio Inc.

Residential Drapery Rules:

1. Hang panels as high to the ceiling as possible.

2. Panels should come to about 1/2″ off the ground to hang properly. They should only “puddle” if there are no children or pets in the house.

3. Draperies should ALWAYS be lined, unless they are sheers.

4. Draperies, when opened to let light in, should stop 3″ from the window trim on the glass side. They should stack 12-24″ on the outside of the window trim.

5. Finished drapery width should be 2.5 times the closed width. Sheers should be 3 times the closed width. For example: A window is 48″ w, trim to trim. The total fabric width needed is 120″w, so that when they are closed, they still show the body and fullness.

Is Interior Design Superficial?

Is Interior Design Superficial D2D Studios

Is Interior Design superficial? Interior Design is definitely NOT superficial to me. Design is bringing environmental psychology into a space in order to create more efficiency, create multi-use spaces, create the right kind of feeling in spaces for their intended tasks, etc. I create rooms where teenagers like the space enough to spend time with their parents, where couples can do individual tasks or hobbies while still being together, where employees enjoy their work environments so much they work harder and happier, where people come home and LOVE to be there.

Every individual has a unique taste for design. Each has different needs and preferences. There are people, however, think of Interior Design as superficial – mostly people who have no clear understanding of what space allocation is and how to incorporate design elements in a way that will not be intrusive and stressful. Interior design is a skill, a specialized skill that expertly integrates various colors, textures and style in perfect harmony with each of the client’s interests, preferences and most importantly, their needs.

Remember, not every person is gifted with an eye for design. We need interior designers to see through our needs, and translate them into beauty and functionality.

There is a huge difference between an Interior Designer and a Home Decorator.