Design Q&A

I recently did a guest blog post at Little Miss Momma and The Birds Papaya. They are two GREAT bloggers and have become good friends of mine. I wanted to share the post with our readers here at InCircle Interiors because there is so helpful tips. So here it is:

My name is Cyndi Broadhead, I am a wife, mother of an 18 month old boy, Scentsy Consultant, and Interior Designer. Interior Design runs in my blood, I was blessed with a creative spirit and a talent for design. Being the youngest of 4 girls with a big age gap between my sisters and me, I had many years at home with just my parents. Because of this I was able to not only rearrange my room a million times, I even switched rooms. I was able to live in every room of the house (so much fun to look back at all the themes and styles of my many room designs). Time passed, and I now have a degree in Interior Design. We all get the question “what do you do?” and after I say “I’m an Interior Designer” there is usually one of five questions that immediately follows. So today I want to go over those questions and give you all some tips and tricks.

The #1 question…What color should I paint my walls? (or something about paint color)
Paint and colors can be tricky if you don’t know what you are looking for but my number one thing is DON’T be afraid of color. Color can bring new life and emotion to any space. Remember when you are picking out colors that there are a lot more colors in each color than just the one you see at first glance. When you pick up paint chips at a store, put each one alone on a plain white piece of paper. This is the best way to see each one's true color tone (colors feed off of each other so the point is to isolate the color). Another tip...SAMPLES! paint samples on the wall or on a large piece of paper and tape it up on the wall. View possible paint colors on different surfaces and in different lights to see how it is affected. Or you can hire us for a Color Consultation (wink wink) and we can take all the guesswork out of it!




The #2 question…Where should I put my furniture? (or any question about the best way to arrange furniture in a space)
This is kind of a TRICKY question to answer generally because every house is different depending on your specific floor plan and furniture. So here is my tip: MAKE IT FLOW! You should have an easy walkway to EVERYTHING you need to get to in the room. So if you have to walk completely around a piece of furniture to get to it...it might be in a bad location.

Question #3 is usually about style…Types of styles (ie contemporary, mission, traditional, etc.)
Many people have questions about “what is my design style” or “what style should I use in my space.” To be honest, I don’t think you need to know a specific answer to this question BECAUSE most of you know what you like when you see it. That is KEY! As you are designing your space don't worry about fitting within a design style box, this is NOT necessary. The most beautiful rooms that I see are not about the specific style but the character and love the room emits.

• Make your room feel as though it has been collected through time. Don't go to furniture store and buy a SET of living room furniture; buy the couch and then find different side chairs, and use an antique stool as an end table, etc.
• When trying to decide if two items will go well together in a room, look at each item and ask yourself, "what does this item evoke emotionally?" Think of character, emotional, and descriptive words. If both items convey similar emotions they should work well in a space.
• Mix the old and new...it gives CHARACTER to your space (check out THIS eclectic home tour from Better Homes and Gardens and see how they mixed the old and new)
  

Also, check out this article about Eclectic vs Collected...it has GREAT info and images.

eclectic living room design by atlanta interior designer decordemon

#4 is about how to/where to hang art and pictures on the wall?
First of all I HONESTLY believe there is no right or wrong way to hang your art BUT if you want some ideas check out THIS post about picture frame layouts. The thing that is tricky with design is there are MILLIONS of ways to do the same thing and when you study design, they may give you some "rules" on how to do certain things but then the number 1 rule of design is that rules are made to be BROKEN!
Have you heard people say all picture frames should match? What do you think?

Example #1 Here is a beautiful room with all matching frames. And yes they look great when they all match...BUT...

contemporary family room design by san francisco interior designer Amoroso Design

Doesn't this look AMAZING too? I love the eclectic yet sophisticated look.

contemporary home office design

If you aren't ready for that, try getting different style of frames and paint them all the same color to get a unified look.

eclectic bedroom design

When it comes to hanging them on the wall, before you do anything just decide if you want a uniform look or something a little more haphazard. Then, to be safe, lay it out on the floor or on the wall before you make holes. My #1 rule is if I think it looks nice then it does...who cares if someone comes in and doesn't like it...it's not their house.

#5 How can I have my DREAM home and stay on a tight BUDGET?
There are many ways to work around a tight budget...here are a few tips:

• DIY - if you can make some things yourself to save some money DO IT! Plus think about when people come over and say oh I love this pillow and you can say "oh yeah...I made it."
• Shop CLEARANCE-look for those bargains!!!
• Collect things over time. You do not need to have your dream house finished in a week...take your time and collect pieces that you will love for a lifetime.

Painter's Ladder Shelf from Knock Off Wood


I hope you enjoyed this little Q & A session and got some useful tips.

Peace OUT!
Cyndi

Picture Frame Layouts

Does nailing a HOLE in the wall give you a panic attack? Sometimes we leave our walls BLANK because we FEAR putting our pictures and art in the WRONG place. So today lets look over some pictures of what other people have done to get our creative juices flowing.

I love this idea of covering an entire wall with picture frames. Notice that they go really high to really low. There is no rhyme or reason to the way they are hung but it is BEAUTIFUL! Source

Layering frames along a deep shelf is very pleasing to the eye

Find a point of reference and build off of it. In the above picture they picked a center horizontal line and built off of it.

Have some unique frames, don't be afraid of letting the frame be the artwork.

Here are some Quick Tips for hanging things on the wall:

• Want a little "wiggle room" to get it just right...try using Command Picture Hanging Strips
• Try cutting pieces of paper the exact size of your frames, then you can tape them up on the wall and rearrange them until you get it the way you like it. Next, you can just nail through the paper and pull the paper off once the nail is in.
• If you have a roll of butcher paper you can do a similar system. Lay out the butcher paper on the floor, rearrange the frames on the butcher paper, once you have it the way you want it trace the picture frames. Finally tape the butcher paper on the wall and put the nails in and pull down the paper.

Design tips:

• Some people think that ALL the picture frames need to match...this is a MYTH. Don't be afraid of having lots of different colors and/or styles of frames. But if you are a little worried about stepping out of the box, try getting different styles of frames and painting them the same color. You will have a unified look with some added character.
• Frames do not have to be hung in a straight line or an organized fashion. Mix it up! You will get more compliments for trying something new. A lot of us fear change and look to others who are doing something different and want to be like them. Lets be the people that others look up to.
  

My first grade teacher taught me something that has helped me in my life, "you can NEVER mess up art." I LOVE this saying because it applies to my life in so many ways. Art (or even the picture frames on your wall) are subjective! As long as you like the way something looks GO WITH IT!

Bet you didn't think someone could get so philosophical talking about picture frames ;) I hope you got some good tips.

Peace OUT!
Cyndi