Ready to create your own casual style?  Begin by mixing furniture, fabrics, accessories and finishes to create an informal look.  Sounds difficult but it actually becomes easier as you begin to move around items and see what feels more comfortable.  Take a look at some items I just mixed together to create a more casual feel.

Example of mixing materials by Karen Mills

To create a more casual look with the formal chair, I added a leather ottoman topped with a granite tray and filled it with organic materials (sea shells and a horn) along with metal accessories to make the space more inviting and relaxed.

Other ways to bring casual style into your home are through more relaxed design styles such as french country or beach cottage looks.  Charles Faudree, one of my favorite french country designers and authors, does a great job of creating a casual look by mixing materials in his designs.

Cover of "Charles Faudree Interiors" book

Juan Montoya design

Also love this beach house in the Dominican Republic created by nationally known designer Juan Montoya that was posted on Studio Surfaces blog.

Sofa designed by Michael Payne

And for a contemporary version of casual, check out these new furniture pieces (above and below) designed by former HGTV personality and designer Michael Payne .  That red chair just sizzles!

Chair design by Michael Payne

For more tips to creating a casual look, make sure you tune into Living Large this Sunday at 10am Central on News Radio 980 KMBZ as I talk with nationally known designer and author Charles Faudree along with former HGTV personality and designer Michael Payne.

And for more information about Design Styles, don’t miss nationally known designer Laura Kirar this Saturday at 10:30am on Living Large as we talk about what styles are hot now along with Keitha Kaminski from the Webster House of Kansas City.

Ready to refresh your space for spring?  How about updating  your windows or walls?  As internationally known designer Vicente Wolf says “Windows are the eyes of a space”

Design by Vicente Wolf

Design by Vicente Wolf

which makes them quite special whether they stand on their own as a beautiful piece of architecture that illuminates the space or are dressed up to add another layer of interest to your interior. 

Now that we have such a wide array of beautiful windows and hard window treatments available, the trend for soft treatments becomes more about enhancing the design and window than covering it up.

But let’s not forget about walls in your space which comprise the biggest surface in an interior, making them an extremely important element in your design.  I have to admit that I’m having so much fun redoing walls for my clients by adding finishes that really make a statement on a focal point or creating a new area of interest because the options are endless. 

If you have a plain wall thats boring, you can change that by adding architectural interest with crown molding or base trim, a niche or a bump out  for example.  Other ideas could include upholstering your wall, adding a different color of paint or faux finish to a focal point, creating a wall of tile or stone, wallpapering or adding paneling among others.

Paneled wall as shown on Remodelista.com

For more great ideas on window and wall treatments, don’t miss Living Large this Sunday at 10am Central on News Radio 980 KMBZ (streams live on kmbz.com) as I talk with celebrity designer Vicente Wolfe from New York along with an editor from Remodelista and Innerworks, a local window treatment showroom.

And for the latest furniture trends, tune in this Saturday at 10:30am Central on Living Large as nationally known interior designer Campion Platt reveals the best pieces to buy now.

Close your eyes for a minute and imagine entering a beautiful restaurant or hotel.   What do you see?   

Four Seasons Royal Suite in Washington D.C. with lighting design by Bruce Yarnell of Kansas City

Detail of lighting design by Bruce Yarnell

Four Seasons Royal Suite in Washington D.C. with lighting design by Bruce Yarnell

Four Seasons Royal Suite

If you’re like most, you notice the great architecture and furnishings, but not the source of lighting for the space.  But that’s not the case with this new Four Seasons Royal Suite in Washington D.C. where the lighting becomes the art in the entry.  And that’s why I wasn’t surprised to hear that Oprah Winfrey was the first on to stay in the suite.  And don’t you just love how the draperies seem to glow and the cove lighting over the bed!

If you can afford it, a great place to start with lighting would be to emphasize the focal points inside your home such as a  fireplace, dining area or master bed for example.  On the ceiling above your  fireplace, consider adding a small directional pin light that showcases the artwork over your mantel or a flanking  a couple of beautiful sconces on your fireplace for a little drama.  Then in your dining room, add directional pin lights on each side of your chandelier that showcase your table’s centerpiece and in the master, consider adding cove lighting over your bed.  But that’s just the start because I haven’t even begun to talk about emphasizing your other architectural features or how to wash your walls with color so the room glows. 

Sharon lamp by Brenda Houston

Now its time to begin to think about adding more accent lighting with lamps in a diagonal or triangular type layout.  But don’t stop at just two or three lamps in your living space or think that you have to use standard lamps.  Look for lamps that speak to you or relate to your style like the Catalina lamp pictured above made from a real ammonite shell or the Sharon lamp made from a mineral.

 In my own great room, I usually have a mininum of four to five lamps spread throughout my room along with candlelight, a lit fireplace, up lights and furniture that can be lit to create a wonderful ambiance. 

Now that you’ve created a wonderful ambiance with the interior of your home, why not extend the ambiance to your exterior too? 

Outdoor Lighting design by John Pletcher of Kansas City

For more information about lighting design and how to create a beautiful ambiance in your home, don’t miss Living Large this Sunday at 10am CST on News Radio 980 KMBZ (streams live on kmbz.com) as I talk with top lighting designers from around the country (work pictured) about the secrets to great lighting plus check out my Designer’s Eye column on lighting at http://www.karenmills.net/designerseye/lightingdesign.htm

And if you would like to know the latest trends in flooring, tune into Living Large Saturday at 10:30am CST on Classical 1660 KXTR (streams live on kxtr.com) as I talk with nationally known designer Frank Webb of White Webb design.

Plus don’t forget to become a fan of Living Large on Facebook by clicking on this link! http://www.facebook.com/posted.php?id=217431843107#!/pages/Living-Large/217431843107

Have you noticed in the last few years how interior and fashion design have begun to overlap?  Fashion designers are developing furnishings and interior designers are creating fashion, quickly blurring the line between the two industries.  So now translating a favorite dress or necklace into a room design is much easier!

And speaking of overlapping, look at how designers are mixing together different design styles and textures in fabrics and finishes for everything from the floor and wallcoverings to furniture and decor.  

Laura Kirar design

Hollywood Pied-A-Terre design by Donna Livingston

 Some of the most popular ways to mix design styles is to take a classic ornate piece you love and mix it with something more contemporary with straight lines  so your furniture complements, instead of competing.  

 And as designers we understand that straight lined pieces often transition easier into new design schemes later.  Plus you’ll notice in many modern spaces now that  they are often warmed up with color or a few traditional pieces to create a more inviting look.

For more information on design styles, what’s hot and how to mix it up, don’t miss Living Large this Sunday at 10am Central on News Radio 980 KMBZ as I talk to nationally known designers Laura Kirar and Donna Livingston along with a local antiques buyer.  And to see more examples of Kirar’s or Livington’s work,  just click on the pictures above that are linked to their website.

If you’re looking for kitchen and bath ideas, then tune in this Saturday at 10:30am Central on Living Large as I talk with HGTV’s Lauren Lake about the latest kitchen trends.

And don’t forget to sign up for our new Living Large Facebook fan page where you can listen to some of the interviews and get more information by clicking on this link:  http://www.facebook.com/posted.php?id=217431843107&share_id=394951595386&comments=1#/pages/Living-Large/217431843107

Does your interior feel “blah” even though its filled with furniture?  That could be because your room lacks the final touches to make it come alive and feel inviting such as  strategically placed lamps, rugs, window treatments or accessories.   

Two of the biggest things I often find lacking when walking into a new client’s home are ample accent lighting, especially lamps and wonderful accessories.   And to compound the problem, most of us buy small accessories which tend  to make our space  look cluttered.   Instead we should look for a balance of accessory sizes with more emphasis on large than small. 

Another key to successfully accessorizing includes selecting colors, styles, and textures that will enhance your design and grouping accessories together to create vignettes or  points of interest throughout your space.  

Pillow design by Jonathan Adler

Vase design by Jonathan Adler

Interior Design by Timothy Corrigan

David Jimenez design posted on House Beautiful's website

For more tips on accessorizing, click on the “Designer’s Eye Column” link on the front page of my website at http://www.karenmills.net and select the article on accessorizing, plus this Sunday at 10am Central, don’t miss Living Large as I talk to top designers Jonathan Adler from Bravo network, Timothy Corrigan and David Jimenez about how they successfully accessorize a space.  (To see more pictures of their work, just google them and pull up their websites)

And for the latest trends in bedroom design and decorating, tune into Living Large this Saturday at 10:30am Central as I talk with ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition designer Tracy Hutson.