Interior Decorating: 3 Color Scheme Options for Your Living…

January 26, 2018January 26, 2018

One of the biggest questions I get asked as an interior designer is what color scheme to use in decorating or designing a space. If you’re not sure what color is best, trying shopping your closet for inspiration because often your favorite outfits or jewelry are the colors that look best. Read on for three possibilities for your living space.

1. Blue and Orange

Here in this photo I snapped before the rug was placed to tie everything together, we incorporated cool turquoise pillows to calm down the bold pops of orange along with introducing pillows with both colors to lessen the impact.

Karen Mills' blog — Interior decorating by Karen Mills

This living room is another example of how to decorate with blue and orange. Our inspiration for the color scheme came from the existing water blue and orange artwork over the mantel. To bring it all together we started with a light neutral sofa and coffee, then layered in custom blue draperies and fun toss pillows to create a cohesive color scheme with the artwork.

2. Blue and Red

In this living space blue and red has been used quite effectively to create a little drama. By starting with a neutral base of white and blue gray that’s more relaxing, red decor – tables, pillow patterns, and accents, can be added without overpowering the space.

3. Taupe gray and beige

When you have a room that already has bold patterns and color in its finishes like this one, you might want to introduce lighter neutral colors with little or no pattern. Here we introduced lighter upholstery and an area rug with interesting textures and less pattern to create a calming effect.

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and check out our latest interior design article on Houzz here

https://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/97946595/list/redecorating-lite-6-quick-updates-to-liven-up-your-living-spaces/

Interior Design/Interior Decorating

Interior Design: 5 Dining Room Paint Color Palettes

January 19, 2018

Since we don’t spend much time in dining rooms it’s a great opportunity to show off our personality and design something dramatic or even quirky. Here are 5 fun color palettes to inspire you to refresh your dining space.

1. Black and White – This classic color combination always looks great not only because o the the stark contrast between dark and light, but also because you can pair almost any color with it like the yellow flowers here.

The wallpaper by Schumacher creates a wow factor in this space and draws your eye up to the ceiling to show off the height of the room.

Photo courtesy of Lillian August furniture

2. Blue

Blue, one of my favorite colors for dining room, especially navy, pair nicely with several colors including the fuchsia shown in this dining room. By repeating different shades of blue on both the wrap around settee and wall, you can create a more interesting color scheme. The fuchsia hue of the chair and pillow repeat again on the rug to create a cohesive feel.

3. Green

Even though you don’t often seen green used in the dining room, I love how the green takes a back seat to the furnishings in creamy white and blue to help soften this bold shade of green. Here in this photo artwork provides the inspiration for the color scheme of blue and green.

Photo courtesy of Hickory White furniture

Here’s another example of how to incorporate green into your dining room. In this photo the yellow green in the art is repeated again on the chairs and reinforced by the green decor on the table.

4. White/Neutral

If you love white like I do, why not paint your walls an interesting shade of white or light neutral along with white furnishings to create a fresh feel. Then you can either leave the room white or layer in an accent color or two to change the look as the mood hits you.

5. Color Explosion

If you can’t decide on one accent color you like because you love so many why not keep a neutral wall color and introduce two or three accent colors that you love to create a space that reflects your artistic side like this photo by Spectrum Limited chairs. To create this same look, keep the furnishings simpler also like these clear Lucite chairs to create your dramatic dining room.

Of course orange and purple can also be colorful options for dining rooms along with more neutrals colors as shown here.

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Interior Design/Interior Decorating

Design Dilemma: How to Layer Heirloom Antiques into a…

January 12, 2018

When these Kansas City area clients purchased a brand new home that was already finished, they were excited to start over with new furniture too except for a few family heirloom pieces that had sentimental meaning. So they called on our interior design firm who had worked with them before to solve their design dilemma.

First they needed to incorporate an antique coffee table into the interior design of this spacious living area so we placed the table front and center to create a wonderful conversation piece and cohesive look with the outdoor fireplace beyond.

As we placed key heirloom pieces the homeowners wanted to incorporate, we had to ensure the pieces complemented the interior design overall because the main living area was an open concept.

The armoire in the dining area was another existing piece that needed to be incorporated so we placed it behind a rustic style table with two existing end chairs that reflected an era gone by.

The entry chest, initially one of the biggest dilemmas because of it’s orange speckles, fell into place beautifully once we placed an existing piece of artwork that picked up the same colors as the chest. To finish off the look we added a more contemporary lamp and vase that mimicked colors in the painting to create a wow factor in the foyer.

The master bedroom suite was also finished in warm gray colors so by repeating the orange wood hues of family heirlooms around the room along with designing simple custom bedding, the room complemented the antique pieces instead of competing. A rustic bed and benches also help reinforce the timeworn feel of this space, making it more inviting and serene.

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Interior Design: 3 Ways to Design Smaller Kitchens to…

January 5, 2018

1. Open up kitchen to rest of the house

In this kitchen we took out the wall to the former dining room and the wall to the maid’s quarters on the opposite end to create a space that lives large and even has enough room for a sit down island. Once the walls were removed we matched the wood floors of the dining (now hearth) in the kitchen which also visually expands the kitchen so it lives larger.

2. Use lighter colors on walls and cabinetry

By selecting colors that are similar in hue and lighter in color, this kitchen becomes more cohesive and ultimately feels larger because the lighter colors bounce light around the room.

In this kitchen by designing a lighter white/gray color palette including the table/chairs, back splash and wall color, the room seems to visually expand also as light is reflected throughout.

3. Add great lighting

Great lighting can make or break a room, especially a kitchen. Here in this kitchen we not only added great under cabinet lighting, beautiful chandeliers, extensive general lighting. and lit glass cabinetry but we also coordinated the lighting to be the same color temperature so it flowed together beautifully.

Here’s another example of a smaller kitchen where we layered lighting to create a wonderful ambiance and a happy place to spend cooking or entertaining.

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Interior Decorating: 3 Ways to Refresh Your Living Room…

December 21, 2017December 21, 2017

Add Pops of Color with Pillows

By simply injecting a couple of new pillow and or throws in the room you can create interest in your room and another layer of design. The blue drapes in this room also add to the room’s design along with the artwork over the mantel.

2. Introduce art and/or accessories

Art and accessories are like the jewelry for a dress – they can make or break it. In this photo, the art colors are repeated in pillows, and accessories.

3. Add Texture

Texture is key to good interior design because it adds warmth to the cold surfaces of walls, ceilings, and often flooring. One of my favorite ways to introduce texture is with a beautiful area rug that also helps connect your upholstery into a cozy grouping.

For more great information on how to finish your living space, read my Houzz article here.

https://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/query/6-questions-to-ask-if-living-room-feels-unfinished

and to keep up with the latest trends, sign up for our weekly interior design blog here

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Interior Design/Interior Decorating

Interior Design: 3 Ways for Small Bathrooms to Live…

December 15, 2017December 21, 2017

If you’re tired of your cramped small bathroom and considering remodeling here are 3 tips to help your refinished bathroom live larger!

1. Monochromatic color scheme – One of my favorite tricks to make a small bathroom look bigger begins with using one color on all the walls, furniture, floors, and decor such as bright white to give it a fresh clean look and bounce existing light around the room like the photo above.

2. Reflective surfaces – To visually enlarge your small bathroom, use mirrors to reflect light and a shower of glass surfaces to give your space a light airy feel like we did in the shower above.

Adding legs to your vanity like the one above also makes your room feel larger.

Interior design by Karen Mills

3. Increase your floor space – Start by swapping out an existing vanity cabinet for a floating vanity/sink or pedestal style sink (see photo below) or swapping your swinging door for pocket doors or barn doors like the bathroom we completed above.

You can also install your toilet tank in the wall along with more shallow sink vanities or use a floating vanity like above.

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Interior Design: Bold Color Forecast for 2018

December 6, 2017

If you’ve been paying attention to interior designers or the fashion runway this fall you may have noticed bold colors popping up everywhere from red and yellow to bold blues. Sherwin Williams and Benjamin Moore have announced their exciting bold new colors of 2018 but Lea Eiseman with the Pantone Institute has yet to reveal their color of the year which impacts all types of industries from fashion and design to autos and appliances.

Do you think Pantone will select the hot new mustard yellow color or something else?

Benjamin Moore’s color of the year 2018 is a bold hue and one of my favorites! I especially love it contrasted with white like the room shown above.

Bold blue hues like this also look great with beige colors, red, and orange along with citrine, a yellowy green.

In the room above we incorporated a bold blue hue on the ottoman to give the space pizzazz.

Benjamin Moore selected Caliente Red AF-290 as their color for 2018. Of course red has been a favorite color of mine forever because its such a vibrant unexpected color that instantly creates drama!

What’s your favorite color for 2018?! Post in the comments.

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Interior Design: Top 4 Bathroom Design Trends of 2018

November 22, 2017November 21, 2017

The bathroom remodel industry has continued to explode this year and doesn’t show signs of slowing down anytime soon. As a bathroom designer I’ve been immersed in so many bathroom remodels the past two years I’ve lost count and the phones just keep ringing. But during this season, I’ve noticed four bathroom trends in the U.S. that I believe will continue into 2018.

Clean Lines with a Zen Feel – Hotels and restaurants figured out years ago that ambiance is key for creating an inviting atmosphere and homeowners are starting to crave this inviting look too. To create a simple zen feel, opt for cleaner lines, less pattern, a mix of textures, and vanities that look more like furniture than a boring row of cabinetry along the wall.

2. More Timeless – For years our interior design firm has advocated interior design with staying power in our custom bathrooms but now its becoming a trend as seen in the trend towards classic marble, cleaner lines, less ornate architectural details, simpler tile designs, and less patterns.

3. Luxury – The word luxury doesn’t mean that your bathroom design has to cost a fortune or be stuffy. Luxury can be had through beautiful options like free standing tubs, steam showers, heated floors, custom cabinetry, or technology. Technology could include heated towel racks, a coffee bar, hidden plug ins for hair dryers, adaptable cabinetry for more efficient storage, or remote control window treatments.

4. Rustic Elements Products that fall into this category could include wood walls made of boat wood (duck board or engineered wood flooring, wood surrounds for tubs, concrete vanity tops, concrete wall finishes, river rock vanities, rock floors or walls, stone vessels, or rustic tiles, among others.

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Interior Design: How to Succeed at A Classic Kitchen…

November 17, 2017

Karen Mills' blog

BEFORE AFTER

Are you dreaming of a kitchen like the one on the right but your reality is the one on the left?

As I toured this historic high rise condo on the plaza in Kansas City for the first time as the interior designer, the reality of the situation was bleak. The condo hadn’t been updated for years and the warren of tiny rooms made it difficult to imagine a beautiful open kitchen. On top of that the small elevator and restrictions limited what could be done with cabinetry, counters, and much more.

To start I knew we had to enlarge the kitchen so we took over the tiny adjoining maid’s room shown above to gain a few more feet.

Our end goal was a large open inviting kitchen full of natural daylight that was a classic so to start we tore down the existing entrance wall (shown on left) to open the kitchen up to the existing dining room and we resized the mismatched windows in each room to flow together as one big window area.

We also relocated the adjoining dining room to the over sized living area and made the former dining room a hearth area that opened into the kitchen.

Karen Mills' blog

To make the rooms feel more expansive but also timeless, we tore out the flooring in the kitchen and wove in new wood floors to match the existing wood flooring elsewhere.

Next we began to lay out a floor plan that included a gorgeous custom island along with designing custom flush mount European style cabinetry that was also functional and a lighting plan that would make the room pop.

On the right we designed a beautiful custom stove hood with lit glass cabinetry and large drawers underneath to hold pots and pans. Plus we took the beveled subway tile to the ceiling to add height and drama to the space.

In the back we designed a pantry area that disguised the crooked structural wall and added doors that opened to reveal a coffee station and appliance storage along with additional glass lit cabinetry.

On the left we created a bar area with a wine cooler, additional sink, and storage along with lit glass front cabinetry to hold glassware.

And on the island we added a mitered top to give the beautiful Cambria marble style top even more importance!

The result – a large open living/work space that lives large and is also functional.

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Interior Design/Interior Decorating

Interior Design: The Making of a Beautiful Bathroom

November 10, 2017November 10, 2017

Interior Design: The Making of a Beautiful Bathroom