Interior Design/Interior Decorating

Interior Decorating: 3 Biggest Mistakes We Make in the…

Karen Mills' blog
Interior design by Karen Mills

1. Lack of a Focal Point – Often as an interior designer I walk into a bedroom to discover a stark cold space that has no focus. Your bed is the focal point of the bedroom and the area you want to emphasize.

Here in this beautiful inviting bedroom we enhanced the existing poster bed with crisp white bedding, a gorgeous calming textural leaf wallpaper, and a warm hand knotted wool rug.

blog photo
Photo courtesy of Kravet

2. Uninviting – Often a bedroom becomes a dumping ground for everything we need to put away or even worse our home office space so to begin remove everything that’s not bedroom related.

In this space by Kravet, simple timeless bedding, a cozy bed that envelopes you and simple furnishings help create an inviting space.

Karen Mills' blog
Interior design by Karen Mills

3. Too Cluttered or Crowded – In this smaller attic bedroom we didn’t want the room to feel crowded or cluttered with the king size mattress the clients needed so we designed a bed that didn’t overwhelm the room. Floating tables we designed along with light fixtures we adapted to hover over the tables gives a more open airy feel to the space.

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Karen Mills' blog

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Interior Design/Interior Decorating

Interior Decorating: 3 Tips for Creating a Cozy Bedroom

Often we take sleep for granted until we start to have problems with concentration, alertness, or our overall ability to function well. Then good sleep becomes more of a priority. Read on for 3 ways to create a nest like atmosphere in your bedroom that’s conducive to better sleep.

Interior design by Karen Mills featured in international book titled Architecture Today Interior Design
  1. Simpler Bedding and Patterns As an interior designer in Kansas City I’ve used simple tone on tone patterns and texture in bedrooms for years in everything from fabulous washable linens from Italy to textured velvet or sheared fabrics like we’ve seen recently in fashion wear. Here in this Overland Park bedroom Italian bedding from Terrasi Home on the Plaza in simpler patterns, textural finishes and clutter free space create a stress free environment where we can unwind and relax.
Karen Mills' blog
Interior design by Karen Mills featured in international book titled Architecture Today Interior Design

2. Cozy Beds  Beds that envelope us will continue to be popular whether its are a four poster bed, an upholstered bed like this guest room in Mission Hills, or a fabulous combination of both. In this guest room calming colors and patterns, low lighting, and clean lined furnishings enhance the overall feel, creating a beautiful interior design.

Karen Mills' blog
Interior design by Karen Mills featured international book titled Design Icons

In this bedroom a four poster bed creates a cozy feel
while the wallpaper, area rug, upholstered bench, and simpler fabrics on the chairs beyond enhance the relaxed inviting feel of this beautifully designed master bedroom in Mission Hills.

Karen Mills' blog
Photo courtesy of Curated Kravet


3. Textured Walls  Painted accent walls have been a craze for years but wrapping the whole room in textural walls will gain popularity again this year. In this interior design space featured by Curated Kravet an upholstered bed, area rug, bench, throw, and bedding add to the cocoon feel created by the gorgeous textural walls enveloping the space.

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For more information on how to get better sleep and create a healthier environment, learn more at SLEEP BETTER LIVE BETTER now!

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Interior Design/Interior Decorating

Interior Design: When Blue Meets White in the Bedroom

How to create a calm respite from daily life in your sleeping quarters

Interior design by Karen Mills/Photography by 29Pixel Studios, LLC

Blues or blue greens in muted hues with more calming patterns can create a sense of safety and peace for you especially in the bedroom where you need to unwind at the end of the day.  And because blues/greens are cooler colors they also recede giving the room a more spacious light feel.

In this master bedroom, the beautiful leaf wallpaper by Thibaut sets the scene with a restful outdoor theme while the Clark & Clark fabric on the bench and Kravet fabrics on the chairs add to the restful atmosphere of this traditional space.

 

 

Karen Mills' blog
Interior design by Karen Mills/Photography by 29Pixels, LLC

On the shelves a beautiful mix of blues and greens in the sitting area nearby enhance the calming effect of the room along with paint by Benjamin Moore

 

Here in this master sitting area a custom designed neutral rug grounds the light airy feel of this area that has a chaise cushion covered in a beautiful velvet Kravet fabric with a Cowtan & Tout silky pillow perched on top.  The adjoining chair brings a nice contrast to the blue green walls with a shimmery fabric from Clark & Clark and the pillow pattern picks up the leaf motif from the bedroom accent wall to create a cohesive feel between the spaces.

 

 

Karen Mills' blog
Interior design by Karen Mills/Photography by 29Pixel Studios, LLC

In this rustic lodge home we introduced a beautiful shimmery wallpaper behind the bed picking up variations of the color again on the Italian bedding and nearby chair pillow to create a calming feel.

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Interior Design/Interior Decorating

Interior Design: 3 Tips for Designing a Restful Bedroom

A good night’s sleep can be difficult enough without adding a room design that’s not relaxing and calm.  Read on for three ways to decorate a bedroom that’s a wonderful place to sleep.

Karen Mills' blog
Photo courtesy of Circa

1. Starting with a soothing color scheme 

When selecting a color palette that’s soothing opt for muted colors or neutrals.  In this bedroom by Circa furniture, the grayed out blues of the bedding, bench fabric, and drapes help calm down the room while also adding a touch of color to the gray walls and white rug.

Karen Mills' blog
Interior design by Karen Mills

2. Choose bedding in natural washable fabrics that are soothing

In this bedroom, we selected washable Italian sourced bedding, wallpaper and furnishings in muted colors with minimum pattern to keep the room’s interior design from getting too busy.  I love washable bedding because it cleans up easily when children or pets make a mess to reduce the worry.

Here the blue of the accent pillows on the bed repeat again on the chair’s pillow while the warmth of the bed’s wood is picked up again by the chair and carpet.

Karen Mills' blog
Photo courtesy of Century Furniture

3. Provide an inviting seating for getting dressed or just relaxing

In this room by Century seating abounds from the large tufted ottoman and bench to the chairs for sitting and reading.  The neutral color palette creates a soothing feel while the plants add life and color.

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