Interior Design/Interior Decorating

Interior Decorating: 3 Tips for Sprucing Up Your Outdoor…

  • April 30, 2020April 30, 2020

If you’re ready to get outside and enjoy the weather here are my 3 tips for setting up your outdoor space to relax, entertain, or just take a nap.

Photo courtesy of B&B Italia

1. Create a Comfortable Seating Area 

High quality seating in a  “L” or “U” shaped configuration like this outdoor room by B&B Italia helps create an inviting space that’s also comfortable. Here the cozy grouping invites conversation and draws visitors in for a closer look while not competing with the view beyond.

Karen Mills' blog texture example
Interior decorating by Karen Mills

2.  Introduce Fun Accessories

Some of my favorite accessories as an interior designer are bold pillows, live flowers or plants, and trays for the outdoors like shown in this porch photo. 3 Tips for Reducing Stress and Nurturing the Soul While Staying at Home

Photo courtesy Bedside Manor

3.  Layer in an Area Rug to Create a Cozy Grouping

Placing an area rug underneath a seating area helps define the space and make it feel more like the indoors like this rug by Dash & Albert.  Interesting accessories in blue – throw and bowl along with a pillow add to the finished look.

For more great ideas sign up for our weekly interior design blog here

plus become a fan of Kansas City’s interior designer and former host of Living Large design show, Karen Mills, on Facebook here

and if you have a porch to decorate, check out my article on Houzz titled Get Your Porch Ready for Spring Sitting.

Karen Mills' blog
Interior Design/Interior Decorating

Interior Design: 3 Ways to Remodel Smaller Kitchens to…

  • December 19, 2019February 13, 2020

An Interior Designer’s Perspective on How to Make Your Kitchen Remodel Appear Bigger

As an interior designer who specializes in kitchen remodels, I often get called on to make a kitchen live larger. Read on for my 3 expert tips on how to do just that.

Interior design by Karen Mills – Kansas City
  1. Paint cabinets white or a light neutral color to reflect light around the room so the kitchen appears larger and cabinets seem to disappear. In this kitchen remodel natural light and interior lighting also give the room a larger feel.
Interior design by Karen Mills – Leawood

2. Incorporate open shelving or another design element to make cabinetry not appear so overwhelming. In this kitchen partial remodel we ran beautiful white quartz counter tops by Cambria up the wall as a back splash behind the shelving to offset the dark cabinets and lighten the room.

Interior design by Karen Mills – Kansas City

3. Glass front shelves, preferably lit, help open up this kitchen remodel to make it live larger by visually shrinking the cabinetry. Great interior lighting, sunlight, light neutral painted kitchen cabinets, white granite counter tops, and open shelves add to the larger feel.

For more great ideas on design or interior decorating sign up for our weekly interior design blog here

Plus become a fan of Kansas City’s interior designer and former host of Living Large design show, Karen Mills, on Instagram or Facebook now!

Interior Design/Interior Decorating

Interior Design: 8 Ingredients of Timeless Design

  • June 6, 2019September 17, 2020

 So if you would like to avoid trendy decorating and have a more enduring design too, here is an informative article I wrote for Houzz .  (Click link below to read)

8 Rooms with Staying Power

Looking for more great design ideas that you can implement? 
Sign up for our weekly interior design blog here

Plus become a fan of Kansas City’s interior designer and former host of the Living Large design show, Karen Mills, on Facebook here!
or instagram here.