Category: Interior Design

08May

The Allure of Painted Floors: Graphic and Patterned Floors

A very uncompromising way to bring pattern and personality into your home decor is by painting your hardwood floors in a graphic pattern.  I believe that painted floors are perhaps the easiest way to change and enhance the interior design of your home.  There is a plethora of design pattern to choose from, being checkered floor the most popular, and it’s for sure a much more economical way to change your flooring as well as it avoids the hassle of replacing old floors or installing parquet floors.  From simple geometric patterns such as Chevron, more intricate parquet patterns painted of wood floors to more elaborate antique-inspired tiles painted on concrete floors, these images of patterned floors below will for sure inspire you to bring the allure under your feet.  If you don’t mind getting dirty and embark on a DIY project, Apartment Therapy has a guide on how to paint your floors, you can find it here.

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In this dining room, the wood floor was painted in geometric grey and white maze pattern.  The decor in this home shows a perfect juxtaposition in a modern interpretation of neoclassical style.  Love the amazing detail of the upholstered door.

For this client in New York City, We painted the floor in a grey and white checkeredboard, diamond patter.

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In the tropical bedroom of Bunny Mellon in Antigua, the wood floor was painted in different shades of blue.

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03May

12 European Country Side and Provencal Gardens

Provencal Gardens design ideas with terracotta pots with boxwood and stone walls and shutters

Francois Catroux courtyard in Laurmarine, France.  The Provencal garden has ancient fortified stone walls with shutters on the windows, the floor is in gravel and the green throughout is planted in terracotta pots.

Characteristics of Provencal Gardens

European Country or Provencal gardens are informal with a more laid-back atmosphere.  When more European formal gardens are meticulously planned and focused on symmetry, many countryside gardens share a common thread that reflects their slower pace of life and unpretentious approach to design.  As in many of their choices in life, Europeans first priority when it comes to designing their garden is about creating the space to celebrate the pleasures of life among friends and family.  What an inspiring way of living, taking what you have and working with it, instead of falsely inventing what’s not there.  Of course, not all of us
have the perfect surroundings of the South of France but there is something to be learned from this realistic low maintenance approach to design.  Europeans have an innate sense of style and even though their country gardens are casual they sure are stunning and charming settings where we can linger and never get tired of them.  One main element I constantly see in these gardens is gravel, typically used in patios and pathways as well as partitions between boxwood.  These countryside gardens in Europe may be full of harmony, but make no mistake, these lush outdoor spaces are full of varieties.  Usually lots of container
plantings for easy caring, lavender for the beauty as well as for the aroma, vegetable and herb farming for an organic living and ancient old trees.  Since food and wine is an integral part of good living (in my and many others opinion),  iron garden tables and simple chairs are a must for outdoor eating.
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01May

Bruce Budd Designs An Alluring Houston Home

Many of you may have already seen this home in Houston designed by Bruce Budd in collaboration with Bute King Architects, previously featured in Architectural Digest.  The Georgian style home is redecorated portraying a quintessentially Bruce Budd style, elegant and classic with modern touches in the form of art.  The relaxed but elegant atmosphere of the decor throughout the home was the response to the homeowner’s request for a home with a welcoming environment to entertain his grown children and grandchildren.  The transitional style is timeless and up-to-date.  The home’s casual and relaxed but still formal decor is thankful to the mixture of expensive antiques, modern art and humble materials as woven straw, linen, cotton, materials that are usual staples of Budd’s design.  To give the formal home a sense of lightness, Budd limed the Louis XV boiserie paneling as well as the floors and millwork throughout the house.

27Apr

10 Great Ways to Decorate Your Foyer

As everyone knows, the first impression is essential.  In many cases, definitive.  Accordingly, a gracious foyer or entryway decor speaks volume of what lies ahead.  Whether you are lucky enough to have in your home a full room for a foyer or a small entryway, there are endless ways to decorate it in a welcoming way.  Here are 10 great ways to decorate your foyer or entryway.

Contemporary Entryway

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In this entryway, two identical eagle-base consoles with two respecting round mirrors bring
balance and symmetry to the entrance of this home.  The shimmery wallpaper decor adds a touch of glam to the space.
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26Apr

Greek Revival: A Perfect Beach Home

beach home living room decor ideasWhen I think of a beach or vacation home I think of a home with some level of restrain in the decor but comfortable enough to serve its purpose.  Now that summer is approaching and soon will be time to escape somewhere to relax for a couple of weeks, I find myself longing to own a vacation home where we can dine and sleep at ease and where we won’t feel like a tourist.  Case in point is this Greek home with a garden so inspiring that I may not even want to go outside.  The elegant but laid-back decor of soothing and sophisticated tones of blue and beige in the upholstered pieces combined with the washed wood furniture, cane chairs, bare floors and beam ceilings painted in light blue makes this home a perfect place to come back at the end of the day with lots of veggies and a bottle of wine to cook.  I don’t know where in Greece this home is located but, the use of Turkish tiles as wainscoting and its pointed arched doorways give this home just the right amount of global chic which would be appealing to a world traveler.

beach home dining room decor ideasThe dining area serves as a library with bookcases that hold books and objects as well.

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25Apr

9 Rooms with Chevron and Herringbone Floors

Parquet flooring from light wood to darker tones, herringbone or chevron floors can be used in many types of home decor.  From elegant and classic style to modern to rustic, Herringbone and Chevron parquet flooring can add not only architectural details but dimension, texture and sometimes even drama when used in contrasting colors as the second image below illustrates.  These types of parquet wood floors share two very similar types of zigzag pattern, and it’s easy to confuse one with the other.  For those still confused, Chevron pattern floors meet at a straight line, forming a more zigzag or rectangular design, while a Herringbone floor, the ends butt against each other, cut at an angle creating a broken zigzag pattern.  Herringbone floor may make installation more challenging than chevron floor, but both types of wood flooring design are equally worth the work and time.

Chevron, Herringbone, parquet flooring

Difference between Chevron and Herringbone

Chevron, Herringbone, parquet flooring

In this space above the tiles are thick but still form a beautiful black and white chevron floor.  Love how the wood paneling and coffered ceiling warm up the space.

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