Tag: Julie Paulino Design

Although a white plaster chandelier is very au courant and very frequently used lately, it’s far from being a trend.  It would actually be quite silly to think otherwise.  These chalky white plaster chandeliers or plaster home accessories have been around for quite some time perhaps as back as 1930’s when Alberto Giacometti brought the material into fashion in Paris.  The plaster lightings we see today are mostly inspired by Giacometti’s work.  With the help of his brother Diego, Alberto created beautiful and understated home accessories made out of plaster and or bronze.  Giacometti created various kinds of home accessories from table lamps, sconces and fireplace mantles in plaster.  Often creating pieces commissioned by Jean-Michel Frank who used a lot of white and plaster in his interiors.  Another great reminder of the use of plaster in interiors is perhaps the most recognizable of all Serge Roche.  He created objects in stucco or mirror which were heavily influenced by the Baroque.  Roche’s iconic designs are regarded as one of the most recognizable ones of the 20’s 30’s and 40’s style.  A more recent reference to this classically modern use of plaster in home accessories would be the work of John Dickinson.  The very acclaimed late American designer from the 60’s and 70’s who created collectable whimsical plaster furniture pieces.  One of his very recognizable and coveted pieces is the African table, a great modern interpretation of the original African stool.

plaster chandelier, white plaster chandelier jvia belle vivir interior design blogeffrey bilhuber via AD

As beautiful as these plaster accessories are, they also evoke a sense of whimsy and fun.  The imperfect finish of the plaster provides these rooms with a more relaxed atmosphere, which is perfect for our modern days.  Room above by Jeffrey Bilhuber via AD.  The white plaster chandelier was custom.

plaster chandelier, white plaster chandelier via belle vivir interior design blog Nicky Haslam home

The home of Nicky Haslam in London.  How beautiful, whimsical and collected is his home…

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Introducing La Belle House by Belle Vivir Blog

We recently purchased a house in a complete outdated condition inside, which mean the house is in a perfect Interior-Designer-State-Of-Mind… What we like more about it is the stone structure that resembles a lot the stone homes around Provence, France.  The house is located in a very strict area where everything done to the exterior needs to be of natural material so no plastic windows and no plastic siding.  I’m happy and ok with that, although the rules sometimes go too far as to limit us when it comes to choosing the type of windows.  For instance I would love to replace a few for steel casement windows but that wont’ be possible.  However, we are very exited with our remodeling which I might share in this blog, only if I can figure out a way to do that exclusively with subscribers.  I need to see how can that be possible… Never done it before.  The process of the house will not be public, thus only shared with those that sign up for follow ups from this specific post… I still need to come up with a name for the house but for now we’ll call it La Belle House…

I’m very happy and excited to share this endeavour with you…I hope you join us.  Looking forward…

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renovation tips for bathrooms Julie Paulino Design marble shower
When we started remodeling our home I knew we were not going to live here forever, I also knew what many people knew, that the time of the housing boon was over.  Knowing that, my choices on materials and structural changes needed to be more cautious, but I didn’t want to sacrifice style or comfort.  So I kept the kitchen and bathrooms as traditional and neutral as possible, something that would appeal to most people, in case one day we decided to sell this house.  For our master bathroom I mixed “real and steal” materials: marble mosaic in calacatta gold for the floor, chair rail (to end the tiles that I extended 12″ up the wall, below) and the pencil border that frames the walk-in shower.  The shower walls are in porcelain that look exactly like calacatta gold marble.  It’s funny the tile installer didn’t know it wasn’t marble until he saw the back of it.  The vanity is custom made.The master bathroom is on the small side so I installed a programmable tile warmer, a luxury feature that will compensate for the lack of space. Anyone who has ever remodeled a home knows that faucets can be expensive.  For the shower faucets I simply left out unnecessary things such as volume control handles.   The main shower handle does the volume control already so why buy an extra one?  I wanted to create a luxury experience for my shower with more than one water source without having to pay top money for it.  I got the big overhead shower at Lowe’s where the handheld shower is a combination of one of those handles that come with the shower I just replaced the hose for one that you can connect separately and got the set of handles with its respective valves at a trade showroom.  This way I was able to have two separate shower sources with two separate faucets.
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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.

painted floors , patterned floors, Ideas, wood floor painted in grey and white maze pattern

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.

painted floors , patterned floors, Ideas, beach bedroom painted in hexagon pattern on wood floors

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

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julie paulino Interior Design Mail Service

 

Interior Design Mail Service by Julie Paulino Design

I’m thrilled to announce that we at Julie Paulino Design are offering custom Interior Design Mail Service .  This virtual design service will allow savvy clients, who enjoy to be involved in the process of designing their homes the opportunity to work with a professional at their own speed and at an attainable flat fee. This web-based interior design mail service will focus on each room or rooms at a time and the process starts with you, the client:

 

–         filling out a questionnaire,

–         sending us photos of what you like as well as what you don’t like so we get a   sense of your lifestyle and taste,

–         you set your budget,

–         you can also send a list of your favorite places and travel destinations.

These steps will give us a broader understanding of your lifestyle and preferences.  After the first step of getting to know your style, then comes the second step which is when you send us measurements and pictures of the room from different angles, specifying the location of windows and doors.  We then get to work our magic and your virtual-design and planning of your room is then delivered to you by email or regular mail depending on what type of service you require, with the instructions you need to execute the final steps.  The final virtual-design guide sent to you will include floor plan, furniture selection, shopping list of accessories and everything else you need to make that room the room of your dreams, specifically designed for you based on your lifestyle.  A room not only should be aesthetically appealing but also functional.  Those who read my blog Belle Vivir are familiar with my motto of understanding that our surroundings influence our being and if we put in our homes only what we love based on comfort and functionality beauty will reveal itself. After all, having a warm, comfortably functional and beautiful home to come back to at the end of a long and hectic day, is what we all covet. A happy home which should render us with either a sense of comfort or reward at the end of our busy days.

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decorating with metal/gilt palm trees
 A Palm-Tree Floor Lamp in a Beatriz Silveira design.

With an aura that reckons the glamorous decor of The Hollywood Regency era these brass trees make their way into today’s interiors bringing prestige to any type of home decor style.  Sometimes these gilt trees are floor lamps as in the case of Daphne Guinness’s home where a 1950’s Jansen palm-tree floor lamp graces the entry.  In other cases however they are simply decorating pieces as in the Hell’s Kitchen apartment of Cathy Lerebours, which I helped decorate.  She found the gilt palm-tree at an auction.  Take a look below at some homes with metal trees as decorating objects.

decorating with metal/gilt palm trees by julie paulino design

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