Diva event, April 24th!

We have been running around the studio like mad chickens for a couple of weeks now, preparing for our DIVA event, happening next Saturday. What exactly IS a DIVA event, you ask? Well one of our favorite local celebrities, Cathi Aycock, who writes a column (conveniently called The Shopping DIVA) will be gracing us with her presence April 24th, for our first ever DIVA event!

Cathi has selected 10 of her favorite things from our studio,(shown below, I mean really, isn't it gorgeous?!) and they will be everyone's favorite four-letter word; ON SALE!! The item's shown in the ad above, which are currently running in the paper, and online, are a few of the items on sale. Below you will find a sneak peek of the studio, that we have so diligently been manicuring for the past 24 hours! Hope you like!

AB Home Interiors Studio

                        

Original Alexander Calder, circa 1970

AB HOME Interiors Studio

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Amanda Burdge on An appreciation for Art

I think Karen Carrol said it best when she said, " I can not think of any element that pulls the total look of an interior together, more than art"; and I have to agree with her. My love affair with art started when I was young, but I grew to have a deeper appreciation for it when I started doing interior design.

Jamie Drake

All elements in an interior are essential. Each and every item plays a cohesive role in pulling it all together. (if only there was an ingredient like this for our daily lives!) Nevertheless, art brings the character, the flavor and the wow factor to a room. It is the one thing that draws you in, and forces you to pause.

AB Home Designs

Thankfully, museum-quality masterpieces are not required to add character to your blank, naked walls. Art can come from anywhere like a flea market, Goodwill, a local gallery or the starving artist next door. I have never been an art snob. I cannot tell you about a particular paint style, or genre, I can not even tell you why one piece is $100 versus $5000. What I do know is this, I know what I love, and I know how it makes me feel. This is genuine appreciation, admiration and understanding for artistic vision, in my opinion.

Troy Beasley
Just like interior design, art comes in many forms. Furniture, jewelry, paintings, sculpture, pottery, and many other items can be considered art. Creativity is something to be celebrated, and enjoyed. Art is just that, a celebration of creativity! Art possesses you, captivates you, and cultivates your emotion and curiosity. Whether you are a connoisseur or an amateur, it is all about how it makes you feel. Like this brooch below, well this thing just makes me dizzy!

Gabrielle Kiss 

Luna Moth Brooch

with diamonds

My medium of choice is typically paint on canvas. Just like the artists themselves, art comes in all shapes and sizes. Here, are a few of my favorites that I have met along the way:

Carlton Nell

#139

Erik Otto

rebirth

Joshua Petker

#24

Amanda Stone Talley

Saints Superbowl

Tommy Thompson

Painted Trail

Karena Albert

Grandeur 

Clint Metcalf
Organica red

Growing up I had a wonderful mama who encouraged and fertilized my creativity. She challenged me to be better, because she would frame EVERYTHING I so lovingly put my heart into. In fact, she has a framed picture in her bedroom that I drew, and colored when I was five. She also has a large poster board of my venture into geometric forms; of which she also had professionally framed. Giddy with excitement that I had THE MOST adoring fan, I strived to get my hands on every thing I could to turn it into my vision (and of course get it framed and on the wall. Gotta keep those fans happy!)  Amazingly, her home to this day still houses every artistic carcass I made.  Its like walking through a cemetery of good and bad choices. But she is still my BIGGEST fan!

Two of my first introductions into the art world were Southwest artists, Bill Rabbit, and Bev Doolittle. My parents have several Rabbits in their home, and these purchases made it obvious to me that the value of art is not in the price itself, but the emotion it evoked and the experience it brought into the home.  By no means are my parents wealthy. But, to spend three thousand dollars on a painting (20 years ago, I might add) meant nothing in comparison to the meaning of the art itself. The emotion, the feeling it evokes.

Bill Rabbit

Just forme

My parents do not own any Doolittle's. We simply admired her from afar. But her works are that of a true genius. Her pieces are thought provoking, and they draw you in. Every piece has two meanings in one. If you look closely you will always find a surprise. (see below, are those rocks? Or are they buffalo?) 

Bev Doolittle

Calling the Buffalo

 When you have a home that reflects who you are, and it envelops you in the things you love, it will take you to a higher place, it will make you better every day, in every way. A recent article in LonNy featuring Laura Day on her own home, she comments, "Artwork should GRAB you, It should reel you in..." And one of my favorite quotes by Leyden Lewis, "I'm hysterical about art!! I would officially be considered addicted to art, IT IS MY PASSION..!"

Terry Slaughter, from Gallery Terrence Denley, believes that creativity and beautiful design can only improve the human condition. I cannot agree more with this statement. The next time you find yourself in the mix of redesigning, or designing a space, don't forget the art!

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Creating a focal point

Every room needs to have a focal point, or f-o-c-u-s. Most rooms naturally have some type of architectural "direction", such as a fireplace, built-in, or view. But every room needs an anchor for which the furnishings revolve around.

Vern Yip

If your home got left out of the focal point lottery, choose your focus and create one. Add a TV with a large furniture console underneath it. Focus your furnishings around a beautiful art piece, or purchase a piece of furniture that commands attention (like an armoire, a console, or a piano) and anchor your furniture around it.

AB Design elements

Use bright or bold colour hues to create a focal point. You can also use bold patterns, a bold colored sofa, or use a beautiful area rug to draw the eye effortlessly around the room. The room shown below, used bold color, attractive art, texture, and as a design surprise added a book nook above the seating arrangement. Instead of creating the focal point in front of the room, Shane kept the focus on the main furniture wall. Brilliant!

Shane Reilly

We are not all blessed with beautiful views, but if you have a great window, or view, arrange the furniture to take complete advantage of it. Add draperies to frame the windows and accentuate the view and draw your eyes to the scenery beyond. See the photo below? No need for a TV! My goodness I could stare at that for hours!

Autojogja.com

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An affair with a chair

How great would life be to seat a glamourous life? To be looked upon as a curvy and alluring creature that is admired, swooned and coveted? Oh and it provides comfort and encourages conversation. I adore chairs, almost as much as I love candy. Here are some of my favorite finds:

Jonathan Adler

Victoria Hagan

  Platt Furniture

Jonathan Adler

                                                                  

Fyndes.com

Studio Dror (these chairs hang flat when not in use!)

Missoni Chair by Kartell

Charme Chair by Studio Archirivolto

Creating a hip space from a traditional place

I recently received an email from Catherine Hopkins, from Theshinypebble about her dining room. Catherine's request? How the heck do I make my current dining room look more hip. Hula hoops aside, creating a hip dining room is all in the mix. (and sadly we aren't talking margaritas here) We are talking about bringing different items, from different styles and mixing it all up. Designers are rockstars at doing this. We don't like things to match or make sense, so we put random things together, and magic occurs! Don't have a professional designer to help you? Read my recent post on Designing a room~Where to start.

Catherines Dining Room

The Challenge: Traditional space that needs some hip flavor

The goal: Make it hip, fresh and updated

The prize: Margaritas anyone?

Ok, first on the agenda, Paint! The room is rich looking, however the dark furniture and bland walls are screaming, give me life! My suggestion:

Sherwinn Williams: 6179 Artichoke. 

Second order of business, get rid of ALL the current accessories. The accessories Catherine has are lovely, but in order to make this room hip, the least expensive solution is to update the accessories.  For your buffet, lets update your mirror, and get you some new lamps. This will add sparkle and bring eye candy into the room.

                      Barbara Cosgrove

 

                                           Curtis Jere

Next, we need to focus on the dining table. Lets move your Captains chairs to another part of the house and switch them out for something more fresh and modern. This chair from Pottery barn (shown below) is the perfect solution to update a dining room. It is simple in design and generic enough to go with any style. Remember this when buying your next furniture piece. Always mix things up. Having an entire group of similar items is too much of a good thing. This is where style comes in. Remember my post on style? When you buy an entire collection of something, and everything matches, the theme becomes too literal. Be risk takers, and try different things; mix it up!

Pottery Barn

Next on our list, draperies. The windows need softness. They look naked, so we will add some beautiful textured silk draperies. This will add comfort, and make the room cozy for intimate dining with friends.

West elm

Now lets add some funk. Catherine has a wonderful sisal rug on the floor in her dining room. Lets layer it up with a fun and exciting stamped cowhide. This will add style, texture, and show your guests you like to have a little fun,

AB HOME

Now for a few finishing touches. Lets throw a pillow in the chair and add some artwork on either side of the hutch. Remember my post on scale? I give big kudos to Catherine for putting art work on either side of her hutch, (Designers love symmetry) but the scale is a bit off. Lets get something BIG. Remember students, GO BIG OR GO HOME! The artwork I selected below is great. These are 31x31 and will command attention next to that large hutch.

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Last but not least, the table accessories. I would like to add two canisters and a simple floral. A table runner can be added, but I did not find one that I just loved. Im sure there is one out there just waiting to be found!
(And a runner will add additional texture and can help glue the overall look together.)

ABHOME

  AB HOME                                                                                                            

And on the buffet, centered between the two Barbara Cosgrove lamps, I would put this beautiful mustard leather tray. Not only does this add spunk and glamour to the dining room, it can be used for serving yummy hors d' oeuvres. And how gorgeous would this be against the artichoke color! Bellisimo!

ABHOME

Well Catherine I hope this helps, and I look forward to seeing the finished product! Get to work and report back to us on all your progress

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Elements of design

I have mentioned several times how important scale and proportion are to a room. With all interiors, the Elements of Design are successful when there is a unifying theme that runs through out the room. This blends everything together and creates Harmony. Of all the principles of design, scale and proportion create harmony and this is most important. Without this, the room lacks cohesiveness and sabotages any chance for flow.

Sarah Richardson

Harmony is easy to achieve if the scale is correct. The furniture should be in close relation to the rooms size, fabrics should be appropriate for the furniture frame and rooms use, and accessories should be in context to the rooms appropriate size  and various elements, such as furniture in the room. One of the most critical elements for achieving harmony is the color palette. Color is a constant influence in our everyday lives. And it is imperative that there be at least one or two common threads of color throughout a room. Just like any good outfit there needs to be common ground and there needs to be an element of organization. It is crucial that there be flow, and connection, so that it creates a beautiful movement around an interior space. Color should reflect your personality and of all things, it accomplishes harmony and flow. When these two things are right, the room feels good, and looks good with ease.

Formaonline.com

 Another design element to achieve is comfort, so the room is easy to live in. Comfort is calming, and softens a room so that harmony and balance can be achieved. Comfort brings a restful feeling and provides a welcome accent to your guests.

Lori Dennis

There is little doubt that color is emotional. Every color conveys a mood, thus creating atmosphere. Have you ever walked into a room and felt calm, or uplifted? Colors translate into feelings, and those feelings mixed with beautiful lighting, fabrics, and furnishings evokes atmosphere.

Formaonline.com

Texture is not often grouped with words like glamour, but it is essential to any well designed room. For example, if you choose to deck your entire room out in neutrals, it will fall flat on it's butt without texture playing a major role. Think about this when designing your next room. Think about a room with textured linen, draperies with stripes, marble veining in a table, and hardwood floors with nubby sisal rugs. This my friends is a room rich in design and texture. 

David Duncan Livingston

The key to success in reaching your desired design goals, is in the mix.(see photo below) The Elements of Design can be subtle or they can be bold. You can take a slightly varied approach with assorted textures, or introduce many different elements. Always combine things to keep them interesting. Remember the key Elements of Design are:

1) Scale

2) Harmony

3) Color

4) Comfort

5) Atmosphere

6) Texture

Kenneth Brown

This room above achieves all of the elements of design. The scale and proportion are perfect. The colors, brown and white create cohesiveness throughout the room allowing the eye to easily read the room. The slipcovered sofas and side chairs look inviting and comfortable and the linen drapes and lamp shades, the scratched leather ottoman, and the window box fabric on the side chairs gives us the depth and texture we need to create a beautiful flow and atmosphere. Just stunning!

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Dining Spaces-A gourmet affair or leisurely fare?

Does your dining space reflect your personality and lifestyle? Are your meals a gourmet affair, or a simple family meal before everyone scatters? No matter who's at the table, or whats on the menu you deserve a space that is inviting, comfortable and attractive!

Troy Beasley

When designing a dining room you must put together a plan. Determine what your dining personality is. Don't design a room for proper dining with fine china, crystal and silver if your idea of a gourmet meal is chinese take out, and flip flops. If you are a jeans and t-shirt kinda person then it is safe to say so is your dining lifestyle. Define the space accordingly. Determine if this space should be formal or casual. 

Lori Dennis

Once you have developed a plan the design principles can begin. Most dining rooms today are leaning towards the casual side. But that does not mean we forgo all formality. It means that todays formality has a modern twist. We have tweaked it to accommodate our busy lifestyles. What does this mean for you when designing your dining space? It means you have flexibility in building your designing space and it can reflect exactly who you are and how your live~Voila, Lifestyle!

Maybe you like to sit and dine with friends for hours, but you want to do it in your jeans. Great, lets use a sofa as seating, (like the photo below.) There are few rules, so think outside of the box.

Lori Dennis

While there are few rules in designing any room, there are a few tips on designing a dining space that creates atmosphere for great dining pleasure. Use symmetry. Symmetry is easy on the eyes and makes digestion better. When you are comfortable and relaxed the meal is more enjoyable. Add mirrors. They reflect all light in the room (including candle light) which adds sparkle and creates a wonderful and enjoyable mood. Nowadays dining rooms are easy, and pleasant so forgo the fussiness. People are more casual today and fussiness is awkward and uncomfortable. Make it easy on your guests and allow them to feel comfortable and at home. Use durable, but textured fabrics that are easy to clean. You want the meal to be tactile as much as it is comfortable and delightful. Dining is an experience. Let your guests see, smell, taste and touch the experience so that the occasion is engaging, comfortable and satisfying. 

Flickr

It does not matter how you dine. It does not matter that the occasion is informal or formal. What matters is the personality of the space in context to the host. A dining space can be a room or nook in your home. The most important factor is the food, family and friends, conversation, and most importantly the experience you endow on your guests. Make it memorable and enjoyable so that it feels right. 

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