Exciting Patterns for Every Room | Guest Post

Hi all! I’m Susi and I write as a guest blogger for DesignShuffle.com, a fabulous social media site that promotes interior designers from around the world and their work. My writing focuses on things I'm passionate about: interior design, home furnishings, gardening and art. I'm lucky enough to have a background in art history, auctions, and antiques, and a passion for decorating ideas. Plus, I get to look at gorgeous things all day and write about them. What a fantastic job!

This week I'll be looking at ways to add exciting patterns for every room in the home. From bold patterned tiles to graphic towels and linens, don't be afraid to bring patterns into your home. Patterns add interest and style to any space. Be bold, mix and match, and have fun with pattern!

 

DE Design Coop via

Patterned floors in the kitchen, bath or entry add an extra style element to these rooms. Tile layed out in interesting patterns or a herringbone wood floor are interesting twists on these traditional materials.

 

Coco Cozy via

Patterned tiles... for the bath or kitchen add color as well as pattern to these spaces. Use them on the floor or as a backsplash. Moroccan style tiles are very popular now.

Bedding Chic via

Bold patterned bedding is a smart way to add pattern to the bedroom design. Mix and match it with solids to break up the pattern, or choose a patterned coverlet or duvet.

 

Design Sponge via

A bold pattern area rug is a smart choice for adding pattern to a dining room, entry, living room, bedroom or even a bathroom design. Indoor/outdoor rugs can add pattern to your porch or deck.

 

Apartment Therapy via

Wallpaper is the big trend for adding pattern to walls today. Available in a range of patterns, colors and sheens, wallpaper can work in small spaces, like powder rooms, and larger rooms like dining rooms.

 

Shore Dreams and Beautiful Things via

Colorful patterned bath towels, like these from Amy Butler, can liven up your bath or guest bathroom. Patterned tea towels for the kitchen are a hot trend right now. Other interior design ideas to think about, might include colorful tea towels as guest towels in a powder room.

 

Rent the Runway via

Curtains in the living room, dining room or bedroom can be the perfect place to add pattern. And they are easily changed if you decide you don't like the pattern anymore.

 

Pepper Design via

Pillows, like these ikat patterned pillows from Fabricadabra, are the easiest way to add patterns to any room.
Pattern will add excitement to your décor and your life, start adding it today!
Beautiful Habitat: Interior Design & Decoration www.beautifulhabitat.com

Trends: Dark Blue Walls

A trend that I am currently loving is that of dramatic dark blue walls, typically paired with white furniture. Sometimes a splash of the light green or yellow is included for a fresh color palette. The blues range from navy, to deep turquoise to dusty denim. The result is always dramatic, yet the rooms can feel crisp and fun or elegant at the same time.

 

House Beautiful

 

The Marion House

 

Lonny Magazine

 

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Lonny Magazine

I admit I am a little biased when it comes to loving this trend because I did it for a client last year. This is the home office/guest room of a beautiful 1930's Bungalow in the Sloane's Lake area west of Denver, Colorado.

Beautiful Habitat: Interior Design and Decoration

What do you think of this trend? Would you do dark walls in your home?

Beautiful Habitat: Interior Design & www.beautifulhabitat.com

Designer Tips: Using Bold Wall Color

Most people shy away from bold wall colors. They can be intimidating. They can also be truly striking and take a room that is “nice”to one that is absolutely jaw-dropping.
House Beautiful magazine is covering the transformation of the Bee Cottage, focusing on a room each month. The Guest Bedroom Makeover provides a great example of many tips and tricks that Interior Designers use for selecting and using bold paint color. The guests who stay here will be blown away by the beauty of the room.

One surprising fact is that this room is tiny – about 9′ x 12′, with 7′ ceilings. Conventional rules say that painting with a dark color will make a room feel smaller. Obviously, this room breaks that rule in a glorious fashion. So, why does it work here? From House Beautiful, “Deep tones absorb the light, decreasing shadows so the space appears seamless and therefore larger.”

Another important key in this room is that the ceiling is painted in the same color as the wall. It’s no secret that I am a big fan of painted ceilings. In this particular bedroom, painting the ceiling makes it virtually disappear. Look at the room again and just imagine the ceiling white. Your eye would immediately be drawn up to the ceiling. A white ceiling would make the room feel small and low and would emphasize the awkward angles of the space.


Another tip in the success of this Interior Design plan is the balance of color. The walls and ceilings are the largest surfaces in the room and are in the bold turquoise-y color. The second largest surfaces are the floor and furniture. These have all been kept very neutral so as not to compete with the wall color. The result is a balanced space that does not overwhelm.

 The addition of a few bright red accessories adds a perfect level of interest to the room. Without this punch of color, it would be just a little flat. The red could have easily been replaced with yellow, green, orange, or any other color. For a great example of a room that employs these same Designer tips with a turquoise and tangerine scheme see the post Now That’s How You Use Color.


The Bee Cottage guest bathroom got an equally bold paint treatment. Without changing the flooring or fixtures in the room, the addition of paint on the walls and ceiling breathes new life into the room at minimal expense.
Before

After

Beautiful Habitat: Interior Design & Decoration www.beautifulhabitat.com

Inspiring Images - Budapest

Last week I left Denver to visit a dear friend that now lives in Budapest, Hungary.  The city contains beautiful and unique architecture that can be a great source of inspiration for your own interior design and decoration projects. I hope you’ll be as inspired by the beauty of the city as I was. Enjoy!

There are several copper and bronze statues in the castle hill area on the Buda side of the city. I love the way the metal has aged and gained patina into the beautiful turquoise shade.  It’s great inspiration for using metals in your outdoor spaces and leaving them exposed to the elements. Or perhaps you could use this particular patina turquoise as an interior paint or accessory color.

These beautiful gates and the Chain Bridge could be another great point of inspiration for your interior design plan. I find inspiration in both the combination of metal and stone and the detailed pattern of the iron work. It could be inspiration for interior or exterior railings or perhaps a fabric or wallpaper pattern loosely based on the scrolling iron work.

 

Finally, I would have to say that my favorite point of inspiration came from the cathedral roof tops in Budapest.  I have traveled a lot throughout Europe and have noticed that each culture puts their own flair on the cathedrals. The Hungarians have added a charming and unique touch with colorful glazed roof tiles. The obvious inspiration here is in using glazed tiles to create interesting patterns. Other uses could be in using glazed tiles in an unexpected application, perhaps a design on a table top. Or creating similar patterns in fabric or paint.

 

And a  look at the Buda side from the Pest side of the Danube. Look at those beautiful roof tiles. 

Have these images inspired you? What can Budapest bring to your interior design project?

Want more Inspiring Images? Check out these Inspiring Images posts.

Beautiful Habitat: Interior Design & Decoration www.beautifulhabitat.com

Spring is in this House

Spring is in the air! I’m feeling inspired by lighter, fresher rooms. I often feel this way at this time of year. Here is a Spring-inspired-interiors post from last year.
Recently, I found this home in the Bahamas to provide the fresh feel I’ve been looking for after a long winter. This home was featured in Luxe Magazine. While the overall look features a bit too much pink for my taste, I still love the overall feel you get from the spaces: light, fresh, breezy. Enjoy!
 
Beautiful Habitat: Interior Design & Decoration www.beautifulhabitat.com

Paint Your Ceiling

The ceiling is the most neglected surface in any room. The ceiling is rarely thought about and even more rarely changed from the standard white paint. Yet changing the ceiling color, even very subtly has a more dramatic impact than any changes to the walls or flooring.  Afraid of ceiling color? You certainly aren’t alone. This post is full of inspiration to get you thinking about your ceiling with options ranging from subtle to extremely bold.
Starting with the subtle…
In previous posts, I shared my favorite ceiling tip: use the wall color at 50% strength on the ceiling. I use this particularly with bold wall colors and stained-wood built-ins as the bold colors and white ceiling usually clash and draw more attention to the ceiling. The result is subtle and adds a sophistication to rooms. For more on that tip read: To Paint or Not To Paint…The Ceiling.
A subtle option from House Beautiful, This ceiling is such an interesting feature that it absolutely deserves to be highlighted as a focal point. This room would lose so much character if the ceiling were white.

Yes, the room above is obvious because of the interesting architecture of the ceiling, a feature that most of use do not have in our own homes. A paint, wallpaper or other treatment can still have a significant impact in rooms with “plain” ceilings. The bedroom below features a serene blue paint on a plain ceiling, from Apartment Therapy. This small color change adds a lot of interest to the bedroom and could remain if the orange accessories were changed out for another color.

Now let’s step it up a notch with bolder colors featured on the ceilings and rooms where the major color impact is found on the ceiling.
From Apartment Therapy, this work space received a dramatic and uplifting ceiling color. The white walls keep the room feeling light, but the ceiling adds energy and interest to the space.

 

Another from Apartment Therapy, a bold orange ceiling color to enliven an otherwise traditional and formal living room. Again, the ceiling is the primary color source in the room.

Now let’s go extremely bold with ceiling paint! The next two rooms use the ceiling color and design to literally take the spaces to a whole new level.
From House Beautiful, this pea-green gingham painted ceiling makes a huge statement when coupled with the green kitchen island. The two sources of green create a wonderful balance in the room. The ceilings are also quite high in this kitchen. The paint brings them down, again adding to the sense of balance. What a fun place to be everyday!

From Interior Designer Albert Hadley, featured in House Beautiful, an iridescent ceiling in his personal study. A very bold choice, but it works well in this small space.

 

I hope these have inspired you to think out-of-the box when it comes to the most neglected surface in a room. Have you painted a ceiling? Have you seen other painted ceilings? Share your photos with us here or on Facebook!

Beautiful Habitat: Interior Design & Decoration www.beautifulhabitat.com

Deliciously Detailed Buffets

I love interesting pieces that pop in a room. Shine Home is definitely on the leading edge of creating amazing pieces that simply say WOW. Want to make a statement, try one of these deliciously detailed buffets, or any other pieces from the Shine Home Collection. Amazing detail and colors available. Enjoy!

Cary Buffet

Shanghai Console

Milan Buffet

Marbella Buffet

Beautiful Habitat: Interior Design  www.beautifulhabitat.com

More Bold Bedroom Inspiration

I should have kept digging in my files on Monday. Here are two more bold bedrooms to inspire you. Enjoy!

 

Yes, that is a beautiful and intricate tile mosaic... in the bedroom! I love the creativity and out-of-the-box thinking. Why should wall tile be confined to the kitchen and bath when it can be this beautiful in the bedroom?

 

Another tropical blue haven. I really love the curves of the wall and headboard and the bold color palette is the icing on the cake.

Have you gone bold in your bedroom? Do share!

Beautiful Habitat: Luxury Interior Design www.beautifulhabitat.com

Bold Bedroom Inspiration

I admit I am more of a Zen bedroom kind of girl, at least for the bedroom where I actually sleep. I think it has to do with all the color used throughout the rest of my home and that I need a peaceful haven to escape for sleep. It's definitely that general attraction to color that made these bedrooms catch my eye. Today I'm feeling the need for a dose of color for Monday inspiration. If you're like me and want a restful retreat, use this inspiration in a guest room or use the color combination in another room of your home.

 

This color combination is fantastic. I love the way the turquoise and red play off of each other. Sticking to a strict three color scheme like this takes a lot of discipline, but the end result is well worth it. Don't you agree?

 

This bold orange headboard really makes a statement in an otherwise simple room. A great pop of color and I love that it's orange.



Beautiful Habitat: Luxury Interior Design www.beautifulhabitat.com

Now That's How You Use Color!

Turquoise is all the rage right now, especially with Pantone naming it the 2010 Color of the Year. However, turquoise, teal and other variations have always had a following all it's own. And I'm not just talking about jewelry made in Sante Fe. In fact there is even a fantastic blog dedicated to the color: House of Turquoise.

I have recently been working on two home office renovations, one in a beautiful spicy orange and another in, you guessed it, turquoise. So as I was flipping through some old magazines for some great blog inspiration, this teal and tangerine bedroom jumped off the page at me. Wow - this is one of the boldest uses of color I have seen in a while and is perhaps the most bold combination I've ever seen in a bedroom. While it is very vibrant, it is also in excellent balance so that the colors are complimenting each other rather than competing. This is how to use bold color!

I personally can't decide which aspect of the room is my favorite: the teal patent leather chairs, or the tangerine and cream pagoda-shaped valances.

“The vibrancy of tangerine and varying shades of teal refreshes the senses during daylight,” says Kendall. “Come nighttime, the room becomes a deep blue cocoon.”

A Lucite headboard  keeps a clear view of the decorative mural. The simple bed linens compliment both the mural and the graphic patterns on the throw pillows and benches.

This room was designed by Kendall Wilkinson for a 2007 San Francisco show house. The article was featured in Traditional Home Magazine.

Beautiful Habitat: Luxury Interior Design www.beautifulhabitat.com