Thursday, April 28, 2011

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!
 Elegant Interior Design Boulder ColoradoResidential Interior Design DenverDecorating ColoradoInterior Design ColoradoInterior Decorator in Denver
Beautiful Habitat: Interior Design & Decoration www.beautifulhabitat.com

Saturday, April 16, 2011

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.
Interior Designer Boulder Colorado

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.

Colorado Interior Decorator

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.

Interior Decorating Tips 

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.

Boulder Interior Designer

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!

Custom Residential Interiors in Denver

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.

Interior Designer Denver Colorado 

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

Friday, April 8, 2011

Favorite Things - Rivets Wall Coverings

To my regular readers, it’s no secret that I absolutely love both polka dots and nail head trim in Interior Design. As if answering my call, Phillip Jeffries has a new line of wall coverings called Rivets and it appeals to the polka-dot, nail-head loving designer in me. Phillip Jeffries has long been a creator of beautiful textural wall coverings and Rivets combines the look of nail heads or industrial rivets with the texture they are known for in the interiors industry: grass cloth.

From the Phillip Jeffries website: “Adding another dimension to wallcoverings is the RIVETS collection. Hand crafted by artisans, a raised relief pattern made with pearlized inks is hand applied to our natural Manila Hemp, Glazed Abaca, Linen and Jute wallcoverings to create the look and feel of authentic nail heads. Strong and bold, this pattern of 11.3” squares is available in nine unique color combinations that are truly riveting!” 


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

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Trends in Tile: Large Format, Large Pattern

Continuing on with the Latest and Greatest in Surfacing Trends, today the focus is big, big, big. Both larger format (size) and large pattern tiles are gaining presence in Interior Design markets and showrooms.  It’s no wonder that larger format tiles are gaining popularity, particularly in more contemporary interiors. The larger the tile, the fewer grout lines and a more even, continuous surface. Another trend in tiles is the use of more rectangular and plank shapes in place of traditional square tiles.

For an example of these trends, the best place to look is Italy. Italian manufacturers have long been on the leading edge of stone and porcelain surfacing materials. When it comes to all things getting larger, Italian manufacturers do not disappoint. The examples featured here are from Florin Ceramiche, particularly the Casa dolce Casa porcelain products. The particular tiles featured here are from the Nera line. The Nera tiles meet all three trends of larger sizes (up to a full 4 feet!), a variety of rectangular and plank shapes, and large patterns. The tiles are available in 6″X4′, 1′X4′, 2′X4′, 4′X4′ sizes.

Larger scale patterns are also being seen across the surfacing and Interior Design world.  Pattern is nothing new to tile, but manufacturers and designers are simply blowing up the scale for a much more dramatic impact.

Large Format

 Above we see the 4ft x 4ft tiles across the floor. It creates a beautiful streamlined interior without the distraction of grout lines.


Large Scale Pattern

Above, the simple geometric and monochromatic pattern is dramatic because of the large scale.  I must admit that I just love this floor and would happily add it to my own home.


Large Format and Pattern

Above we see both applications with the floor and wall tiles. This interior is absolutely stunning, with the wall tile extending up two stories with that large and very bold pattern. The Nera images pages will give you a better glimpse.


These products are available in Colorado through Interior Designers and the Decorative Materials showroom.

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

Friday, April 1, 2011

Ribbon Glass Surfaces

Continuing from last week on the latest and greatest in tile, stone and coverings, today’s post is all about Architectural Glass Surfaces (aka glass slabs), particularly a product called Ribbon Glass. It is amazing and I hope it inspires you to use innovative products in your own Design or Decorating projects!
Glass surfaces are nothing new. We’ve seen glass tiles, particularly in tile mosaics, trending for the last several years. Other decorative glass applications have been around for a while, including glass countertops. Even glass blocks have been in and out of style for interiors since the 1930′s.  However, Ribbon Glass is something new and it’s very cool. For those looking for a more modern, artistic or unique surface, or those who are tired of granite as the go to luxury countertop, Ribbon Glass may be the perfect alternative for you.
Interstyle Ceramic and Glass are behind Ribbon Architectural Glass Surfaces. Made with 33% recycled content, the Ribbon surfaces are created by fusing layers of glass in a kiln. Being 100% glass, the surfaces are non-porous and stain-resistant and therefore great for countertop applications in the kitchen or bathroom. But it’s the color and texture that really make the product innovative and eye-catching.



Ribbon glass is versatile and each piece is hand made to specification up to 48″x120″. The custom nature lends the products to unlimited interesting applications beyond kitchens and bathrooms. I can envision this product as a mantel, wall art (especially if back-lit), room partition, or in furniture applications as seen in this table. How would you use Ribbon glass?



Each piece is a hand-crafted original. The company offers the color selection below, and custom color blends are welcome. Available in Denver through Interior Designers and the Decorative Materials showroom.


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

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