Love it or Leave it | Lacquered Wood Paneling in Bold Hues

I'm seeing lacquered walls and wood paneling everywhere these days. The beauty of lacquered walls is that they fit equally well in modern and traditional room decor. Lacquering a serious library in a not-so-serious color can modernize and relax a space, making it more inviting a family friendly. On the other hand, lacquered rooms can create a traditional and sophisticated design. Lacquered walls are definitley on trend right now and I want to know - do you love it or leave it? While all lacquered spaces are hot right now, I'm seeing these rooms primarily in blue tones. Blue is hot, lacquer is hot... makes perfect sense to meld the two together.

 

via House Beautiful

via HGTV

via Better Homes and Gardens

via Veranda

via Architectural Digest

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While blue seems to be popular everywhere, and especially in lacquered walls, I am also seeing lacquer in other bold colors with stunning results. Blue is a little more serious. The following rooms, however, and bold, relaxed and FUN.
 

via Pinterest

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via The Painted Furniture

  And finally a gray tone is a bit more calm, but still equally breathtaking in result.
 

via Twelve Chairs

 What do you think of lacquered paneling in place of stained wood? Do you love it or would you leave it? Do you have wood paneling that you would lacquer? What color would you do?
 I'll admit, I absolutely love this look. We have a library space in our new home and I would love to lacquer the whole room. I'm not sure if I can squeeze that out of my remodel budget... Stay tuned for more on that. 

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

Design Inspiration | Future of the Home Library

I'm working on a Home Library design in a beautiful, traditional home in Denver. Few homes have these beautiful, inviting, bonus rooms, and I fear that even fewer will in the future. Libraries, public and private, really are a treasure. I was recently in New York and had a chance to admire the public library building. How could I be anything but inspired by this beautiful architecture and detail? The woodwork, the windows, the chandeliers... all adding elegance to a highly functional space.

What is the future of our printed word? E-books have outsold printed books since 2010 and the margin grows each year. Will our printed books really go away? I think not. Most people still prefer the touch and experience of reading a real book. What is the future of our libraries, public and private? Whether your library is a proper separate room, or a bookshelf in your office, bedroom, or living room, most homes do have a library. Those shelves tell a brief story of who we are, our hobbies or interests. In some cases our books are artwork, or nostalgia. What is the future of these cozy spaces once designed to house our reading treasures?
  What do you envision when you hear the term "library"? I envision warm enveloping chairs and a cozy environment. The kind of place you really want to curl up and read. Good lighting is essential. Some might prefer a table or work area. And some may require a place to put your feet up. Following are beautiful Library Spaces that are inspiring me today.

 

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Contemporary Living Room by San Francisco Interior Designers & Decorators Lizette Marie Interior Design

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Contemporary Dining Room by Laguna Beach Interior Designers & Decorators Michael Fullen Design Group

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Libraries are so often traditional in design, decor and feel. The space below is a fabulous library of bold and modern design.

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Do you have a library or reading nook in your home? What are the essential elements to you? Share with us here, or on Facebook.

For even more library inspiration, check out my board on Pinterest: Beautiful Habitats - Library & Workspace, or my Libraries Ideabook on Houzz.

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

Radiant Orchid | Pantone Color of the Year 2014

Radiant Orchid is the Pantone color of the year; the color experts have predicted that we'll see this color in design and fashion throughout 2014.
 

"The color for 2014?  The captivating, magical and enchanting Radiant Orchid. An invitation to innovation, modern and versatile Radiant Orchid encourages creativity and originality. Imbued with a harmony of fuchsia, purple and pink undertones, Radiant Orchid inspires confidence and its rosy undertones emanate great joy, love and health."

See more about the Color of 2014 and previous Colors of the Year at Pantone.

Inspiration for using Radiant Orchid in your Home

Radiant Orchid pairs so well with a number of colors. It can enliven a neutral on its own, or mix with other colors beautifully. On the warmer side, it pairs beautifully with oranges and it's sister-tone pink. On the cooler side, it looks beautiful with blues and teals or even a deep green. I've actually used a touch of this color in my home office recently. Using this beautiful fabric on a valance.
 

via Caitlin Wilson Textiles

via Beautiful Habitat (apologies for the iPhone photography)

This otherwise neutral Living Room is enlivened by the bright pops of Orchid.
 

via Elle Decor

This Library has taken the very bold route with Orchid lacquered bookcases. Wow!

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Although a fashion example, Radiant Orchid pairs beautifully with a pale green.

 For even more color combinations, look no further than the color experts at Pantone.

What do you think of Pantone's choice for the 2014 color? How will you be using it?

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

Happy Colors | Red

The next color up on our list of Happy Colors is Red.

Lots of Red

 

via Etsy

Red lacquered cabinetry would be a very bold move on it's own. Add red lacquer to the appliances, walls and ceiling and you've got a statement-making space.

 

via The Kitchen

Red walls make a great backdrop for lighter colored artwork.

 

Source Unknown

 

via Apartment Therapy

This bold bedroom design uses both a vibrant and more muted red tones along with graphic patterns. See more of this room here: Love it or Leave it: Red Patterned Bedroom

Mary McDonald via Veranda

Black, White and Red

Red is a perfect accent to schemes that are black and white, or to schemes that are gray. Yes, you could place any color in these rooms and it would really stand out as an accent, but there is just something special about red in these rooms...

 

via Decorpad

 

via House to Home

And I couldn't post without including another banquette, this lovey red banquette adds a great pop to a dining nook and overall gray room. I love banquettes and you can read more about them here: An Ode to Banquettes

 

Source Unknown

 

via House Beautiful

Red Accents

While red is stunning with Black & White, or gray, it is also a great accent with other color schemes, in large and small doses.

 

Source Unknown

 

via Domino Magazine

 

via House to Home

 

via Beautiful Habitat

 

via Beautiful Habitat

And what says Red and Happiness as much as a red wagon?

 

Via U Create

For more on the Happy Color Series:

• Orange
• Lime and Apple Green
• Purple
• Yellow

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

Home Office Design 101 - Going Beyond Function

In my last post I covered the basics of creating a functional home office. In brief summary:

1. Adequately-sized area with some privacy
2. Adequate work space with comfortable and supportive seating
3. Adequate storage space 
4. Good Lighting

Once you've covered these, you should certainly have the makings of a functional home office that will support your business and personal needs. Some people don't even get this far and settle for a less-than-functional space. Many others stop at these four functional basics. But a home office can be much more. Home offices deserve good design, too.

"Form follows function - that has been misunderstood. Form and function should be one, joined in a spiritual union." ~ Frank Lloyd Wright

What can you do to take your home office to the next level?  Start asking questions and work with your answers.

A questions that I ask every client of every room we design: Does this room help you to be the right self at the right time? Do you need to be energetic? Creative? Focused? Professional? Or, if you work in an office during the day, perhaps you need a relaxing home office space to unwind. What things can we build into your office space to help you be that person?

What motivates you? How can we build in motivators in the space?

The office makeover that I've been featuring was predominately functional. However, we did go beyond function. My client is retired, so did not need to have strong work or professional cues. However, she does have motivators - family. So we ensured that there was plenty of room for family photos.

And a vital element of home offices that is often missed is transition. You need cues to help you transition from work to home and home to work. Sometimes this is a simple as closing and opening a door.But perhaps you need more and the transition can be the formality and tone of the room, wall color, or other cues to help you be the right self at the right time.

Look for future blog posts that incorporate these functional and other elements into the design to create wonderful home offices!

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