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

via

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

via

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

Love it or Leave it| Sofa at the Foot of the Bed

The bench at the foot of the bed - it's a staple in bedroom design, particularly in master bedrooms. It's the perfect spot to put on your shoes, decorative bedcovers can be folded down onto the bench, it helps to fill the space in larger rooms. I've even been known to add a bench in rooms designed by Beautiful Habitat.

via Beautiful Habitat

Lately I'm seeing the bench replaced by sofas, settees and chairs - furniture pieces with backs.

via Knight Carr

And then I started to see sofas morph into full seating areas such a this room below.

via Mrs. Howard Personal Shopper

What do you think of this trend? Love it - it's an out of the box use of the space; it creates more function; it uses the space better? Or leave it - it closes off the room too much; it distracts from the bed; I'm not holding board meetings in my bedroom? What are your thoughts of sofas (or other furniture with backs) and seating areas at the foot of the bed?

via House and Home

via Furbish Studio

via Design Shuffle

via Pinterest

via Design OCD

via Lonny

via Atlanta Homes

via House Beautiful

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

Painted Brick - Love it or Leave it?

Bricks in your interiors. Some people consider it an architectural bonus that adds character. Others consider it a nuisance to be designed around or over. Granted, this may be partially determined by whether you have beautiful red Victorian brick, or 1970's brown and tan brick. Or whether your style ventures more modern or traditional. Of many of the Love It or Leave It topics I've raised before, painted brick seems a bit more deeply divided. So I want your opinion. Painted bricks (inside) do you love it or would you leave it?

 

via Pinterest

 

via craftytexasgirls.com

 

via Simply Beautiful Now

 

via ehow.com

via A Perfect Gray

via Pinterest

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

Two-Toned Kitchens | Love it or Leave it?

Whether it be different colors for Base cabinets and Wall cabinets or switching up the color for the island, kitchens with multiple colors of cabinetry are all around. Do you love it, or would you leave it?
 

via Better Homes & Gardens

via Beautiful Habitat

via Pinterest

via Home Bunch

via Pinterest

via Southern Living

via The Marion House Book

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

Gold Is Making a Comeback | Love It or Leave It?

Gold and brass finishes are creeping back into Interiors. It started with a few small features - a mirror here, a brass knob there, gold leaf inside of a lamp shade. Now the moves are getting bigger and bolder. Gold. Shiny, shiny gold. It's making a comeback in Interior Design and Decor. Will you love it again, or are you going to leave it?

 

Hudson Valley Lighting

 

House Beautiful

 

Source Unknown

 

Cyan Design

 

Veranda

 

Elle Decor

 

Hotel Chic

 

No Place Like Home

Gold. Love it or Leave it?

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

Love it or Leave it | Painted Wood Floors

I often see photos of painted floors in blogs, magazines and on Pinterest. However, this is not something that I see often in person and as an Interior Designer. That has a lot to do with the Denver & Boulder Colorado markets in which I work. Many of my clients live in newer homes with new or nearly new wood floors. Painting them seems like blasphemy. Another group of clients lives in older pockets of Denver, with wonderful homes including bungalows, 1930's Tudors, and Mid-Century Modern. In these homes we are working to strike a balance between preserving original detail and modernizing the homes for life in this century. Often the floors are original to the home and again off limits to paint. But I am curious about your thoughts on painting wood floors: do you love it or would you leave it?

 

Cecconi's in London via Studioilse.

 

A simple, solid painted floor, via Bradbourne Farm.

 

A faux mosaic tile design painted on to a floor, via Henry Donovan Motif.

 

This paint pattern looks like a rug in this hallway. Via Curbly.

 

A stencil design over a distressed floor makes a dramatic statement. Via Designspiration.

 

A classic tile pattern painted onto a kitchen floor. Via Hello Tiger. 

I want to know what you think. Would you paint your wood floors? Do you love it or would you leave it? Have you painted wood floors before? Please share your photos with us here or on Facebook.

And please chime in on our other Love it or Leave it discussions:

• Black Walls
• One Pattern Everywhere
• Red Patterned Bedroom
• Animal Inspired Area Rugs
• Exposed Furniture

Or, check out the opposite of this post with Painted Ceilings.

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

Love it or Leave it | Black Walls

Black - the darkest of dark colors. In many cases it's a staple - a stable and safe bet. In other applications it's bold and daring. Would you paint your walls black? Would you dare cover the largest surface in any room in black? Black walls - do you love it or would you leave it?

Let me know your thoughts - love it or leave it?

Maybe black is just too much for you, or not your color. Check out my previous post Interior Design Trends: Dark Blue Walls. It's lovely.