Posts Tagged ‘interior design services’

In the nineties, the kitchen became the social center of the home and earned the title of “new living room.” More space was added, paint colors got brighter, the lighting got cozier, bar stools and Barista tables appeared and chopping block islands proliferated. Now this same renaissance is underway for bathroom design. In fact, the new designs for bathrooms have them looking more like spas than mere toilet-rooms. Whirlpool tubs, double sinks and powder rooms are becoming the norm, as the bathroom transcends into “the new living room.”

While on a vacation, one of the most impressive features is usually the bathroom design. Women love that there is a separate vanity area with lighting, mirrors and a sink, where they can put on their makeup, brush their teeth, do their hair and spread out their supplies a little. Additional drawer space reduces clutter, which the men can appreciate. Rather than a shower stall, there is a separate whirlpool-spa tub and an enlarged shower area with space for drying off, which eliminates the need for shower curtains. New designs include heated floors and towel racks, natural halogen lighting and soft paint colors, in addition to multiple sprayers, all of which add luxury hotel caliber ambiance to one’s bathroom.

Creating new designs for dream bathrooms can cost as little as $5,000 or as much as $50,000, experts say. According to a 2007 report from Remodeling Magazine, luxury bathroom remodels recoup 78.3% of the costs at resale time. “While most people don’t create their dream bathroom for their home’s next owner, it certainly is a nice extra to know it can dramatically improve the value of the entire home,” says Karuna Talwar, Direct Buy Gurnee owner and bathroom design consultant. Consumer Reports found that the national average cost is around $10,000, although there are obvious ways to save on your bathroom home designs. For instance, don’t move the toilet, consider stock items, use tile sparingly and shop around at expos, showrooms, Home Depot, Waterworks and independent interior design stores for items.

While choosing new designs for their bathrooms, a number of Americans are deciding to “go green” while they are at it. Here are some interior design tips for achieving your own environmentally-sound bathroom. First, go organic with your bath linens and shower curtains. This one is a no brainer and does not cost much to do. Organic cotton requires less pesticides and is usually softer than regular materials. Vinyl or plastic shower curtains can be extremely toxic, cautions Annie B. Bond, author of Home Enlightenment. Instead, choose a heavy cotton duck curtain, she adds. You can find a number of eco-friendly bath products at www.gaiam.com. Then, choose natural bath products made without chemicals, like those at Aveda, to create a chemical-free zone. There are also green cleaning products, like the “Greenworks Cleaner” or “TerraCycle Cleaner.”

An interior designer draws upon knowledge from psychology, environmentalism, art, architecture and sometimes religion to create harmony within an interior space. Colors, textures, furniture, lighting and open space should all come together to present a psychologically enjoyable, safe and functional environment. While it may sound strange that a whole industry is devoted to something that seems to boil down to “personal taste,” a good interior design can boost sales, productivity, increase employee satisfaction, command a higher purchase price or expand the size of the area.

When a professional interior designer gets started, he or she begins by assessing the client’s wants and needs. They examine budgets, look at lifestyle, scrutinize the home for wasted space, seek color or style preferences and identify pros and cons of the current interior space. Next, the designer will estimate the costs and create a design image with computer-aided interior design software. After presenting the proposal, the client will either approve or deny the sketches. Then it is either time to implement the project or “go back to the old drawing board,” as they say.

Demand for interior design services is expected to grow over the coming years. The health care industry is looking for ways to make their facilities less austere and more inviting for patients. Offices are looking to make productivity-enhancing designs. Restaurants and hotels are looking at interior design as a way of capturing a lion’s share of the tourism industry. Home designs that incorporate personal movie theaters, libraries, offices, wine cellars, indoor gardens and home spas are drawing many designers into the luxury homes market as well. The demand for sustainable green building design is expected to be the next wave of interior design trends.

The interior design work environment is varied. Often interior designers will run between the field and the office, working with clients half the time and on their computers/design studios the other half. As can be expected, architectural firms and interior design company offices are some of the most relaxed, aesthetically pleasing environments to work in. However, some designers are self-employed and work from home, while others work at furniture stores. Often a designer will shuttle to conventions, exhibitions, manufacturing centers and design showrooms.

Home interior design can be flashy or simple, funky or classy, bold or subtle. You may not create the perfect room overnight, as it can be a lifelong collection of distinctive pieces that build the ideal environment. However, if you choose, you may hire interior design services to quickly renovate and transform your space into the home of your dreams. Particularly as people age, they spend less time at the office and more time in their dwelling spaces, so they want to make their homes more inhabitable, more relaxing and more intuitive to their psychological needs.

Art Deco first gained popularity in the 1920s. While the glitz, glamour and gaudiness diminished following the Great Depression, there is still a soft spot in the American heart for the lost innocence of this classic time period. In the twenties and thirties, the professional interior designer saw Art Deco as both elegant and ultra-modern. Combining aspects of airplane design and Futurism with Old World mosaic patterns and Cubism, the end result was something very interesting that spoke to the aristocracy who wanted nothing bland or boring.

Borrowing from austere stainless steel but also exotic zebra skin and saturated modern colors, Art Deco interior design trends offer the homeowner a museum-type vibe with an array of conversation pieces. Curved mirrors, Tiffany lamps, lacquered furniture, velvet drapes, silk lamp shades, small furniture, thick carpeting and symmetrical geometric shape patterns can all add a hint of Deco to a room. “It’s about glamour and getting a glimpse of those bygone days where TV was less important and it was about cocktail hour and company,” furniture designer Barclay Butera tells HGTV.

The Arts and Crafts home interior design style took America and Great Britain by storm from 1850 through to 1920. Following the advent of mass production and rampant industrialism, artists like John Ruskin and William Morris called for a return to rustic craftsmanship. Simplicity meets high quality with clean, elegant furniture that is as practical as it is beautiful. William Morris said in 1882, “Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.” Other influential Arts and Crafts designers include Frank Lloyd Wright, Gustav Stickley, Henry Greene and Elbert Hubbard. Durable, dark-stained “mission style” oak furniture, stained glass, painted tiles, floral fabrics, Mica shade lighting, neutral tone walls and deep green or sapphire blue accent colors are all part of Arts and Crafts custom designs.

Home interior design is a very personal experience. Even so, a professional interior designer can bring a deep level of experience and knowledge to your rooms, visualizing and orchestrating a successful rejuvenation of your home. It can be difficult to express exactly what is holding a room back from its full potential, but once it is fixed, we know it and feel it. Surely you have seen what interior design services have done for people on shows like “Trading Spaces” or “Generation Renovation.”

The average American finds his or her design news gracing the pages of the local newspaper. The New York Times, LA Times and Washington Post all have decent sized sections for interior design ideas. However, an interior design magazine can go a little more in-depth with some of these issues. For instance, www.interiordezine.com, www.interiordesign.net, www.homeanddesign.com and www.contractmagazine.com can all be found online, offering the latest news and interior design tips.

Green building materials, furniture and interior design services are making design headlines all around the world, but particularly in America, in places like Seattle, Portland, New York and Austin. Last year, green building technology found a friend in the money-conscious consumer who was looking to save on his or her energy costs. Traditionally, sustainable design had been seen as “pricey” and “hardly worth it,” but now prices have dropped and consumers are beginning to see where pennies can be pinched. The LEED standard became the predominant licensing agency and Energy Star appliances became mandatory for government buildings in many states. More than 14% of all US cities have some kind of “green real estate” program in place and insurers agree to protect sustainable houses. These breakthroughs are clearing the way for a more responsible and environmentally-friendly society.

Customization is the way of the future they say, which is why Spoonflower is making design news. At www.spoonflower.com, consumers can design custom fabrics for table cloths, curtains, sofa cushions, pillows, comforters or any other textile around the house. Once the design is made by consumers, they send their finished product to the printers in North Carolina, where they are churning out 40-60 yards of fabric each day. Custom fabric costs consumers $18/yard and is presently available in combed cotton, although upholstery-weight canvas is coming soon.

The iPhone is making headlines in design news for 2009. M.O.C. Interior Design recently launched the “Mark On Call” application, which allows iPhone and iTouch users to create and share floor plans. The program lets users create sizes and dimensions based on their actual homes, add and arrange furniture, change fabrics, lay down flooring and select rugs. The program comes with a measuring tool, shopping lists, a note pad and is priced at $5-$10/week. The more buzz that occurs regarding interior design services, the better it will be. With all the $500+ interior design software out there, “Mark On Call” is a reasonably priced way to re-envision home space.