Curvy Shapes in Interiors

Amelia Handegan - Southern Accents



I love seeing a visual statement in an interior and nothing does it quite like a curvy shape. Let's face it, rooms are mostly boxy, maybe even angular. Applying curves gives an organic feel or human touch to a space. Statement curvy shapes can give quite an amazing and dramatic visual effect. I love some of these examples.

Antonello Radi - Elle Decor

Alex Papachristidis - House Beautiful

Steven Shubel - House Beautiful

Berkley Vallone, Caroline DeCesar - House Beautiful

Bunny Williams - Elle Decor

Cathy Kincaid - House Beautiful

Amy Bergman - Traditional Home

Hattie Wolf, Abby Rizor - House Beautiful

I love the marble backsplash behind the tub in the bathroom beyond.

Jay Jeffers - House Beautiful

Curvy headboards are sculptural and provide beautiful silhouettes.

One of my bathroom remodels

I love curvy marble backsplashes. They have a historical reference and add a custom look to a vanity.

Apartment project photos are coming soon. It's my daughter's college apt.  So cute and filled with some of my Showhouse furnishings. 

Have a great weekend!  I'm working!

Window Treatments - Part 2, Blending with the Walls

Back to discussing window treatments! Window treatments that blend with the walls have a softening effect on a room.  Whether it's panels, valances, or shades, treatments of the same color or tone as the walls don't call attention to themselves.  Particularly in a light room, I think they have a way of attracting your eye to the view and not stopping your eye at the window.

The space above was a butler's pantry I did in a Showhouse in 2008 here in The Woodlands.  This home was located in the Garden District of this area and I wanted to relate it to the gardens outside. You see how the walls and Roman shade blend together to create a soft look and the lush garden is quite apparent.  The window treatment doesn't compete with the view.

Here's another project of mine where the sheer panels blend with the walls and envelope of the room, softening the bedroom and not competing with that beautiful view.  Your eye looks right through those window treatments.

These beautiful patterned sheers with a rope trim provide a gauzy, romantic softness at the French doors in my recent Showhouse room. They're kind of like an invitation to step out on to the balcony.

There are many other designers who also use this tool very successfully.

Martin Lawrence Bullard - Elle Decor

Ellen O'Neill - House Beautiful

Emily Robison - Elle Decor

Tracery Interiors - House Beautiful

Tobi Fairley

Kate McIntyer and Brad Huntzinger - Traditional Home

Elle Decor

Jason Bell - House Beautiful

Ginger Barber - House Beautiful

Frank Delledonne - House Beautiful

In dark rooms, same color window treatments also give a romantic, soft feel.  They sort of turn the room in on itself and have a cocooning affect.

Elle Decor

Nancy Price - House Beautiful

Alessandra Branca - House Beautiful

David Mann - House Beautiful

This is a great NYC view. Imagine if the designer had used some contrasting, colorful panels at the window instead of the same smoky gray.  It would've stopped your eye and not felt nearly as romantic.

Window treatments can add such personality to a room.  Next window treatment post will be about pattern at the windows!  Have a great weekend everyone.  I'm moving my daughter back to her college apartment.  Fun!

Window Treatments Part 1 - Color and Contrast

Kelly Hoppen - Elle Decor website

Beautiful window treatments can add so much to a space.  Drama, color, pattern, softness.  See how the window treatments below all make a significant design statement in each environment. They've all been used to add color to an otherwise white space.  

 Elle Decor

Mmmmm - malachite!

Christopher Maya - House Beautiful



Amanda Nesbit - House Beautiful

House Beautiful

Mary McDonald - House Beautiful

Drama with high contrast in Mary McDonald's work.

Robert Courterier - Elle Decor

Milly de Cabrol - House Beautiful

Jonathan Adler - House Beautiful

Lynn Morgan - House Beautiful

The woven woods in this project above add warmth and a casual vibe to the space.

Contrasting, colorful window treatments can liven up a space and add so much personality to a room.  Do you have any in your home?

Carrying Wall Finishes Up on the Ceiling

Windsor Smith - House Beautiful

Carrying a wall finish up on to the ceiling is a wonderful trick used to expand a space and make the planes of the walls and ceilings disappear.  It's very effectively used with low ceilings, oddly angled ceilings, and in spaces where the intent is to wrap the room in an envelope of sameness so that objects and furnishings stand out.  I love how Windsor Smith, above, used the patterned wallpaper to visually raise that ceiling.

Leslie Klotz - House Beautiful

Imagine how low this ceiling would have felt if there had been contrast between the upper wall and the ceiling. What a great use of this little trick.

Barbara Westbrook - House Beautiful

See that little odd angle in the left corner above?  It would have been accentuated if there had been a difference between the wall and ceiling.  As it is your eye goes straight to the artwork, then the marble below.  That funny angle is hardly noticeable.

Amanda Kyser - House Beautiful

Imagine the low angles painted in a different color as the "ceiling". It would've sliced into that space and drawn your attention away from the vibrant rug and interesting wall of books.

M. Elle Design - Elle Decor

This space soars all cloaked in the same color wood.

Leslie Klotz - House Beautiful

Skye Kirby - Traditional Home

Tom Scheerer -  House Beautiful

Keith McNally  - Elle Decor

Healing Barsanti - House Beautiful

How effective was it to paper the soffit running around the room?  It visually raised the ceiling another foot. 

Another fabulous design tool that makes a big impact!

Please excuse my absence this past week.  Many projects are on the boards and under construction!  I'm looking forward to sharing lots in the fall!

Contrast = Drama

Contrast is one of my favorite tools in design and one I feel makes the biggest impact visually in a space.  This photo above from Traditional Home, designer - Melanie Elston, demonstrates the drama created by the high contrast between the lights and darks in the space.  The curves and beautiful shapes of the chair and sconce really pop off that dark color.

image from Elle Decor's website

You often see drama in foyers or entrance halls. People like to wow their guests when they come into their home, so high contrast is often used here.  The dark railing and dark wood treads on the stairs highlight that graceful curve and really add drama in this space.

Hortenisa Vitale - Elle Decor

Those fabulous light fixtures really stand out against the dark chocolate walls.

Courtnay Daniels Haden - Elle Decor

The dark rich, lacquered doors and newel post in the light environment really make for a dramatic foyer.

Kerry Joyce - Elle Decor

Contrast is best used when you want something to stand out and other elements in the room to take a back seat.  These beautiful balusters and the art really stand out in the light environment.  In a wood paneled space, they would have all blended in and been hardly noticeable.

Vicente Wolf - Elle Decor

John Saladino - Architectural Digest

I love the simplicity of this stairwell.  He used the same material on the stair and the wall beyond to add drama and make that stairwell go on forever.  The contrast between the wood and walls focuses your eye and leads you up the stairs.

Martin Lawrence Bullard - Architectural Digest

Lots of drama here in Ozzy and Sharon's home.  Of course!

Michael Formica - Elle Decor

The chest and walls all blend together to make a nice backdrop for the objects and lamp base in this tablescape.  Not only the contrast in value, light/darkness, but the contrast in texture makes these pieces stand out.

E. Claudio Modolo - Architectural Digest

Drama in the bedroom.  Those fabulous carved headboards make such an interesting pattern against the light walls.  It really telegraphs the location of this property on an island off the coast of Kenya.

James Radin - House Beautiful

The high contrast of the dark Windsors in this white kitchen calls attention to the traditional style of this home. They become sort of delicate sculptures in this space.

Michael Graves - Traditional Home

I love how the contrast of the dark window frame firmly establishes the grid pattern motif used in the cabinet fronts and really draws your attention to the view.

Suzane Kasler - House Beautiful

Contrast doesn't have to be just black and white.  It's about the difference in value.  This vibrant red background helps this collection of pond yachts to stand out in their case.

Juan Montoya - Architectural Digest

The distinct X pattern in the windows and the wood trim and furniture are highlighted by the use of high contrast here. 

Gary McBournie - House Beautiful

Do you think this incredible ceiling would've been noticed as much if the cabinets and walls were a wood tone? 

Veranda

The high contrast of the trim on the white bed linen highlights the detail.  Headboard and lamp are subtle repetitions of the trim detail's shape.

Mary McDonald - Veranda

I've always thought of Mary McDonald as the queen of contrast.  Her interiors are always full of drama!

Mary McDonald - Veranda

Mary McDonald - Veranda

Susan Tully - House Beautiful

I love how the similar shape of these light fixtures and stools are highlighted by the contrast between them and the envelope.

Healing Barsanti - House Beautiful

The beautiful wood finish on this island with it's curvy rope legs stand out in this creamy kitchen.  If the floor had been a dark wood, it would not have been such a strong visual.

I've been wanting to do this post for some time.  Contrast and other tools used to create the desired end result in a space always fascinate me.

Don't forget to leave a comment on THIS POST for my Flokati give away!  Drawing will be done next Friday!