Subtle adjustments

Small changes can create large impact in design; sometimes the changes are not so large, but there's an improvement.  Either way move around your home with a critical eye for small tweaks you can make... add a pillow here, reposition artwork, remove a pile of books...

 When I am at my summer home, I often have too much time on my hands so things get moved around quite a bit.  Here's an example of a small tweaks adding a little impact and interest.  Remember this is a summer home , so everything in it is recycled from somewhere else.  Isn't a summer home all about looking good on a budget which includes lots of DIY? 

Remember the days of cloth covered tables?  This table is a left over from that era and I repainted in the current colour scheme. I've tried to retire it several times, but I like the open, legginess of it.  Both objects on the table interact in a nice way  but there are only two of them.  You need at least 3 for interest. Let's look around...

 Found some books (surprise, surprise) and a small painting I bought in Paris in 2001 (look in the window and see the Eiffel Tower reflected). Now we have a classic checkmark design with the picture at the lowest point.  Varying heights always add interest. But it could be better.

 Now you can see the lamp base and the checkmark is wider at both ends.  I like things more open.

 I've moved from a checkmark design to a classic A shape with the tallest object in the middle and each object is a different height. I like it.If the dolphins were facing out this would make the design less cohesive.

Still an A but not as interesting for me.  The dolphinsneed to be moved away from the lamp base (they look like they're sniffing it). Also notice in these pics how a camera changes the wall colour. The third and fourth pic are closest to the actual colour.

 Start looking to see where you can make  subtle adjustments. 

What's your kitchen style?

I like my kitchens clean lined, and light  with lots of storage.  Medium to dark wood tones  make me fell heavy and closed in.  It's a personal preference and that usually  gets left behind when you are designing for a client.   In my locale there is a strong trend toward darker kitchens with the richness of wood showing through.

Photography: Brian Ricks

 

  Sometimes there are factors that negate the cave feeling I often get from dark wood cabinets. In a recent job this sleek modern kitchen design won me over.The client had very definite ideas about the overall look of everything so my job was to tweak the colours and problem solve space and placement. The cabinets couldn't extend all the way across because the depth beside the window was only about 10 inches.  Open shelving for glasses was the solution. 

 

Photography Brian Ricks

 

The second problem was storage because there weren't many upper cabinets. This  was solved by making the peninsula wider to include lower cabinets  facing the bar stools and drawers on the opposite side. The openness of the space around the peninsula makes a great gathering space when there's company.

 

 

 Photography: Margaret Ryall

 

I love this back splash tile. It is difficult to see but it is three dimensional with an alternating wave pattern between the squares. The tile and exhaust fan run to the ceiling for a seamless look. The tile also extends across the top of the cabinets to finish the look.  

 

Breaking the line of deep upper cabinets with 12 in ones by the exhaust fan added variety to the space.   The pulls varied in length with  depending on door size.  The 12 in. upper cabinets needed knobs because long bars bumped when the doors opened. So many things to think about!

 Photography : Margaret Ryall

 

A highlight of the kitchen detailing is the stainless steel counter beside the cooktop. The colours in the backsplash tile are a blend of the tones in the granite on the peninsula which serves to connect the two spaces.

Thursday Tip #7- Editing a bookcase

Control your bookcase

If you're like me this is easier said than done.  I don't like a bookcase to look too edited, but grouping objects and books is a must.  I won't go so far as to suggest covering books with the same colour paper  or lining them up by colour as I've seen in some magazines.  

What works in his arrangement ?

• the bookcase has been treated as an accent wall by painting the back a beautiful blue
• sculptural objects are massed and are  the same colour - white- which shows against the blue
• there's a range of objects including books, vases, photos and found objects
• the books have been sorted by height
• books are placed both horizontally and vertically

If you wanted to further edit this arrangement you could consider:

• removing the photos; they are lost in the display
• if you are arranging books horizontally, keep to that, don't start to stack vertically on top of the horizontal ones; stacking some horizontally and some vertically on the same shelf works
• don't add a piece of sculpture on top of a books (see bowl) , this is sculptural enough to display alone and gets lost otherwise.
• if you have an arrangement of vases, bottles etc.  don't add a picture behind it- it gets lost.

 From one extreme to the next...

 Quiet and unobtrusive, this bookcase provides a lovely backdrop for the two chairs grouped in front of it.  This is a room I would like to sit in .

 

HGTV

This is a whole other way of  organizing a bookcase.  While is is ordered, it has a very vibrant almost chaotic feel to it.  It has way too much visual energy for my taste, but there's someone who loves it. 

If you want more inspiration check out The Lennox,  a great blog that I follow.

Did you find a useful tip  in this post or do you have one to add?

Happy Shelving