Homes Design Magazine

5 +1 Design Solutions

Every home has challenges- not enough storage space, oddly shaped rooms, nowhere to put the TV etc. There is always a good design solution for every problem. All it takes is patience to look for the solution or some thought to figure it out yourself. Sometimes the solution is a mixture of the two. Do any of these ideas help solve a design problem in your house?

No space for a desk

So you think you have no room for a small desk in a room. I love this idea of a fold up desk that turns into a framed art work.

Space too open

A floating wall of this type serves to partially separate a space while adding a place to locate furniture.

No wall for a TV

Pinterest

What about no wall space for a TV? This happens in many open area homes, but there are solutions as you can see.

No space for a buffet

Gloucester Road Apartment modern dining room

Houzz

Sometimes taking space from another room or a hallway is an option. This buffet fits perfectly into a small space.

Small foyer


Pinterest

When you have a small entrance space consider fooling the eye by using a large mirror and layering furniture in front of it. This sleek table accepts a bench below it very nicely. It looks good but the bench is also functional.

Looking for a home office

This is such a great solution for a small space. The trunk can do double duty as a coffee table and a space to lay your laptop when the lid is closed

Does a ceiling have to be white?

That's an easy one. Of course the answer is no, but very few people veer away from this standard. If you're feeling adventurous and want to break away from the pack here are some suggestions.

Consider practicalities
When you decide to paint your ceiling a colour you need to think about how that colour will flow into other rooms both physically and visually.

Is there a place (e.g., molding or beam) where you can stop the colour?

Minimalist kitchen design modern kitchen

Urban Homes

The ceiling in the kitchen is on a different plane than the living room, thus providing an easy break for painting.

How will the colour look when viewed from the next room or rooms?

In the room above the ceiling is acting as an "accent wall" and flows nicely into the living room. The same blue is used in hints around the room creating a visual flow.

Will you have to change the colour again when you paint your walls?

Chances are you will. Are you up to painting several coats to cover a colour?

Is your ceiling in good condition?

Flaws will show up more with darker colours.

Consider ceiling height
How high is your ceiling? Nine feet or above will provide lots of height for darker or warmer colours.

Beverly Bradshaw Interiors

Luxurious Gold and Silver Painted Dining Room Ceiling traditional dining room

Allison Cosmos

However, if you have standard ceilings (8 feet) and your rooms are smallish you might consider lighter, cooler colours to help the ceiling recede and give the feeling of greater distance.

via Gus and Lulu

Traditional Home

Blue seems to be a popular ceiling colour.

Consider your wall colour

DecorPad

If you really want to paint your ceiling and aren't sure which colour to choose, take the cue from your wall colour and simply go several values lighter.

Toby Fairley

Or keep the ceiling and walls the same colour and break it up with crown moulding.....

or go a value or two darker for the ceiling.

Consider your trim colour
If you have a trim colour other than white/cream, look to it for ideas for your ceiling.These room have a very pulled together look by using the trim colour as a branching off point.

Real Simple

The ceiling is darker than the trim colour

Residences in DeBordieu Colony, Georgetown, SC traditional living room

Catalyst Architects, LLC

The ceiling is the same colour as the trim.

Consider your accessories

This is where things could get exciting...

Tineke Triggs

Can you imagine this room with a red ceiling?

Hollywood Residence eclectic dining room

Elizabeth Gordon

What to hang over a fireplace

If you were going to hang something over a fireplace, what's the first shape you think of ? I bet it's not a circle. Most people would think rectangle, but I would like to suggest going against that natural inclination and putting a shape there that plays against the straight lines of a fireplace. What do you think of the impact a circular motif makes?