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Hardwood floors are one element of long lasting design

dpearson — Tue, 14 May 2013 11:00:00 GMT

In recent years, the green movement, vintage furniture and ethnic themes in home design have all made their marks on how people furnish their homes. But consumers aren't looking for flash-in-the-pan decor. Long-lasting features such as hardwood flooring, including Anderson's Bryson II Plank, are what home decorators are making a priority.

"Interior design trends catch fire because they illustrate what's important today in terms of identity and values in broad strokes," home design consultant Cindy Lee Bergersen wrote in The Hamptons magazine. "Creating a home that looks like you is never a done deal. The idea is to let it grow and evolve over time - or at least look that way. "

Green design
One of the biggest home design developments that has come out of the green movement is the trend toward smaller living spaces that demand less upkeep and have a reduced ecological footprint. Using sustainable materials and having less reliance on noxious finishes that pollute the environment are becoming the norm among many builders.

Old and new
Another trend that has staying power is the vintage look, which can range from oldtime Americana items to a 1960's vibe created by influences such as the "Mad Men" TV series. The mid-century trend shows its popularity in colors that include orange, mustard, teal and deep red as well as tapered legs and boomerang shapes in furniture.

Bergeron suggests that the revival in modern furniture from the 1960s and 1970s has created a hybrid of contemporary and traditional looks that are less hard-edged and warmer than previously shown.

Menswear effect
Menswear fabrics have led to the popularity of camel, black, brown and plum as mainstays in home decor. They all look good with gray, which has become the neutral of choice among many design experts. But gray has many variations, from warm shades with taupe undertones to blue-grays that are cooler.

For patterns, pinstripes, plaids, houndstooth and herringbone have shown up in many elements of room design, from wallpaper and bed linens to upholstery and dinnerware.

Ethnic accessories
If there is one trend in accessories that is most popular, it's the use of ethnic themes and collectibles. From African and Moroccan influences to Native American and equestrian themes, the spicy colors, interesting patterns and trims from different cultures can be an important complement as long as they are used in moderation. Setting off a neutral sofa with pillows in such patterns is one good move.

Elegant hardwood floors are part of a well-furnished living room

dpearson — Sun, 05 May 2013 19:00:00 GMT

The living room is a place in most people's homes where visitors are likely to be entertained and a room that many homeowners view as their showpiece. Quality furnishings and beautiful hickory hardwood flooring from Anderson, such as the Chestnut Hill collection, will create an elegant atmosphere.

Decorating with formal living room furniture requires a need for balance so the room doesn't seem too stuffy, according to InfoBarrel.com. In such cases, the decorating scheme for the main area of the room should be symmetrical

Add some coziness
When home decorators prefer a more casual feeling in their room design, they can get that with a wall color that coordinates with the furniture and will play off their elegant touches.

There is sometimes a risk that the space will seem too cold or overwhelming. Creating several conversation niches is one way to provide balance and add a touch of coziness. In front of a living room window or in a corner of the room, for instance, a small conversation area can be arranged with two chairs and a small table between them.

Find a focal point
If there is a fireplace in the room, it can serve as a focal point with an equally weighty piece of furniture - such as a large bookcase or hutch - to counteract it across the room. Having two love seats face each other in front of the fireplace is often more inviting than placing one long sofa along a wall.

Sometimes, a large expanse of windows is a natural focal point because so much natural light streams in and it draws the eye when someone enters the room. A wood cornice across a sizeable window area brings an architectural detail into the room. For a softer touch, a valance may be upholstered in a fabric coordinated with other patterns in the soft furnishings.

Upgrade older pieces
Another suggestion is to use furniture that's already in the home, but upgrading these pieces with new upholstery or a selection of pillows and throws. Slipcovers for certain furnishings can be changed seasonally. The fabrics on a sofa and a loveseat can be different, but coordinated with each other.

Within a home design, a living room can become an elegant space by the simple addition of special details - curved arms and backs on seating, metallic accents or a glass-topped coffee table. These are the types of things that add something unique to a room.

Placing rugs properly brings out beauty of hardwood floors

dpearson — Sun, 05 May 2013 11:00:00 GMT

The look of high quality hickory hardwood flooring by Anderson, including the Mountain collection, can be enhanced by the proper placement of area rugs. Following some general guidelines on sizing for a specific space will help homeowners arrive at the right proportion of rugs to choose for a room design.

Before a rug is chosen, interior designer Susan Welch Heeney advises arranging the furniture to determine the best size area rug for a certain section of a large room, or to cover most of a small room. An area rug that's too large for a small seating arrangement can make the space look cramped rather than intimate.

To make a room look more pulled together, it's best for all of the legs of the furniture to be resting on a room-sized area rug, she tells DecoratingStudio.com. With a very small rug, all the legs should be off the rug.

Creating borders
Generally speaking, leaving an 18-inch border of hardwood flooring around an area rug looks best.

One exception to that is the placement of a dining room table. It's easier to move chairs when there is at least 24 inches beyond the edge of the table on all sides. That allows the back legs to stay on the rug when someone is sitting in the chair.

Bedroom rugs
Area rugs can be used effectively in a bedroom as long as the size of the bed is in sync with the size of the rug. Heeney recommends that rugs placed under beds should be large enough to extend beyond their sides - 18 inches for a king or queen bed and at least 12 inches for a full or twin bed.

Rug care
Rugs, like upholstery, can fade from too much direct sunlight. To prevent sun damage, try to shield the rugs with window treatments that will limit the amount of exposure.

Some rugs can be washed, but many have to be dry cleaned. Better Homes and Gardens magazine recommends that homeowners keep the care tags on the rugs or filed to remind them of the right cleaning method.

While surface dirt can be vacuumed or brushed away, some rugs need special care. Rugs made from natural fibers such as sisal or rush, for instance, allow dirt to slip through their open weave. Moving them occasionally to vacuum the floor will preserve the rug and the hardwood.

Childrens room design should reflect their interests and personality

dpearson — Fri, 03 May 2013 19:00:00 GMT

Some things are needed to make children's rooms into places where they will want to spend time beyond dressing in the morning and sleeping at night. These can include youngsters' favorite colors, a soft area rug over durable hardwood flooring such as Anderson Floors' classic Sugar House collection and comfortable furniture on which they can relax and play.

Show personality
To design a space that appeals to a child's sense of whimsy, FrugallyMinded.com recommends painting old furniture in different colors as the child grows and their room decor changes.

Lampshades can be painted in a matching hue, with stickers or decals in the theme chosen for the room. Soft furnishings, including bed linens, canopies and decorative pillows, can be made in reversible fabrics that can be switched over periodically.

Nothing is more inspiring than the wall art chosen for a youngster's room design. It can create a focal point, reflect their special interests and show their personality in a way that few other decorating techniques can.

Encourage children's input
Parents should look to their children's interests when searching for a decorative border or artwork to display. There are plenty of decals available in favorite children's characters, from princesses to dinosaurs. But if a child has an interest that doesn't fall into those general categories, stencils can be used to design one-of-a-kind decor.

If the children are old enough, they may be able to contribute the artwork themselves. Inexpensive poster board provides a blank canvas for youngsters to paint their favorite characters.

A comic strip is a ready-made border if it is enlarged at a copy shop, then cut into individual boxes to create a pattern on the wall of a youngster's room. It can be backed with a background color or applied directly to walls. Again, young children can help pick out the comics and older children can work on the project.

Design that grows
Choose a decorating scheme that can be easily replaced when children outgrow it. Or pick a theme that can mature with your children as they get older, according to ImprovingYourWorld.com.

For instance, children's magazines provide plenty of nature and animal photos, often in vibrant colors. Allow children to pick their favorites and help them create a theme-based collage.

As with comic strips, photos can be laminated for a more professional look. Apply with wallpaper paste, and a personalized wall design has been created.

Variety of white shades can be coordinated with hardwood floors and colors and accents

dpearson — Fri, 03 May 2013 11:00:00 GMT

Some wood tones look better with certain shades of white. For instance, choosing a hardwood floor, such as Anderson Floors' Rushmore collection, should be decided according to the shade of white that's selected.

That's also the case with colors used with white. While its greatest strength is that it works well with any hue, white has a variety of tones - bright, off-white or antique - that are more effective with some colors than others.

A bright white coordinates well with modern decor that may include charcoal gray, silver and black. Off-white is more traditional and complements with many shades of blue, sage green or dusty rose. Antique white is similar to off-white, but has a slight yellow undertone which allows it to work best against hardwood furniture and kitchen cabinetry.

White with colors
White may be the most neutral of all colors, but one of its greatest strengths is that it works well with any color.

Especially in a small space, using contrasting colors to highlight white as the main hue guides attention to it and away from the small dimensions of the room.

According to Shari Hiller, co-host of the PBS series Around the House with Matt and Shari, choosing the right shade of white isn't different from choosing other colors.

She suggests using the white that's in an upholstered piece to determine the shade of white that will be used elsewhere in a room design.

Light reflects
Better Homes and Gardens magazine states that white also creates a sense of spaciousness when it reflects from light sources around a room. The magazine recommends taking advantage of natural light by limiting window treatments in a small room to blinds or shades only.

Homeowners may want to consider choosing blinds that are the same color as the walls, which allows them to convey the impression of an unbroken surface. White curtains or shutters, often used in country-style decorating, are attractive by themselves or combined with window shades.

Accessorizing with white
A white theme in home design can be continued through accessories. They provide another way to create a unified, spacious atmosphere. Clear jars filled with white and cream-colored candles, white flowers and porcelain pieces are some items that can be used effectively.

In one design featured in Better Homes and Gardens, floor-to-ceiling shelving painted white was filled with a mix of white accessories and colorful items that pick up colors in the furniture and pillows in the room.

Designing with hardwood floors makes overnight visitors feel welcome

dpearson — Thu, 02 May 2013 19:00:00 GMT

If a house doesn't have a guest room to accommodate overnight visitors, homeowners can still provide comforts to make their guests feel welcome. Comfortable furnishings, beautiful hardwood floors - such as the Cimarron collection from Anderson Floors - and a few amenities will make them feel at home.

An area of their own
Set up a space where visitors can store their belongings such as a small table to use as a nightstand. Supplying a guest with a garment rack, suitcase stand or some space in one of the home's closets also helps them keep their clothing in order during the visit.

Easy-to-store feather beds come in full-size, but can be folded up when not in use, according to RealSimple.com. Another alternative is an air mattress, which can be inflated and deflated quickly, then folded up and put out of sight.

Providing the family's best linens will make even the most makeshift sleeping arrangements seem like a special place to stretch out at bedtime.

Small comforts
To make visitors feel welcome as soon as they arrive - especially after they've come from a long distance - set out a small snack on the nightstand, such as a bottle of water with some fruit, a granola bar or packaged nuts.

Other welcoming gestures that hosts can make include supplying guests with travel-size toiletries, including shampoo, toothpaste, a small bar of soap and lotion. Providing towel sets in a different color for each visitor and leaving them on the guest bed, nightstand or bathroom counter will eliminate any confusion about what towels they should use.

If they're early risers, SimpleMom.net recommends leaving out dishes, silverware and a note that they can help themselves to breakfast foods. Give some directions on where they can find the utensils, coffee maker and fixings in your kitchen.

Room to relax
A comfortable chair near the area where guests are camping out in your home gives them a place to relax and read. Include good lighting in the room design or place the chair near a window for natural light.

In addition to magazines, some guests might enjoy a book of word puzzles and a collection of short stories, because they may not be able to finish a novel by the time their visit ends. To make their visit feel like a true vacation, provide some brochures about tourist spots and a map.

New hardwood floors and headroom are issues in attic remodeling

dpearson — Thu, 02 May 2013 11:00:00 GMT

Homeowners are frequently looking for ways to expand their livable space. A major part of any room renovation is the selection of new hardwood flooring. The choices offered by Anderson Hardwood Floors fit both traditional and contemporary decor such as the versatile Haversham collection.

According to the Home Improvement Research Institute, the remodeling market grew by nearly 5 percent last year and is expected to increase by 4 percent by the end of 2013. Whether homeowners are planning an extra bedroom, a home office or in-house theater, home renovation is definitely on the rise.

Frequently, homeowners look to an unfinished attic as a place to renovate. The institute reported that while the cost of attic remodeling has gone up by more than one-third in recent years, there is still a return on investment that homeowners can expect from having a newly remodeled space.

Meet building codes
An important consideration for homeowners who are hoping to re-work their attics into a new room design is that construction improvements must meet building codes.

For instance, a full-size staircase for entering and leaving the new space and a minimum 6-foot, 8-inch clearance overhead is required, according to ThisOldHouse.com. A second way out, which can be a window, is also needed for fire safety.

The rest of the living area must have at least 7 feet of headroom, although sections of the attic that have lower clearance can be used for storage. Another consideration is the floor support, since attics in newer homes aren't built to be living space. As a result, attic floors need to be reinforced with added joists and a new subfloor.

Energy savings
More homeowners are becoming well-versed in green building practices in home design and looking for ways to save on their utility bills. Contractors are also stepping up their use of sustainable building materials and energy-efficient fixtures.

Windows, ceiling or window fans and air conditioning are needed to address heat and moisture that naturally rise within a structure. Adding cellular shades to windows is another way to modulate temperatures because they offer good insulation from both cold drafts and strong sunlight.

Other spaces
SmartMoney.com reports that contractors aren't just getting customers who want to renovate their attics. They are also fielding more requests to finish basements, enclose porches and convert garages into livable space.

Whether a recent college graduate is returning home or an elderly relative is moving in, the need to reconfigure living space is expected to be a trend among homeowners for some time.

Choice of paint colors and hardwood floors gives your home a unified look

dpearson — Wed, 01 May 2013 19:00:00 GMT

Limiting the color palette used throughout a house is one way to create continuity from room to room. Another option is to install Anderson Floors such as the Monroe maple hardwood flooring collection. Whether chosen in a Homespun finish or the deeper Lantern Glow stain, this selection will go well with virtually any colors chosen for the home.

"Devise a color plan that makes sense for your whole residence," according to design consultant Cindy Lee Bergerson, who writes a home design column for Hamptons.com. "The goal is to give your rooms a cohesive look as a unified environment."

The big picture
Seeing the home as a whole makes choosing colors simpler. The same hues are repeated in the homeowners' selection of soft furnishings, including upholstery fabrics, rugs and pillow covers. Those colors, or shades of them, can be repeated in different rooms but in a unique way in each space.

A good way to implement Bergersen's advice is to paint no more than four colors throughout a residence and to unify all of them with the same trim and molding. A wall color in one room design can be the ceiling color elsewhere in the home.

One color family
Another method is to stick with one color family, which is different shades of the same core hue. The lighter tones work best in the public spaces such as dining, living and kitchen areas. Darker ones are good choices for private areas, including bedrooms and home offices.

In addition, the hallways should be painted the same neutral to tie different areas together with the overall home design. The ceiling can be a pale shade of the wall color used in a room. Or for a bolder palette, paint the ceiling in an accent color.

An easy test
On her website, DecodingDecor.com, Bergersen suggests an easy way to test different colors without painting large practice swatches around the house.

Instead, paint two coats onto a sheet of white foam core - available at arts and crafts supply stores - and move these sample boards around a room at different times of the day to see the effect of natural light and how the colors look in both light and dark corners.

Doing this gives home decorators a chance to see the colors together in more than tiny swatches. That makes it easier to coordinate a final combination that will work well even if the shades are used in different rooms.

Welcoming in the spring with nature inspired hardwood floors

dpearson — Wed, 01 May 2013 11:00:00 GMT

Now that spring is officially here, it's about time for Mother Nature to catch up with the calendar and warm things up. Sun is shining, buds are blooming and you're getting ready to do some cleaning. While you're at it, why not renovate for the new season? Anderson Floors has some great suggestions, starting with the Coastal Art collection, part of Anderson's Virginia Vintage line.

Brighten your home with new flooring
Look toward the summer sun with the brightly hued and crisp boards of Anderson's Coastal Art collection. These hardwood floors are inspired by the unique atmosphere of the seashore, with distinctive colors and textures that evoke both water, sand and ships. Taking cues from old-fashioned boardwalks, these wide planks are sure to satisfy your desire to bring a bit of the outdoors in this spring - and will hold you over 'til beach season arrives!

Get florally inspired
When we think of spring, we think of beds and bouquets of blooming flowers, and while you'll want to bring plenty of fresh cut bunches in from your own garden, don't neglect to have these bountiful and colorful springtime symbols inform your wallpaper or furnishings. Everything from floral prints to flower-hued color schemes are sure to bring a space to life. For instance, consider repainting and decorating a room using a palette borrowed from one of the season's most popular flowers, like daffodils, tulips, peonies or lily of the valley.

Open your windows
Sometimes, what a home needs most is just a little fresh air. Open your windows wide and led a cross breeze clean out your home in ways a broom and vacuum can't. This is also the season that you'll want to draw back the curtains for. Make sure you enjoy the slow blossoming that's going on all around you, since each week the view is sure to be greener and more colorful than the last.

Craft a seasonal centerpiece
Whether you use it for the coffee or dinner table, a centerpiece is a great, crafty project for springtime. Pick from a variety of colorful flowers and weave these together into art! It'll be a great feature to show off at your next cocktail or dinner party. Looking for a few floral suggestions for your centerpiece? Try anemones and ferns, or lilacs and ranunculus.

April is the perfect month to make green home design your priority

dpearson — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 20:00:00 GMT

While any time of year is a good time to make an eco-conscious decision and turn your home green, April might be the best. With our national Earth Day on April 22 and spring in full swing, there's no better time to appreciate all that Mother Nature has to offer. And one of the best ways to say thank you in return is by reducing your carbon footprint. Anderson Floors is proud of our eco-friendly Brevard collection, but in fact each of our flooring suites are sustainable, thanks to our legacy of sustainability. All of Anderson's domestically-sourced products have earned a variety of green certifications, and we've been committed to sustainability in our industry long before it was just a buzzword.

So let us help you craft the ideal green home this spring. Even if you take it step by step over the years, these decisions are sure to make an enormous impact on the health of our planet.

Greening the whole home
One great way to start turning your whole home green is with flooring that's both sustainable and strong enough to avoid needing replacement for generations to come. We're talking about the Brevard collection of course, the boards of which don't only require 50 percent less timber to produce than regular flooring, but which are finished with Luster Lock Ultra. This means that your new flooring's surface is six times more resistant to scuffs and scratches.

Want to make another eco-friendly move for the whole home? Invest in a greener air conditioner. All AC units are rated by the federal Energy Star program with a seasonal energy efficiency ratio or SEER rating. The higher this number, the greener the AC model.

Reducing your kitchen's footprint
The kitchen tends to be a major offender when it comes to expanding your home's carbon footprint. From the electricity guzzling fridge to the water waste of your dishwasher, one of the best things you can do for your home's energy efficiency is to invest in eco-friendly appliances. Energy Star gives efficiency ratings to a number of home fixtures from freezers to water coolers to televisions, so find which ones will improve your home the most and make the smart investment.

And of course, if you're feeling really ambitious, there's always solar energy! But for now, start one green choice at a time - starting from the floor up.

What is the future of kitchen room design?

(Unknown) — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 15:00:00 GMT

Ever stroll through your kitchen and wonder at how it's different than those of sixty or seventy years ago? Surely, they didn't have your food processor or that fancy dishwasher. But the kettle on your stove is unchanged, and even the range itself isn't all that different, if more economical and cleaner. And how about the kitchens of the future? Will they still feature Anderson hardwood floors, like the Chestnut Hill or Eagle Lodge collection?

Join us in a little crystal ball peering as we try to untangle what the future holds for homeowners across the world when it comes to major changes in and around their kitchens.

Of course, hardwood floors continue to reign supreme
You should have no concerns about Anderson Floors' great products and their availability in the decades to come. Anderson hasn't been at the top of the hardwood flooring game for over half a century by lagging behind the curve after all. In fact, expect to see a growing number of Brevard collection floors. Like any conscientious company, Anderson is an advocate and practitioner of sustainability, and the Brevard collection is a perfect example of that. Crafted from real maple, these boards are combined with enCore™, an environmentally-friendly and solid center that uses 50 percent less timber to produce. What makes Brevard flooring twice as sustainable, however, is its longevity. Thanks to a Luster Lock® Ultra finish, these planks are six times more resistant to scuffing and abrasion, meaning that the beautiful patinas of wood grain will last long into the future. Brevard is truly the eco-friendly, sophisticated, luxurious and durable floor kitchens will need in coming years.

Efficiency and going green
Much like flooring, expect most all appliances in the near future to go green. Whether this means they run on sunlight alone or just a minimum of electricity, you'll see everything from waterless dishwashers to solar-powered dryers become ubiquitous!

Everything's connected
Apartment Therapy posed the question of how the homes of the next decade will look and feel, and the home design experts came to the conclusion that we can expect a whole lot of advanced and interconnected technology. Giant touch displays, voice control, easy-transfer, device-to-device networking and object identification by camera are all already technologically accomplished, the source says, but most companies - like Microsoft - are just waiting for the costs to drop and some natural refinements to work out the kinks.

Hardwood Flooring can give new life to a room's decor

(Unknown) — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 15:00:00 GMT

Making one change in a room can give the space new life. The unique texture of wood floors in the Urban Pioneer collection by Anderson Hardwood Floors are a good example. No two boards are alike, and they are as beautiful as they are economical.

According to designers who talked to House Beautiful magazine about easy decorating that can be accomplished in one day, small home design changes can have a big impact.

Try wallpaper
One quick fix for a room design involves changing the color of the wall behind book shelves or inside a cabinet by wallpapering the back of the storage space.

Jean Larette, whose design business is based in Marin County, California, believes that wallpaper has a greater impact than solid color paint. The result often inspires people to rearrange their shelves to let the beauty of the paper peek through, he told House Beautiful.

If the shelving is used strictly for books, vary the arrangement by lying some books horizontally in a stack while standing others upright. They may be arranged by size, color or according to the subjects.

Change window coverings
Florida-based designer Jim Howard recommends giving the illusion of a larger space by using curtains or other window treatments that are the same color as the adjoining walls.

"You can achieve a similar look by painting rods and rings with a color that complements the curtains. Rub the paint on with a rag - it creates a softer effect," he told the magazine.

Custom drapery or fabric roller shades can be matched to any color or fabric pattern to coordinate with furnishings and wall color. Roman shades also are available in a wide range of fabrics and have a softer look that works best in a residential setting.

Let artwork draw attention
New York City interior designer Eric Cohler told House Beautiful he likes to bring sparkle to artwork accessories by using bright, colored frames around a white mat, or a white frame around a colored mat. Hanging them in an under-used part of a room or dark corner will brighten that spot and draw attention to it.

Howard agreed with Cohler's idea to choose a space that isn't the expected location for a piece or artwork. He suggested putting pieces in unusual places, such as above a door or leaning against a mirror. When hanging several in an asymmetrical collage, he said they should be at least three inches apart.

Add personality to room design with accessories and hardwood floors

(Unknown) — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 14:00:00 GMT

Six accessories that interior decorator Shari Hiller considers among the best in home decor are also the ones that are most commonly found in households - family photos, books, fresh flowers, artwork, pillows and collections. They provide finishing touches to furniture selection, beautiful lighting and interesting flooring, such as Anderson Hardwood Floors' Casitablanca collection.

Why does Hiller like these accessories so much? Because they transform a house into a home by bringing the homeowners' personalities into the rooms where they live. They also have sentimental value that's priceless. And they go to the heart of Hiller's decorating philosophy that home decorators don't have to spend a lot of money to put their personal stamp on room design.

Timeless quality
Hiller, who co-hosts the PBS series Around the House with Matt and Shari, suggests unifying photos by theme such as family events, or displaying all color or all black and white pictures along a hall or stairway wall.

Books can also be used as accessories. They can be used to lift a lamp up a bit to make it the right height or to give more prominence to a photo on a stand. But assembled artfully in a bookcase, books give home design a richness that stands the test of time.

Displaying a personal collection can make an immediate impact in a room. They can be a focal point, often to complement the room's existing design scheme.

Spurts of color
Fresh flowers aren't necessarily a constant accessory, but an uplifting one that can be displayed when company is expected or to freshen up a room when the mood strikes. Several bunches can be gathered together for a dramatic display, or single buds can spruce a table.

Artwork should be an addition to a room that the homeowners really love and can turn into a conversation piece with visitors. It doesn't even have to match the furniture in the room, although coordinating colors between pieces is desirable.

Soft furnishings
Window treatments can be an attractive backdrop for accessories. Wooden blinds or woven shades both add texture to a room in a variety of finishes. Customized drapes or light and airy curtains can tie into other furnishings.

Pillows can add both color and pattern, particularly in neutral rooms in which they can be changed seasonally. Different covers can be made for the same pillow forms, similar to changing slip covers on a sofa.

Create a designer look with hardwood floors

(Unknown) — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 19:00:00 GMT

Mixing high-end furnishings and flea market finds is a longtime habit of successful interior designers. They may choose rich-looking flooring, like Anderson Hardwood Floors' Brevard collection to go with re-purposed and re-upholstered period chairs. And that's just the beginning.

A strong sense of style, creative ideas and resourcefulness help professionals and home decorators alike find additional uses for furnishings and accessories that homeowners already possess. It also means shopping at a variety of venues to come up with a combination of upscale pieces offset by those that have value, but lower price tags.

Start with quality goods
Start by investing most of your decorating dollars in the things that will be around the longest. Good quality fabrics and furniture with classic lines will last for many years. Family keepsakes and accessories that are well-loved will usually work surprisingly well with both traditional and contemporary pieces as long as there's balance in the overall look.

For example, find a flea market bench, side chair or sofa and give it new life by reupholstering it in a high-quality material. Or do the opposite - take an upscale sofa and accessorize it with inexpensive pillows. They can be changed according to season.

In the same way, an inexpensive coffee or end table will look elegant with the right choice of coffee table books or a striking sculpture. An inexpensive lamp from a second-hand store can be freshened with a coat of paint on the base and topped with a new lampshade.

Home office update
Beautiful decor doesn't have to stop at the living room, which is often viewed as the showcase room in a house. All parts of the home deserve the same treatment.

For instance, a home office may be a utilitarian space, but it doesn't have to look that way. Purchasing a desk with simple, contemporary lines from a discount store allows homeowners to splurge on a classy hardwood or fabric-covered chair to accompany it. It should also be comfortable and offer good support. Quality hardware for drawer pulls and knobs can give office storage units a high-class look as well.

Universal appeal
In any room design, a beautiful window treatment can make the windows a focal point and tie in with the furnishings and color scheme around it.

Valances can be made of wood similar to the flooring, upholstered to go with the main pieces of furniture or treated as an accent. A valance can also be mounted over window shades, blinds or curtains.

As with floors, a sofa's long-term use depends on durability and design

(Unknown) — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 14:00:00 GMT

To ensure long-term durability and classic beauty in choosing a new sofa, San Francisco interior designer Courtney Jones counsels her clients on the value of the four F's - form, frame, fabric and fill. The same approach could be taken to any important component of home design. Anderson's Dellamano collection, for instance, offers a distinctive look in traditional maple and hickory hardwood flooring.

Just as floors have to withstand lots of use, sofas are among the most heavily used pieces of furniture in a household. But they're also one of the most expensive. As a result, the average consumer should know what to look for before making such a major investment.

Form dictates the fit
Choosing the right couch for a home means taking into account how the sofa is used, its unique design and how much space it needs to be attractively situated in a room.

That's where form comes in, said Jones, who owns a custom home furnishings store in San Francisco. The lines of the sofa, its back height, style of arm rests and number of cushions all make up the form. Those factors will determine whether a sofa can fit into a certain space and match the homeowner's style preferences.

Frames and fill determine quality
The frame is the nuts-and-bolts construction that determines a sofa's quality and durability. Solid construction of hardwoods such as alder, maple and oak results in the sturdiest sofas.

While most people prefer cushion fill that has a foam core surrounded by materials such as wool batting and Dacron, others are choosing sustainable choices such as soy or organic cotton fabrics. Cushions wrapped in goose down require plumping and can cause an allergic reaction in some people, the website warns.

Fabric is the finishing touch
The fabric of a sofa may be the most decorative feature, but it also needs to be durable to stand up to regular use. From leather to chenille, there are endless colors and patterns from which to pick.

When choosing an upholstery fabric, thought should be given to the variety of finishes and colors that are part of the existing room design. Some homeowners may gravitate toward a neutral fabric that can be updated periodically with a variety of pillows or decorative throws. Others may see the new upholstery as an opportunity to create a focal point for the room by choosing a bold and unique fabric.