In a mid-century dining room, mirror on mirror blurs the lines between reflection and transparency. Applying a window style to a full wall of mirrored squares divided by white ribs helps to double the space of a dining room. At the same time, the ribbed divisions in the mirror fracture the reflection. Still, French doors across the room and seating in the adjacent room are … [Read more...]
Screening Room Kitchen
There are vinyl shades in this kitchen. Guess where. The owner of this contemporary Dallas house clearly has a modernist sensibility so it's unlikely to find any curtains here. Instead, screen-printed vinyl shades were installed as part of the décor. If that sounds confusing, it is, because the shades aren't on the windows. The elegant oak and stainless kitchen is open to the … [Read more...]
Orange Kitchens
Orange qualifies as a lurker in terms of kitchen style. Let's face it. Unless you have a major designer tackling hot color like the Salsa Dancing Kitchen, you don’t see orange kitchens very often. And here’s what’s odd: while it’s a friendly hue and a favorite fruit, many people will say it’s too bold and energetic for a room that’s actually one of the most conservative in … [Read more...]
Removing Kitchen Cabinet Doors
“I kept opening and closing the kitchen cabinet doors to get dishes. I found myself grumbling about it.” My friend Christine, who’s longing to remodel her 70s kitchen, recently coined the term “anti-upperitis” to express her annoyance with kitchen cabinet doors. One special pet peeve of hers is upper kitchen cabinet storage behind closed doors. A remedy is to transform … [Read more...]
Shades of Purple Bathrooms
In purple bathrooms, hues can range from periwinkle to plum. Purple bathrooms? Seriously? Purple became a favorite color when I was a teenager and I've always worn it. And while it had a wild in/out swing over the 20th century -- in vogue during the 1920s and '60s and out of style otherwise -- its current revival for home decor seems especially strong. It’s everywhere from … [Read more...]
Unusual Bathroom Sinks
Unusual spa-style bathroom sinks center on the unexpected. As bathroom sinks go, two styles are most unusual. In this ultra-modern “wet room” master bath, the Kohler Purist overflow vessel sink is flat! Essentially it has no basin – water flowing from the Danze Parma wall-mounted faucet hits the “wet surface” and runs off into the channel-drain around it. Expect … [Read more...]
Ways to Hang Picture Walls
Picture walls can be arranged in odd or even groups or hybrid odd and even rows. Creating successful picture walls often comes down to calculations. It's important to focus on on how many pieces are available to hang in a single area, the size of each, and their scale (relative size) compared to the total wall area. In addition picture walls should -- at least in theory -- … [Read more...]
Blue Floor Kitchen
'What’s that fabulous blue floor?' was my first question on seeing this kitchen. There’s a lot to say about this highly individual kitchen with a vivid blue floor by Baltimore architect Charles Bohl. Practicality aside, the color and texture of the Matisse-blue epoxy-paint floor makes everything appear to float on a shimmering lake – evoking water as a vital element – with … [Read more...]
