The Luxury of Recycled Materials

This is simply gorgeous. This bowl from Husque, is made of composite material from recycled Macadamia shells and polymer. Big enough to serve cold dishes, or nuts & berries, this is a simple home accessory that makes a big statement. It comes in a variety of colors, so you could purchase a few in your signature color and have both art and function. We found this courtesy of Designs Abroad (http://www.designsabroad.com/) in their housewares sections.

The Luxury of Classic Architecture

Hello all, I hope your week is well - Just wanted to share this as when I saw the photo, it took my breath away. From our friends at Architectural Antiques (http://www.archantiques.com/), this mantle detail shows you what many of today's reproductions miss. Look at the detail given to the acanthus leaf. From the mid-19Th century, this carrara marble mantel piece glows. It is no wonder that the great sculptors of the Renaissance chose to work with the material. When have you seen something so pristine white, glow with warmth, it is just amazing. Oh, that I had a fireplace to use this on. And if you need it before me, you can look at it here www.archantiques.com/id223.html.

The Luxury of a Beautiful Bed

Busy days! And good news for us as we have signed several new clients recently. As I am doing the nightly maintenance on the email account, I wanted to share with you these beautiful upholstered beds from Carriage House Furniture (http://www.carriagehousefurniture.com/). These two bed have so much style. The first, The Donna, evidently is the best seller for the south - not surprisingly. I love the height of the headboard and I love the ability to monogram the medallion is a wonderful touch. This would be perfect for a guest bedroom or a traditional girl's bedroom.

The second bed, Betsy, is much more tailored. Carriage House likens the design to a dancer, but it feels much more masculine to me. I really want to put a tweed or mini-herringbone fabric on this. I could see this perfectly in a loft or city apartment.

Take a look at the website, it is fun to read the stories behind the name for each of the pieces, a bit like reading wine labels. Enjoy, I'm off to have the luxury of a good night's rest.

How To Look For & Buy Furniture

This can seem to be the most frustrating aspect to decorating your own home. Furniture, the perfect chair, is it too big - will it fit through the door, stairway, elevator? No wonder so many people wind up purchasing the display room at the furniture store. Speaking of furniture stores, which one? Geez.

1. Please do not buy the display room at the furniture store. This is especially true of bedroom suite furniture. Just resist the urge. Often times, the composition is too large and too heavy for your room, can't tell you how many times I've seen a dresser and a tall boy right next to each other. The only time this makes the process easier is when you are selecting furniture. This choice limits you so much in the future.

2. Plan first - Keep it simple. Go get some graph paper and measure out your room. Be sure to draw in doors and windows. Next, how to you travel through the room? Draw the path on the plan, give it 36", if you can. (Remember, 1 square = 1 inch) . How much room do you have left? This is where your furniture should be.

3. Go 'Sit' Shopping. An exercise I do with my clients is to take them sitting. Often this is for my clients that can not articulate what they like in there furniture, they are the "I know it when I see it" group. You are not buying anything today, so let go of that pressure. Just sit. Do you feel comfortable or not? Then I look at what the client says they like about it, I look at the dimensions. Is it too soft (loose back) or too hard (tight back), too many pillows, not enough room to sit? Too low? Once we've sat in quite a few and taken the time to note the details of the piece - I can essentially say you like these details, this size, this seat depth & height.

This image is from the Denver Fabrics (http://www.denverfabrics.com/) And really illustrates all the different variables to which you respond to when you like a piece of furniture.

4. Plan again. Draw everything into your floorplan, remember you need at least 18" between furniture, like a sofa and coffee table. Does it fit? We will generally determine what the most important piece in the room is, is it the bed, the sofa, a lounge chair? Plan in the must haves and then find pieces that work with it.

5. Fabrics. Don't be afraid to order your furniture with fabrics that coordinate together. There are many ways to pull them together. Do you prefer texture, pattern, neutrality? Your home will be more cohesive if you go with the "special order" route versus the off the floor. You will also have furniture that defines you, not that looks like your neighbors.

6. Accent furniture. This is where we like to have a bit more freedom with our interiors. A piece of accent furniture is where you can show your personality, your travels, your heritage. A coffee table is generally in the 18" range, a side table is generally around 30" (just make sure it makes sense with your arm heights of your chair & sofa). These tables from Cyan Design (http://www.cyandesign.biz/) have an ethnic feel. They are a bit edgy and could help more traditional furniture feel more current.

7. Art & Accessories - While art that has a strong theme can create a beautiful display, sometimes the more subtle the relationship, the stronger the display. And please, resist the urge to buy all of your accessories from one place - again, you are decorating your home, not the showroom floor. Be willing to move things around and see how you like then. When we are installing, we might set up all the accessories and then let the room be. By walking by the room through the course of the install, I can adjust the placement as needed and let the room develop. It is like letting dough rise. You are still working with it, you just need to give it time.

Remember bringing luxury into your home is a process, but it is also a fun experience!

A Work In Progress

By Leslie Hassler, Allied ASID, AKBD

I haven't been very chatty with you lately, so I thought I'd share with you where my time has been going. We have been working on an update of a home in Bellaire, built in the 90's - when polished brass fixtures were king. As part of the update, we were updating the carpet throughout, updating the paint on the second and third floors, doing near complete change out of door hardware and plumbing hardware, updating of the master bath and the powder bath.

One of our new tools this year has been a 3D modeling software, that we have been using to help show our clients how the end product may appear. For this project, it was extremely helpful as we were able to play with modifications to the master tub surround and the floor in the master bath. We will be wrapping up the project this week and should be able to share the after photos soon. But for now, you can see the before pictures and the final version of the 3D model.

Stay tuned to find out how it looks!

Random Thoughts

After being out of the office with project work and travel, I have found my email in box to be busting at the seams. Here are some of the interesting things that have been filling it up!

A Cure For the Clogged Drain

Every once in a while, there is a product invention that just fits the bill and leaves you saying, "Why didn't I think of that?" The Permaflow by PF Waterworks (http://www.pfwaterworks.net/index.html) is one such product. The pea trap which is available in clear and other colors offers the homeowner a way to clear a clog with out having to take apart the plumbing. By turning a knob, a internal paddle clears the clog. It seems that there is also an easy access to retrieve any jewelry or other items.

A Illuminating Fixture

There are several aspects to this fixture that I love. The overall design is simple and sophisticated. The metal work is detailed and refined. And I love the Art Deco - Golden Age of Hollywood feel to it. This is one of those fixtures that will really shine with simple surroundings. I tried to locate its name, but it is manufactured by Eurofase (http://www.eurofase.com/).

Exotic Stone

I think this actually was sent to me by mistake. There wasn't any text in the email, but the name of the granite, Red Dragon, intrigued me. This granite is more exotic than most people would venture to put in their homes, but it is beautiful. Imagine it with dark wood, almost black cabinets - perfect for a media room, or bar area. Individual elements like this have the ability to make your home stand out from others.

A Great Sign of the Times

As summer hits full swing here in Houston, so is the real estate market. As I drive around our neighborhood, "SOLD" signs are popping up like wild fires. Being in the Interior Design Market, our business is very similar to the real estate business and by monitoring it, we can get a glimpse of what our business may do. My neighbor has 4 active buyers, another friend has two closings this week - all good news. While the economist are predicting September for the rebound, I can see it on its way. Thank goodness for good news! What good news are you seeing?

Architectural Detail - The missing treasure

Some where around the middle of the 20th century, "modern homes" began being built without the same attention to detail that homes had received in the past. I think there was a concept that developed that in order for a home to be modern, it needed to be spartan and devoid of moulding ornamentation at all. So the white box construction began. Some times it came in the form of a ranch, Tudor, cape cod or colonial - but it all lacked the personality of the former styles.

When we talk about architectural detailing, we really are talking about so many subjects; including moulding, doors, windows, how the walls are transitioned. Several of these subjects overlap with past topics and even future topics. So you'll have to forgive me if I simplify somethings for this discussion. I've talked about moulding and trim in relation to the ceilings, and I whole heartedly believe in its use for both modern and traditional interiors. But I think one item I would like to focus on is built-ins. Don't really know why, but I love them. And the functional and visual impact on the interior is amazing. Let's look at this room, which is very typically of today's construction. Builders offer "Great Rooms" but really I think more often than not, they are not so great and create so many problems to balance. Let's look at this example.

Ok, I have to say it - Who in their right mind designs a wall with 5 openings, 4 of which are basically the same size and leaves this dinky space above the fireplace? Really! The opening at the top is 7' x 9'. Really? What exactly did the designer think people where going to do with that space? (Eye Roll)

Now we designed built-ins that utilized the trim detail around the fireplace to create weight on the bottom portion of the wall. Realize that the bottom openings are just as large and about 30" deep. You could hide a body in these things. What we are able to give the clients was a cohesive unit that gave them tons of storage for books, mementos and toys on one side and created a entertainment center on the other side. All the equipment is hidden behind speak cloth doors and the small center section hides the center channel speaker. We installed a basic CPU fan to circulate air in the speaker cloth and out a channel behind the TV. We also moved electrical to the countertops for any accent lamps that might be desired. Then end result...

The 5th Wall: The Blessings of High Ceilings

Welcome and congratulations! The world is your oyster! Why? Because you have ceilings over 8' in height. Look up - what do your ceilings look like, plain with recessed lighting, maybe a ceiling fan or two? For shame - what a waste of opportunity.

Oh, wait you say there is something interesting up there? Kudos for you. When you have the blessing of higher ceilings, you truly have the blessing of so much more! You have flexiblity to build in architectural interest, you can be playful or serious. Instantly you can give your home character and age, although it maybe new construction.

With the exception of a homes where the ceilings have been wallpapered in palm frawns or banana leaves...(yes it does happen and in a narrow hallway too, I could not help to sing - "I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts...there they are all standing in a row...") There really few bad choices. Let's look at some great examples:


1. Contemporary Homes: While a plain flat ceiling can be appropriate, so can tounge & grove, or beadboard. Be careful of using a narrow beadboard, this can push the look country, cottage, beach or nautical in nature. This is a great photo from Interiors Magazine.

Look Inside >> February/March 2009

The beadboard effect on the ceiling is very authentic to modern/contemporary homes and extremely versitale in its use.


2. Ethnic/Multi-cultural/Resort. Again from the Interiors Magazine -

Look Inside >> February/March 2009

How do you create this for you? Easy, create the beam effect, either with beams, or trimmed out boxes and use a reed wallpaper to create the look of thatching. You won't have as much depth, as this example, but you will be amazed at the effect.

3. Traditional - A quick an easy way to spice up a ceiling with a traditional flare is through the use of beams. Beaming can be used to create long runs, hopefully with the shortest distance to visually push the room wider, or they can be used to create more intricate patterns. This example is from a Cristall Steel Windows ad (http://www.critallna.com/) published in the November 2002 issue of Architectural Digest (http://www.architecturaldigest.com/). The beam detail is intricate, but beautiful!

4. Ceilings - Faux Finish or wallpapers. Formal Traditional interiors really are defined by this technique. It can be done with restraint or with abandon and through multiple techniques. Although I don't have a picture to share, I worked on a library while with Michael J. Siller Interiors in Houston where we used anagalypta to wallpaper the ceiling and then had the faux finisher finish it like antique leather. The paper itself was very well priced, more of the cost was in the faux finishing. But it created a very unique look.

Brief definition here, there is anaglypta and lincrusta. Lincrusta was created first and is a more rigid material created from lineseed oil & wood pulp. The embossing tends to be deeper and more defined. Anaglypta is a trademark name and was created second, offering more flexibilty because it is composed of wood pulp and cotton. The embossing isn't as detailed and has the ability to collapse.

This example also from the November 2002 issue of Architectural Digest also shows how intricate you can work your ceilings. Of an interesting not, the intricacy of the trellis ceiling with the crown is balanced with the simplicity of the walls and furnishings.

5. Exotic Innovation. I love the veneer work on this ceiling. Again from Interiors Magazine (http://www.interiorsmagazine.us/) this ceiling excudes luxury! While I have no doubt that this ceiling is likely actually real veneer, let's talk about how to recreate. First you could do it through wallpaper. Maya Romanoff (http://www.mayaromanoff.com/) or Phillip Jefferies (http://www.phillipjeffries.com/) Both have veneer wallpapers to choose from.

Another way to create this would be through the use of laminates such as those from Wilson Art (http://www.wilsonart.com/), Formica (http://www.formica.com/) or Tree Frog Veneer(http://www.treefrogveneer.com/) Granted your craftman/woman is going to have to love you or love the idea just as much as you do.

So five quick ideas on things that you can do with higher ceilings, either now or tomorrow. Did you notice how many ceilings were darker? The height and pitch of the ceilings enables the use of a darker ceiling as a way to balance and enhance the architecture. The same effect can be done with paint, but has to be done gingerly.

The 5th Wall: Ceilings

Ok - reposting this one because it filed by the wrong date!

The ceilings of a home can be one of the most neglected parts of the house. While we will refresh our walls, most people ignore the ceilings, or just leave it at "Ceiling White." I'm not even sure that is a true color name. Do you know that there are over 100 whites in the Benjamin Moore Color Library? Why does everyone use ceiling white? With modern construction, newer homes typically have 10' - 12' ceilings on the first floor and somewhere in the 9'-10' range on the second floor. When you have ceiling height, you have so many more choices as to what you can do - but you are more limited when you have an 8' ceiling. So of the easiest techniques can be through application of paint and trim.

There are a couple of concepts that create illusion of a higher ceiling, one is through the use of less contrast;and the other is through the use of a paint technique called "atmospheric perspective". Atmospheric perspective is a technique developed by Leonardo da Vinci to add depth to his masterpieces. It involves using progressively lighter values of a color from foreground to background, ultimately fading to a blue-grey color.

With that in mind, if you feel the need to raise your ceilings, try one of the following:

1. Paint the ceiling a percentage of the wall color - usually no more than 25%, but it will depend on the color of the walls. Because most people do not have direct or indirect light evenly illuminating their ceilings, any color placed on the ceiling is going to appear darker. By stepping it back considerably, you are countering this effect and creating distance at the same time. Painting the same color also lessens the contrast of the walls and ceilings, drawing less attention to them.

Every notice the contrast of dark walls to a ceiling white ceiling? Not that there are not times for it, but it can be stark. This photo shows the use of this concept, except with wall paper. We used a reed wallpaper on the walls and a coordinating rice paper on the ceiling. Having the 'luxury' of being under a staircase, this poor powder bath has 7' ceilings. The end affect raises the ceiling.

2. Paint the ceiling a grey or blue-grey based white. This creates a "haze" affect and is similar to the atmospheric perspective I mentioned earlier.

3. Paint out the trim to the wall color. This is not one of my favorite techniques, it seems to me to cancel out the architectural benefit of crown, but it is effective.

4. Utilize crown moulding creatively. One of my favorite techniques is to use Cove (upper portion) & Cradle (lower portion) moulding. The cove virtually lifts the ceiling. The cove portion can come in different heights, so make sure to choose the correct one for your room.

5. Create a "frieze" area on the ceiling. This has the effect of a tray ceiling, especially if you apply some of the techniques we mentioned above to paint the main section of ceiling. The trim piece applied to the ceiling does not need to be very large and should have a flat back, similar to that of the cradle. There are other things that can be done from a furnishings perspective to create height, but we will save those for another day.

Next time, fun with higher ceilings.

For Fun Friday

Here are some very fun things. We don't often get to do custom bedding for childrens' bedrooms, so we are always looking for ways to give "Hip" rooms at a price Mom and Dad love. Check out some fun ones. Plus, everyone asks for machine washable - no small feat! These two options are vibrant and have wonderful details and are machine washable.

The first three are from Anthropologie (ttp://www.anthropologie.com), check out the "For Your Home" section.




These three selections are from Bliss Living Home (http://www.blisslivinghome.com/). This is a great line of bedding, pillows and accessories.

Building Your Base: Decorative Floors

Too many of today's homes are just simply plain, a little too vanilla. Either through fear of something different, or through the readiness of inexpensive materials, it just seems that almost every new home has the same non-descript tile laid straight with 12" or 13" tiles. But let me open your mind to the use of accent tiles.

The simple placement of an accent tile can add the interest and impact to any floor, especially key areas. To me, these areas include the foyer, entertainment areas and bathrooms. Each room needs to have a presence and the use of accent tile helps to create that presence, but it should still be simple and subtle. I believe in using accent tile as you would salt and pepper - at the right time and in the right amount.

These pictures are from a new home in Houston where we did the tile selections and designs, the project included the Kitchen/Utility areas and 5 -1/2 baths. Each bathroom utilizes specialty tiles in various applications and relates to the overall interior design of the home. Let's take a look - in the Master Bedroom, we used a antiqued Spanish Gold tile, with a honey-onyx in a fish scale pattern. This home is quite grand, so the Master Bath needed to be in line with the vision for the home. The slight contrast of materials with the green tones of the Spanish Gold and the yellow/golden tones of the onyx is very sophisticated.

This daughter's toile bedroom ensuite lent itself well to utilizing a fairly basic 6" matte glazed tile with a 2" gloss inset tile - reinforcing the black and white patterning of the toile. A dramatic look with a economic tile.

This bath was for the son of the family. We were concerned with allowing the bathroom to grow with the son's changing tastes. Here, the Jerusalem gold field tile borders the 2" tiles set on a bias. Notice that the tile in the threshold to the WC has been cut to reinforce the architecture, creating a stronger composition.

Another daughter's room had a bit of glamour to it. It was also one of the larger secondary bathrooms, so we had the ability to work a "rug" pattern, reinforcing the colors found in the granite selections. Again, the rug shape reinforces the basic shape of the room, helping to complete the interior.

Our last secondary bathroom we used a standard travertine tile. With an emphasis on patterning in this home, to walk away and leave this bath plain would not have made sense. Very simply, we created a bordered tile effect around 4 tiles. This accent tile comes on a 12" mesh sheet, so the tile setter merely had to cut the tile into strips and lay the strips in. As a note, using AutoCAD, we laid this pattern out several different ways, working the best possible layout for the entry axis, the axis side to side and the axis along the center of the toilet. Seem a bit crazy? I don't think so, ever notice a bad tile job where too main points don't align. I do, EVERY single on of them.

Don't be afraid to use accent tiles. These tiles are more expensive but you use so few of them that the benefit will out weight the cost. It is also important that while regular tile is often stocked, accent tile is often a special order and could take 4-6 weeks to be delivered.

Building Your Base: The 5th Wall, Your Ceiling

The ceilings of a home can be one of the most neglected parts of the house. While we will refresh our walls, most people ignore the ceilings, or just leave it at "Ceiling White." I'm not even sure that is a true color name. Do you know that there are over 100 whites in the Benjamin Moore Color Library? Why does everyone use ceiling white?

With modern construction, newer homes typically have 10' - 12' ceilings on the first floor and somewhere in the 9'-10' range on the second floor. When you have ceiling height, you have so many more choices as to what you can do - but you are more limited when you have an 8' ceiling.

So of the easiest techniques can be through application of paint and trim. There are a couple of concepts that create illusion of a higher ceiling, one is through the use of less contrast;and the other is through the use of a paint technique called "atmospheric perspective".

Atmospheric perspective is a technique developed by Leonardo da Vinci to add depth to his masterpieces. It involves using progressively lighter values of a color from foreground to background, ultimately fading to a blue-grey color.

With that in mind, if you feel the need to raise your ceilings, try one of the following:


1. Paint the ceiling a percentage of the wall color - usually no more than 25%, but it will depend on the color of the walls. Because most people do not have direct or indirect light evenly illuminating their ceilings, any color placed on the ceiling is going to appear darker. By stepping it back considerably, you are countering this effect and creating distance at the same time. Painting the same color also lessens the contrast of the walls and ceilings, drawing less attention to them. Every notice the contrast of dark walls to a ceiling white ceiling? Not that there are not times for it, but it can be stark.


This photo shows the use of this concept, except with wall paper. We used a reed wallpaper on the walls and a coordinating rice paper on the ceiling. Having the 'luxury' of being under a staircase, this poor powder bath has 7' ceilings. The end affect raises the ceiling.




2. Paint the ceiling a grey or blue-grey based white. This creates a "haze" affect and is similar to the atmospheric perspective I mentioned earlier.


3. Paint out the trim to the wall color. This is not one of my favorite techniques, it seems to me to cancel out the architectural benefit of crown, but it is effective.

4. Utilize crown moulding creatively. One of my favorite techniques is to use Cove (upper portion) & Cradle (lower portion) moulding. The cove virtually lifts the ceiling. The cove portion can come in different heights, so make sure to choose the correct one for your room.

5. Create a "frieze" area on the ceiling. This has the effect of a tray ceiling, especially if you apply some of the techniques we mentioned above to paint the main section of ceiling. The trim piece applied to the ceiling does not need to be very large and should have a flat back, similar to that of the cradle.

There are other things that can be done from a furnishings perspective to create height, but we will save those for another day. Next time, fun with higher ceilings.

For Fun Good Friday

On a trip to the Houston Decorative Center this week, I happen to walk by the Tai Ping showroom, where this lovely carpet sample was sitting in the window. Ever appropriate for Friday and for the floor, I couldn't resist.

The pattern is named Daisies and Grass and is a Tai Ping Carpet Pattern (http://www.taipingcarpets.com/). This one sample really speaks to the advancement of technology in the realm of carpets and rugs. Do you have a little girl that loves "Fancy Nancy"? Then this is the rug for her room. It is so plush and it feels good on the toes too! HAPPY EASTER!


In Houston ,and just have to have one for yourself? Contact your designer or the Tai Ping Carpet showroom (713-877-8432).

Defining Your Luxury

Welcome! Have you been in your home for a while, but it still isn't pulled together? Or maybe this is your first home and you find that you need it all. Where do you start? Or, what worked in your home 20 years ago just isn't making it into this century.

Then this posting is the first in a series meant to help you to bring luxury into your home. Please take a moment to follow us so that you will get our updates. I have work in this field for the past 7 years, after a career in marketing and advertising. I joined this profession because like many of you, I love to create beautiful homes for myself and my clients.



The subject of luxury is incredibly subjective person to person, for a mother of two, it maybe being able to escape to a air-jet tub at the end of the day. For another, it may be the feel of a leather chair while enjoying surround sound in the media room. As Americans, this century has brought more selection, more design focus and more choices of what to spend our money one, enabling us to bring luxury into our homes.

However, with more choices, most of us are a bit overwhelmed. Because not all items are created equally, it is hard to ensure that the money we spend on our home is spent wisely. That means by a quality project, that will last over the coming years. It is quite the task to compare products and quality at more that one store. So how do we bring it home?

The first, and perhaps the hardest step - Define what you find to be luxurious. According to the dictionary, luxury is defined as "indulgence in something that provides pleasure, satisfaction, or ease". Luxury transcends all types of styles. It implies a level of quality and is personal to you. But luxury is also in the details. It is how many of us can differentiate a Gucci purse from a knock off. It is also how when you know the tools, you can fool the eye and deflect attention away from a distraction.

Luxury also relates to the senses - the touch of Egyptian Cotton, the softness of chenille, the expertly framed artwork, the scent of a reed diffuser all add layers to your definition of luxury. Then the home entices the senses through sight, sound, smell or touch, it cements itself into your memory and the memory of your family. So is a walk-in shower with a rain head and body sprays your luxury? Or is the induction cook top that boils water in 90 seconds, leaving you more time to be with your family your luxury? How about entertainment - reading a novel, watching the latest movie releases in the comfort of your own home? Where do you and your family spend your time? What do you love? What do you not like? All of these answers factor into your definition.

Next Posting: Keeping It Simple