Decorating with Paint - 2

The  Sherwin William's website takes a different approach to showing us the new color trends for 2013.  They provide an inspiration and then colors that project that feeling.  I have copied some of their insights to this page for you to see.  I like having two different approaches available.  Each time I start with a space I will use alternate ways to get started.  In this case I want to start with the color palette first.

The caption from Sherwin William's color trend page says, "Today's dynamic palettes reflect our diverse mindsets, lifestyles and design philosophies."  Below are the pictures and inspiration for their color trends.

Midnight Mystery

The colors are moody, the vibe is masculine and the aesthetic is both Victorian and futuristic.


There are many deep rich colors in this color grouping.  The 3 I like most are;

SW 7593

Rustic Red

 

SW 6131

Chamois

 

 

SW 6004

Mink

 

 

Honed Vitality

 

The colors are chalky and earthy, the materials raw and organic, the finishes matte.              

 

These colors are cool neutrals.  My top 3 are;

 

SW 7612

Mountain Stream

 

SW 7739

Herbal Wash

 

SW 7057

Silver Strand
 

 

Vintage Moxie

 

The pastels are a bit bolder, including semi-precious gem tones like citrine, peridot and amethyst, set off by crisp neutrals.         

 

I agree these are bold pastels.  The 3 I think are most versatile are;

 

SW 0074

Radiant Lilac

 

SW 0025

Rosedust

 

SW 6401

Independent Gold

 

 

 High Voltage

 

Electronics, alternative rock and digital technology — plug those influences into one socket and you get a blast of high-voltage look-at-me colors.               

 

Pops of color can be very exciting in a room's decor.  My favorites;

 

SW 6859

Feverish Pink

 

SW 6967

Frank Blue

 

SW 6921

Electric Lime

 

Some of these new colors are extremely bold and dark.  There are options available in the same color family that are softer and or lighter.  You can get more colors and details about Sherwin Williams trends for next year on their website www.sherwin-williams.com.

Dotty Wyman is the principal designer at www.dottywymandesigns.com. Also, like me at www.facebook.com/dottywymandesigns.

 

 

                                   

 

                   

Many seats for a small space

These days we tend to have informal gatherings of friends and family hanging out in the family room. Many times they are standing or sitting on the floor, because there isn't enough seating.  It is so nice to create places to sit in the family room to accommodate as many people as possible.  Even if it is just for friends to come over and watch television.  This family room is beautiful with it's beachy white walls, sofa and rug, but it also has seating for 8 people.  Everyone will be engaged in this close conversation area.  The smaller scaled chairs and ottomans allow for a lot of seating without crowding this small area.  Function and beauty will keep friends and family coming back to hang out in this home.

Dotty Wyman is the principal designer at www.dottywymandesigns.com. Also, like www.facebook.com/dottywymandesigns.

Contemporary Farmhouse Style Kitchen

This is a kitchen remodel I worked on last spring with a client.  She had lots of exciting ideas and was willing to expand the existing footprint of the kitchen.  The most challenging part of this project was fitting together cohesively all of the elements she wanted to include.  We successfully collaborated to create a new welcoming, more efficient kitchen the whole family likes to use.

The group of before pictures, shows a kitchen footprint that a family of four used every morning and evening together.  The table in the center was added for additional counter space, but took up valuable square footage and created a narrow passage through the kitchen in front of the refrigerator.

The client wanted a new larger kitchen with a contemporary farm house style.  First, the kitchen was bumped out 6 feet and a large new window was added over the sink.  The desired design was achieved by adding painted cabinetry, exposed beams, a large rustic black hammered metal hood and soapstone counter tops.  The cabinetry has inset doors which is a classic style for older built-in cabinets.  The rustic hood is the center of attention and is enhanced by the tiled wall behind it.  The open shelving on either side keeps your focus on the beautiful hood.  We opted to use recessed lighting, so the look of the beams would not be interrupted.  Finally, a long center table was added for more work space.  The base is made of reclaimed wood and the top is covered in stainless steel.  This kitchen now has the style the client envisioned and it is functional for her family.

Dotty Wyman is the principal designer at www.dottywymandesigns.com.    Also, like www.facebook.com/dottywymandesigns.

Decorating Dining Room - Accessorizing (8)

Finally, I have accessorized my new dining room.  I am happy to say, the last couple of months have been busy, so I haven't had much time to work on my own space. 

The accessorizing step of a design project is extremely important for providing the room a finished and pulled together feeling. Since the walls in my dining room are chocolate brown and the furniture is mahogany, I wanted to bring in some bright pops of color. I am able to do this with brightly colored glass bowls and vases.  Some of the artwork on the walls has white matting to add lightness too.  Without these accessories the room would look dull and uninteresting.

Accessorizing a room is time consuming.  Many times items that look great in the store, don't work as well in your home.  The goal is to have accessories that fit the room's new design and that you like them.  Also, in my project I wanted to reuse some of the items in the room, because these pieces had special meaning to me and my family.  Items that appeared dated were stored away.

My dining room isn't 100% complete.  I plan to add the mirror, pictured below, to the wall above the chest of draws and some type of throw on the dining table.  Please write me any comments or questions you may have about this redesign project.

 

Dotty Wyman is the principal designer at www.dottywymandesigns.com.

Redecorating Dining Room - Upholstry (5)

I am back from summer vacation and ready to complete my dining room redesign.  Plans for the dining room remain in place and I have made only a few minor alterations.  I have experienced a couple of delays, but nothing serious.  One of the chair fabrics was on back order for a few weeks, but has since been delivered.  Also, the painter I have hired has been doing a lot of outside work and asked if he could do the painting in a few weeks.  Since I am not in a rush for this project I agreed to the extended delay.

My dining table chairs and large upholstered chair went out to the upholsterer the first week in August.  All seven chairs returned a week later finished.  They look great.  The seat cushions were done with a self welt around the bottom of the cushion and the fabric is tightly stretched without any puckering.  The unique shape of the arm chair really shows off the print fabric and the multiple colors  bring everything in the room together.  I will make a pillow for the large chair as an accent as well. 

Hint:  the chairs were upholstered so quickly, because summer is usually a slower time for the upholsterer.  As we approach the fall they will get busier, so if you have a piece to be reupholstered before the holidays get it there soon.

Reupholstering is a wonderful way to update an existing piece of furniture and make it work with your new interior design.  Below I have included a few pictures of the reupholstered chairs.

Large upholstered chair

The large scale pattern and bold colors add
interest to the room's overall design

Dining table chair

The traditional chair has a little more of a pop with this fun dot fabric

The cushion welt adds an additional layer of detail and finishes the
edge of the chair cushion

Things are really starting to come together.  Please share any comments with me and I will write again about the next stage of design the project.

Dotty Wyman is the principal designer at www.dottywymandesigns.com.

Redecorating Dining Room - Hiring Trades People (4)

The next step in the design process is to hire the trades people for the project.  As I mentioned in my previous blog, I need to hire an upholsterer, painter, finish wood worker and possibly an electrician.  I am making the window treatments, so I will not need to hire a window treatment service.  Hiring trade professionals can be an overwhelming task, because you need to trust that they can do the work needed for your design project.

I'm sure you have heard it before, but a great way to hire someone is through word of mouth.  You have the opportunity to look at their previous work and get the real scoop from someone who has already worked with that trades person.  Don't worry, if you need to hire unrecommended trades people, just make sure you get a few different estimates and check their references. Quality of work is important, but so is showing up on time, cleanliness, accurate cost estimates, time needed to complete the work and trustworthiness.    The other important factor is to communicate your expectations clearly.  The trades person needs to know specifically what you want and your time constraints.  The more details you provide about the project and the more questions you ask, leaves less of a chance for problems due to miscommunication. 

I have hired the upholsterer and as soon as all of my fabrics have been delivered I will have him pick up the chairs.  The painter I contacted is willing to do the small amount of finish carpentry.  This will eliminate the extra work for me of trying to find a finish carpenter to do such a small job.  I am still on the fence about adding additional lighting at this point in time.  I will let you know what I decide.


Dotty Wyman is the principal designer at www.dottywymandesigns.com.

Redecorating Dining Room - Planning (2)

The planning portion of any design project is the most important.  Start by identifying the scope of the project and your budget.  These two steps are critical whether you use an interior designer or do the project yourself.  The scope of my design project includes painting and papering the walls, replacing the window treatments and reupholstering the chairs.  Things I also am considering to replace are the base moulding and adding recessed lighting.  My budget is $4,000.

Below I have outlined my project plan.  These are all the things I want to have accomplished before I have any tradespeople come to my home or order anything.  Remember this is a design plan and may change as the project evolves.

Project Plan for Dining Room

1. Identify scope and budget - above
2. Identify date needed - If you want a project completed prior to a special event try to start it early, 2 to 3 months prior.  Design projects always seem to incur delays.  Lately, many fabrics are not carried in stock and the waiting time to get them can be 8 weeks.  I would like to have my project completed over the summer.  I am in no rush, but want to set a deadline for myself.
3. Select finishes - I like to have most or all new finishes and fabrics selected prior to purchasing anything.  This allows me to coordinate and see how everything works together.  Also, if a finish is no longer available you have the opportunity to change several of your choices if needed.  For example, if the paint color is based on the fabric that is now out of stock, you can get a new fabric and adjust the paint color to match.  Your choices can't always occur in advance for large projects, but for my dining room project I believe it is the best approach.
4. Hire trades people for each job - I will need to hire a carpenter/painter, electrician (if needed) and an upholsterer.  I am hoping the same person can do the painting, wallpapering and moulding replacement, since it is a smaller job.  I will use the same upholsterer and electrician I have used in the past.  As a designer, I have contact with trades people that I trust and have seen their work.  Make sure you hire reliable people with references.  I will make the window treatments myself, but have factored their cost into the estimated budget. 
5. Timeline for project task completion - Most design projects need tasks to occur in some type of order, because they are contingent on the prior task.  The painter/carpenter need to come first, then I can install the window treatments.  The upholstery can be done any time (no contingency).  If I decide to add recessed lighting, the electrician will need to come first.  They will make the biggest mess and the painter can repair any damage.
6. Execute the plan - Purchase fabrics, paint, wallpaper.  Have your room ready for the trades people to do their work.  Communicate with tradespeople what you want.  It's hard to fix something that is already completed.

 I am starting to get a good sense of where my interior design project is going.  I now have my inspiration, my project scope and the design plan in place to get started.  My next step is to start moving on the to do's created in my design plan.  I look forward to sharing my fabric, paint and wallpapber choices.

Dotty Wyman is the principal designer at www.dottywymandesigns.com.

Kitchen remodel completed

The kitchen remodel project is nearly complete and I wanted to share some before and after photos with you. As mentioned in previous blogs, this kitchen remodel consisted of replacing the gray tile floor with oak hardwood, adding molding and painting the existing oak cabinetry, replacing the white tile backsplash with marble subway tile, painting the walls and ceiling and upgrading the stove and sink.

 The first pictures are views of the refrigerator and small counter area.  The microwave was relocated to this seldom used counter space and was given a built in appearance with side brackets.  Notice the large moldings that were added to the tops of the upper cabinets and the molding on the sides of the cabinet boxes (upper and lower).  These additions make these cabinets look more custom.  Feet have been added to the toekick  as well.  The black granite and the tile add to the traditional and timeless feeling of the new kitchen.

The next two views are of the kitchen sink and cabinetry around it.  The crown molding and molding along the bottom of the upper cabinets add detail and they become a focal point for the kitchen.  These pictures show more of the movement and color changes in the marble tile.  Marble is beautiful, but it can stain.  Using it as the backsplash allows you to add it to a new kitchen without the worry of damage.

 The black stove has been replaced with a white one that blends in seamlessly with the painted cabinets and now matches the other appliances.  We moved the microwave next to the refrigerator, opening up additional counter space in the important work area of the kitchen.

The desk was transformed as well.  The crown molding adds architectural detail and interest to the upper portion of the desk.  The glaze settles into the ridges and makes them more defined.  The feet at the bottom make it look more like a piece of furniture.  The final change was replacing the formica counter top with a white marble that coordinates with the marble backsplash.  Since this is the desk area there is less chance for it to be stained.  You can see the oak flooring and taupe walls in these pictures which makes the desk look great and warms up the kitchen.

 

Finally, I have included a few close up pictures that show some of the detail added to the kitchen.  The corbels under the extended island top adds the appearance of support for the granite overhang.  We added molding to the top of the cabinets, but also added 7 1/2" baseboard molding to the floor.  This a great detail and helps to disguise the radiators.

I hope these before and after pictures of this kitchen remodel have inspired some ideas for your kitchen.  Please send me any comments you may have.

Dotty Wyman is the principal designer at www.dottywymandesigns.com.